Standing Pat

If you had told me a few months ago that 4 PM on July 31st would come and go with the Orioles making no significant moves, I would have thought you were crazy. Instead, it happened today. And it makes perfect sense. And this is what makes me feel better about it:

Despite not making any moves at baseball's non-waiver trade deadline, Orioles club president Andy MacPhail said today that the plan to build for the future is still in place. It's just that he didn't believe any of the offers he fielded matched his inventory.

"We had opportunities to do something stupid and we didn't do it," said MacPhail, in a teleconference roughly an hour after the trade deadline passed.

Let's face it; how many times have the Orioles done something stupid at the trading deadline (or, frankly, at other times) and done it. The last time the Orioles made a deal that could have made a significant impact was trading Larry Bigbie at the 2005 deadline to Colorado for Eric Byrnes, who was non-tendered at the arbitration deadline, anyway. And the last time the Orioles had a veteran they traded at the deadline was five years ago, when Sidney Ponson was shipped to the Giants for Kurt Ainsworth (pitched 33 innings for the Orioles), Damian Moss (made 10 starts, got nontendered, and washed out with Tampa Bay in 2004, and the start of the trade, prospect Ryan Hannaman (who last pitched professional with Frederick in 2004).

I'm glad to see that MacPhail could have pulled the trigger, but didn't just trade guys for the sake of trading guys. The veterans who could help a club this year (Huff, Payton, Millar, Hernandez, maybe Mora, Bradford, and Walker) will all clear waivers anyway and there is always the possibility that Brian Roberts, George Sherrill, or others could be traded for more significant pieces in the offseason.

Besides, not tearing the team apart will help morale and hopefully help the team reach .500 at the end of the season. Which, considering what I said in March, is a pretty damn big fear.

We could see it coming

This, unfortunately, was a foregone conclusion:

The Orioles announced today that they have designated right-handed pitcher Steve Trachsel for assignment and selected the contract of first baseman Oscar Salazar from Triple-A Norfolk.

Trachsel, 37, was 2-5 with an 8.39 ERA in 10 games (8 starts) this season.

I have no earthly idea why they brought up Salazar, of all people, a guy who hasn't played in the majors in six years. Nor do I have any idea why they didn't call up an infielder who was already on the 40-man roster (Eider Torres, Scott Moore), another left-handed hitting outfielder (Jeff Fiorentino) or add somebody more useful to the 40-man roster (Mike Costanzo, Chris Roberson).

Sad to see Trachsel go, but the pitching staff is developing just fine and there is really no need for him to take up any more space on the active roster...

YES! YES! YES!

This may be the most important news for the Orioles yet:

After 36 years, it appears as if the city's name will make a return to the Orioles' road uniforms.

The Sun has learned that the Orioles are in the process of filing the required paperwork with Major League Baseball to add "Baltimore" to their road jerseys, replacing the nickname of the club that has adorned the away uniforms since 1973, according to a source with knowledge of the plans. The uniform change would go into effect for the 2009 season.

Words cannot possibly describe how important and awesome this truly is. All I can say is that it's about damn time......

That's 7 of 8.....

.....and it just makes you want to sing (I'm just happy I finally found this in a form that can be embedded):

Orioles Magic 2008
Uploaded by gatecitycanes

Quarterpole

We are one-fourth of the way into this pretty surprising Orioles season, considering even eternal fans like this guy were prediction doom, gloom, and 107 losses.

What is shocking about the Orioles 21-19 start has less to do with the fact that this team is 2 over .500, but the fact that this team is far from firing on all cylinders:

• Nick Markakis is only hitting .261, and is 1 for his last 17
• Ramon Hernandez has been hurt off and on, and is hitting .211
• The .246 team batting average is third worst in the American League
• Luke Scott has the highest average on the team at .271.....despite hitting .198 in the last month, hitting .133 against lefties, and .194 on the road
• Steve Trachsel......'nuff said.

The fact of the matter is that despite that, this team can win ball games, even if they spot the defending champs a 3-0 lead two nights in a row. The bullpen has been mostly phenomenal, the starting pitching has done its job (keeping us in games) and the team is playing with confidence. It has been a fun group to watch.

Now, at the quarterpole, let's talk about the Most Valuable Orioles for 2008:

1. Dave Trembley: Sure, he isn't an active player. But it is hard to argue with the impact he has had on this club. Remember, the preponderance of players on this 2008 team were also on the 2007 team; that team was nine games out 40 games in, and was 11 games under .500 when Sam Perlozzo got canned. Trembley has had a year and a Spring Training to implement his philosophy and his system with his staff and his players. It's working.
   
2. Jim Johnson: Where would the bullpen be without this guy? He was a starter in the minors and had brief cameos in '06 and '07, but he has been the stopper out of the bullpen this year, including his amazing duel with Manny Ramirez on Tuesday that ended with a 1-2-3 double play to kill a Red Sox rally.
   
3. George Sherill: Sure, it hasn't been pretty, but Sherill has stepped into the closers role and gotten the job done when it counts.
   

2008 has been more than we can ask for. Let's hope it keeps up. But remember this: the 2002 overachieving squad got to 63-63 on August 23rd, only to go 4-32 down the stretch, so we're not even close to seeing this team be where it needs to be quite yet...

Bad Planning

Just because Andy MacPhail is in charge doesn't mean mistakes don't get made:

For one day, Adam Jones will get to pay homage to a hero. Jones, Baltimore's 22-year-old center fielder, was chosen as his team's representative to wear No. 42 Tuesday on Jackie Robinson Day, a tribute to one of the game's greatest legends. Jones, who has read several books about Robinson, termed the opportunity "a tremendous honor."

Good for Jones. Why is this a mistake? It's not Jones' fault. It's just the fact that Tuesday is Adam Jones t-shirt night, so the player of honor will not even be wearing the number that he normally wears, the one that will be on the t-shirt being given out to fans.

Most years, the O's would get beat up for such a mistake, but having the best record in baseball helps...

Good Things to Come

See the future:

(Matt) Wieters, the fifth overall pick out of Georgia Tech last June, homered in each of his first two official professional at-bats after walking in the opening inning, leading the host Keys to a 7-3 win over Lynchburg in the Single-A Carolina League opener for both teams.

While his first homer, an opposite-field shot down the right-field line, barely cleared the fence, his second - a shot to left - sailed over a 28-foot fence behind the outfield wall.

Awesome...

55-107

You can never really discount the optimism one has on Opening Day, when all 30 teams and all of their fans can wax poetic about how this is their year to win the World Series. Of course, if you are a realistic Orioles fan, you've probably come to grips with the fact that this is not going to happen in 2008. Or 2009. Or probably 2010.

I for one, wouldn't have it any other way. Finally, despite my own worries, andy MacPhail has is fully in charge of baseball operations. This is his project. He is the one who got a load of prospects and players for both Erik Bedeard and Miguel Tejada, and hopefully soon Brian Roberts as well. MacPhail is calling the shots and for once, the Orioles rebuilding project looks like it is going in the right direction.

It is going to come at a short term price, however. The team is going to be bad this year. The starting pitching from top to bottom is suspect. Beyond Roberts and Markakis, the hitting his worrisome. Luis Hernandez as the starting shortstop troubles me given his play in the spring. We still have $13 million tied up in albatrosses Aubrey Huff and Jay Gibbons. This season is going to be rough, and I think 55 wins is probably the most one can reasonably expect from this team. I hope they prove me wrong.

The future is where the focus should be on. We've got Markakis, and we've got Adam Jones. But we also have a load of prospects on the way: Radhames Liz, Hayden Penn, Cory Doyne, Chorye Spoone, Bob McCrory, Brandon Erbe, Chris Tillman, Billy Rowell, Brandon Snyder, Nolan Reimold, and of course Matt Wieters. We are fortunate that we have this future to look forward to it what is going to be a rough and tumble present...

Attention Getter

If there is one thing that Orioles OF Luke Scott (left) is known for, it has little do with his baseball prowess. Acquired from Houston in the Miguel Tejada trade, people know Scott less for the fact that he hit 31 homers for Round Rock in the Pacific Coast League in 2005, and more for the fact that Scott chooses to avail himself of a fundamental Constitutional right.

So it was probably only a matter of time before we saw a story like this from Sun reporter Jeff Zrebiec:

Orioles manager Dave Trembley knew about the intensity, all-out hustle and powerful uppercut swing. But he still had one question about his new left fielder, so he approached Luke Scott while Scott was shagging fly balls last week.

"Talk to me about the gun situation," Trembley said to Scott.

Trembley, who has never fired a gun and joked that he wouldn't know the difference between a water pistol and a BB gun, had read about Scott's thoughts on gun control and about how the player almost always carries a concealed firearm...

..."He very quickly said to me, 'Second Amendment, right to bear arms,' " Trembley recalled. "He said it's not a big deal. He'll never have one here. To me, it's a nonissue."

Obviously it's an issue to somebody on Calvert Street, or else the story would not have wound up in the paper.

To be fair to Zrebiec, he at least went out to detail some of the reasons that ballplayers just might want to be prepared to defend themselves:

[Nick] Markakis said he was at a gas station in Georgia five or six years ago when somebody who was armed tried to force his way into his truck. Markakis, who didn't have a gun in his car, got away unscathed, but the day left an impression on him.

A similar incident helped persuade Scott to obtain a handgun. Scott, then a student at Indian River (Fla.) Community College, was at a party in Delray Beach when somebody pulled a gun on him....

....Scott told of one situation several years back when he was at a Houston gas station and was confronted by a man carrying a shank.

"I didn't pull my gun on him," Scott said. "I would have if he had gotten close enough, and I would have shot him if he wouldn't have backed off. But all I had to do was lift up my shirt and put my hand on [the gun] and I said, 'Can I help you?' He stopped in his tracks. Who knows what that saved me?

Scott's position on guns was also chronicled a few years back on an ESPN story about athletes and guns.

I take solace in the fact that ballplayers are exercising their Constitutional rights and that the Orioles have several players like Scott, Markakis, and Jamie Walker who are willing to speak out about their experiences and why they choose to protect themselves. I just find it somewhat puzzling that the story about Scott's outspoken view on gun rights and self-defense drew attention now, in the middle of Spring Training, as opposed to back in December when the trade happened.

I'm lumping three sports topics together

Orioles: Orioles bring back Steve Trachsel. Well, that's the move that'll put us over the top in the AL East.

All kidding aside, we needed a veteran starter, and he came cheap. No harm no foul.

NFL: Steelers to keep grass. That's completely ridiculous, because I think the Pasadena Chargers play youth football on a better field over at Lake Waterford Park than the Steelers play on at Heinz Field. It's a completely bush league situation.

Baseball: John Rocker says Selig knew he was on steroids. Enh. It's John Rocker. How credible is it?

Our long national nightmare is over.....

Erik Bedard is finally a Seattle Mariner:

Erik Bedard, the Orioles' first true ace since Mike Mussina, was traded today to the Seattle Mariners for five players, including promising young outfielder Adam Jones.

The Orioles also will receive left-handed reliever George Sherrill and three pitching prospects -- Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolio and Tony Butler.

The move caps months of trade dialogue surrounding the 28-year-old Bedard, the left-hander who attracted inquiries from more than 10 teams after a season in which he went 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA and set a single-season franchise record with 221 strikeouts.

And for once with an Orioles deal, everybody loves the trade.

Now, we unload Brian Roberts to the Cubs as I mentioned before, and we can finally, after ten years, allow the rebuilding to begin...

Maybe things are looking up

If the Orioles can ever getting around to sealing the deal on this godforsaken Erik Bedard to Seattle trade, maybe things really will start to turn around down at the Yard. Check out what Jayson Stark says:

One other thing we should mention: Every baseball man we've polled rates the Orioles' return for Bedard as being vastly superior to the Twins' return for Johan Santana, assuming the rumored names are correct.

Adam Jones "oozes tools," said one scout. Another had this review: "I think he'll be a very good offensive player, with exceptional defense." Jones has been compared to both Torii Hunter and Mike Cameron. But the second scout said: "He could be better than either one of those guys." And the primary pitching piece, Chris Tillman, is such a scout favorite that one says: "When it's all said and done, he'll be the one guy in this deal everybody talks about."

We can only hope. But I still prefer unloading Bedard a year early and getting good to great prospects in return than taking him into the season and trying deal him before July 31st during his walk year, or even worse getting nothing for him but a compensatory draft pick if he were to leave in free agency.

But having Adam Jones in center and Nick Markakis in right for the next ten years sounds like a plan to me...

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen good bye

And Good Riddance:

Two years after he first suggested that he'd benefit from a change of scenery, Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada finally got his wish as he was traded to the Houston Astros today in president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail's boldest move to date.

In return for the four-time All-Star, the Orioles will get outfielder Luke Scott, pitchers Matt Albers, Troy Patton and Dennis Sarfate, and third baseman Michael Costanzo.

And the best news of all:

The Astros will assume the $26 million left on Tejada's contract.

This is fantastic. Of course, I said trade him two years ago when he started fussing about wanting out. His value was certainly higher then.

Kujan is happy, and notes that if Bedard and Mora also get traded that it means that we'll get a great haul of prospects to build for the future. If MacPhail can trade Melvin Mora for anything useful, we should have a parade given the amount of money Mora still has on his contract as his usefulness continues to decline...

Gee, never saw this coming....

....or, maybe we did:

Major League Baseball today suspended Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons 15 days, beginning with the start of the 2008 season, for violating the league's drug policy. Gibbons admitted to The Sun today that he had used hGH.

Gibbons had not previously addressed allegations that he received a shipment of steroids and hGH from a raided Florida pharmacy. Gibbons and Kansas City Royals outfielder Jose Guillen, who was also given a 15-day ban today, are the first players to be suspended without failing a drug test.

"I am deeply sorry for the mistakes that I have made," Gibbons said. "I have no excuses and bear sole responsibility for my decisions. Years ago, I relied on the advice of a doctor, filled a prescription, charged the hGH, which is a medication, to my credit card and had only intended to help speed my recovery from my injuries and surgeries. I hope that my family, teammates, fans and [Orioles owner] Peter Angelos and the entire Orioles organization will accept my apologies and that we can all move on."

Now if we can only get out from under that contract....

The greatest Orioles news in forever

And it's because of this:

The Florida Marlins and Detroit Tigers have agreed in principle on a trade that will send Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit for key prospects, sources told ESPN's Peter Gammons on Tuesday.

The Tigers would send outfielder Cameron Maybin, pitcher Andrew Miller, catcher Mike Rabelo and minor league pitchers Eulogio De La Cruz, Dallas Trahern and Burke Badenhop to the Marlins.

The deal is expected to be announced Tuesday night when the physicals and paperwork are completed.

Why this does this matter to us? It means that, with Detroit coming out of nowhere to consummate the Cabrera trade, that the Angels, Dodgers, and a few other teams still are in the market for a right-handed hitting infield bat. And that means that the likelihood of a trade sending Miguel Tejada out of Baltimore are very, very good at the moment.

But if they send Erik Bedard to the Dodgers or to Toronto, they better get a massive haul (let's just say Matt Kemp and Jonathan Broxton good; anything involving A.J. Burnett, bad....)

The Cabrera Bunch

Daniel Cabrera and Fernando Cabrera combined to give up 13 runs, 11 of them earned, during tonight's 18-6 blowout by the Angels.

This season cannot end soon enough...

Good Grief

It was nice that the Orioles had not been shut-out all year coming into the day. But did we really have to get no-hit by a kid making his second major league appearance? Did we really need that after the season we have had?

And yes, if you are an O's fan you've seen this movie before...

It wasn't cute the first time

Following up last week's 30-3 debacle with an 11-run 8th inning against Tampa Bay, turning a 6-3 lead into a 14-6 deficit, is probably not what anybody associated with the Orioles franchise needed. Trust me, it wasn't cute last week and the continued bullpen debacles are really losing their novelty...

Augustus Minimus

The Orioles are getting into this uncanny habit of having really bad Augusts:

August 1998: 14-14
August 1999: 12-16
August 2000: 14-15
August 2001: 11-16
August 2002: 14-16
August 2003: 11-20
August 2004: 13-15
August 2005: 11-17
August 2006: 12-14
August 2007: 8-15

Unsurprisingly, the last time the Orioles play over .500 baseball in August was....1997. Hard to go wire-to-wire and not play .500 in August.

And August, 2002 was a special case since the time sat at 14-6 on August 23rd, and not only finished the month under .500, but went 4-32 to finish the year...

I'm not even sure how to fix it. Certainly, it is not impeding their ability to compete for playoff spots, however it is somewhat indicative of the last ten years of mediocrity O's fans have been subjected to...

Panic Mode?

Is this a desperation move?:

Right-hander Radhames Liz will make his major league debut Saturday, starting for the Baltimore Orioles against the Minnesota Twins.

It will be the first time in his three-year professional career that Liz will pitch above the Class AA level. The 24-year-old is 11-4 with a 3.22 ERA this season with Double-A Bowie. He leads the Eastern League with 161 strikeouts (in 137 innings) and pitched a no-hitter on June 1 against Harrisburg.

I know that it's hard to call a move to call up a 24-year old rookie from AA a desperation move for a team that has lost four in a row and is 14 games out of the Wild Card. And it's not like there were any alternatives on the 40-man roster. But it seems that purchasing the contract of a starter from Norfolk such as 35-year old Tim Kester or 27-year old Aussie Craig Anderson may have made more short-term sense than the still raw Liz. Particularly given how late-season, emergency starters such as Hayden Penn, Brian Sackinsky, John O'Donoghue, etc. have worked out over the years....