It's Been Awhile
Since I last posted, the Orioles have played poorly against Detroit, swept Kansas City, and lost 2 of 3 from the Red Sox. After their 5-1 win at Washington tonight, they are 20-22 on the season. At least they have shown that they can defeat bad teams easily (with the exception of the Seattle series), which should help the club remain somewhat respectable even as they limp to yet another fourth place finish.
In the Boston series, predictably, Rodrigo Lopez and Bruce Chen got hit hard, and the Birds lost both games. Lopez now has a 7.46 ERA and has allowed no fewer than 4 earned runs in every one of his 9 starts. Bruce Chen has a 8.23 ERA and hasn't shown any signs of curing his home run problem. With Daniel Cabrera on the Disabled List, it is now time to make some wholesale changes to the rotation. You can't go with a 4 man rotation when half of those involved have ERA's above 7. There are several good options in case the Birds do decide to alter the rotation. Hayden Penn, a call-up last season, has a 1.48 ERA in 5 starts for Triple A Ottawa. There is also the option of moving Kurt Birkins to the starting rotation. He started in Ottawa and posted a 3.20 ERA. However, having his left arm in the bullpen is a huge asset. With those options, it is hard to imagine that Adam Loewen would be called up from Double A Bowie, but in recent years the Orioles have done strange things with call-ups. Lopez and Chen are two of the Orioles most veteran consistent pitchers, but eventually, you have to make a change. We're already though 1/4 of the season. If it were up to me, I'd call up Hayden Penn, and I'd also give John Halama a chance. He's pitched better than his stats indicate.
In other news, I think the most painful team to like in baseball is the Kansas City Royals. This isn't just because of last weekend's series, in which they blow a 7-4 lead in the 9th inning, but in general, they're in even worse shape than Tampa Bay. At least the Devil Rays have a good farm system and good leadership. Allard Baird has destroyed the Royals by trading Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye, and Carlos Beltran for absolutely nothing, and David Glass has proven himself to be one of the cheapest owners in modern memory. He gets millions of dollars from the Yankees every year and does absolutely nothing with it. I think the final straw was in 2003, when everything went right for the Royals yet they only finished 83-79. When your ceiling is 83 wins, it certainly doesn't bode well for your future.
Perhaps that explains the case of Chad Carroll. As Rick Maese wrote in the Baltimore Sun last Sunday, Carroll finally gave up his loyalty to the Royals this year, and sold it, along with his memorabilia, on Ebay for $278.47. Carroll said, "It's their ownership and they're never going away. They all seem to forget that fans own baseball, and every year fans have less and less of a voice. It's not right. The game is being taken away from the fans." The winner, which turned out to be his friends, gets to choose his new team. Now, don't laugh, but one of the major contenders his friends are thinking of is the Orioles.
I'm watching Spurs-Mavs right now, and you've got to give the Spurs credit for hanging around. If they can keep it within 10 to the 4th quarter, I think they're going to take it. They've been overplayed to this point, however.
Song of the Day: "Ohio", by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Written by Neil Young, it's an amazing song about the Kent State shootings that occured in 1970. There are only two paragraphs of lyrics, but the courage Young had to call out Dick Nixon the way he did makes it worth every single line.
In the Boston series, predictably, Rodrigo Lopez and Bruce Chen got hit hard, and the Birds lost both games. Lopez now has a 7.46 ERA and has allowed no fewer than 4 earned runs in every one of his 9 starts. Bruce Chen has a 8.23 ERA and hasn't shown any signs of curing his home run problem. With Daniel Cabrera on the Disabled List, it is now time to make some wholesale changes to the rotation. You can't go with a 4 man rotation when half of those involved have ERA's above 7. There are several good options in case the Birds do decide to alter the rotation. Hayden Penn, a call-up last season, has a 1.48 ERA in 5 starts for Triple A Ottawa. There is also the option of moving Kurt Birkins to the starting rotation. He started in Ottawa and posted a 3.20 ERA. However, having his left arm in the bullpen is a huge asset. With those options, it is hard to imagine that Adam Loewen would be called up from Double A Bowie, but in recent years the Orioles have done strange things with call-ups. Lopez and Chen are two of the Orioles most veteran consistent pitchers, but eventually, you have to make a change. We're already though 1/4 of the season. If it were up to me, I'd call up Hayden Penn, and I'd also give John Halama a chance. He's pitched better than his stats indicate.
In other news, I think the most painful team to like in baseball is the Kansas City Royals. This isn't just because of last weekend's series, in which they blow a 7-4 lead in the 9th inning, but in general, they're in even worse shape than Tampa Bay. At least the Devil Rays have a good farm system and good leadership. Allard Baird has destroyed the Royals by trading Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye, and Carlos Beltran for absolutely nothing, and David Glass has proven himself to be one of the cheapest owners in modern memory. He gets millions of dollars from the Yankees every year and does absolutely nothing with it. I think the final straw was in 2003, when everything went right for the Royals yet they only finished 83-79. When your ceiling is 83 wins, it certainly doesn't bode well for your future.
Perhaps that explains the case of Chad Carroll. As Rick Maese wrote in the Baltimore Sun last Sunday, Carroll finally gave up his loyalty to the Royals this year, and sold it, along with his memorabilia, on Ebay for $278.47. Carroll said, "It's their ownership and they're never going away. They all seem to forget that fans own baseball, and every year fans have less and less of a voice. It's not right. The game is being taken away from the fans." The winner, which turned out to be his friends, gets to choose his new team. Now, don't laugh, but one of the major contenders his friends are thinking of is the Orioles.
I'm watching Spurs-Mavs right now, and you've got to give the Spurs credit for hanging around. If they can keep it within 10 to the 4th quarter, I think they're going to take it. They've been overplayed to this point, however.
Song of the Day: "Ohio", by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Written by Neil Young, it's an amazing song about the Kent State shootings that occured in 1970. There are only two paragraphs of lyrics, but the courage Young had to call out Dick Nixon the way he did makes it worth every single line.
posted by Alex at
11:12 PM
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