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In Baltimore, one of the quirky perks reserved for favorite sports sons is the notion that they're on a first-name basis with the fan base. Say "Brooks," "Cal" or "Boog," and pretty much any Orioles fan will know exactly who you're talking about. No explanation - or last name - is necessary. Same with Earl Weaver, who spent his entire major league managerial career at
The Orioles' loss to Cleveland Thursday night continued a recent slide that has fueled pessimism for some fans. At this exact time of year in 1957, as the O's faced the same team on the diamond, the opposite scenario played out during Baltimore's first non-losing season since moving from St. Louis in 1954. Back then, there was plenty of reason for optimism in June, thanks
Right now, despite the Orioles doing relatively well so far this season, it has been apparent that there's been an issue with the starting pitching outside of Jason Hammel and Wei-Yin Chen. On Tuesday night, southpaw Brian Matusz struggled on the mound again in a loss to the Los Angeles Angels. He gave up five runs in five innings, plus gave up a career-high 13
As fans, we all want the Orioles to win. That's a fair statement, right? In fact, it's probably the only thing we all agree on. Finding common ground can be hard, but there's always the team. We want it to do well and, there, we're actually united. In a lot of ways that's enough. A winning team. It's just sports, after all, right? To some
The Orioles are winning and there have been a lot of heroes during this magic stretch of baseball - Adam Jones, Jason Hammel, Jim Johnson, Matt Wieters. The contributions of those players are obvious. But on any winning club, there are always unsung heroes. And my favorite unsung hero this season has been lefty reliever Troy Patton. But this isn't just about 2012. Truth be
Off-days are nice for a lot of reasons. For the Orioles today, it means resting Matt Wieters after he caught a day game after a night game and had a big day at the plate. It means a chance for the Birds to rest at home before beginning a tough series against some great pitching, including the arms of C.J. Wilson and Jered Weaver. It
Can the Orioles' Chris Davis become the first player to hit the B&O Warehouse with a home run during game action? That's the question I've been asking myself since Davis hit a broken-bat homer June 13 against the Pirates. The display of strength by a power-hitting lefty has had me pondering the possibilities ever since. My prediction, equal parts bold and foolish, is that Davis
It has not been a very good week for the Orioles up in the Big Apple. They did not get beat by the rival Yankees; however, the surprising Mets swept the Birds over a three-game set. Baltimore's offense got stifled by the phenomenal knuckleballer R.A. Dickey and the veteran Johan Santana in the first two games. They made it close in the final contest. As
Every year, as the trade deadline approaches, fans who are fortunate enough to find their team in contention get the luxury of engaging in a fun debate: Should our team be buyers? Should they, in other words, make a play for one or more guys who might take a group from pretty good to very good, possibly playoff good? Or should they stick with what
Is there anything Chris Davis can't do? Even though I held my breath every time a ball was hit to right field this weekend, Davis has added the job skill of "major league right fielder" to his resume. It has been a remarkable season for Davis, as he continues to do things that he has never done before in the majors. He has played the
Today, I told a co-worker that it might be nice to see Jeremy Guthrie back in Baltimore. I'll leave out all the details of her response, but it started with a harsh glare, followed by an "Are you crazy?" look. Granted, the former Orioles ace is not known for his great record or low ERA. But, could he bring some value back to the Orioles
Because of a vendor distribution problem, the Oriole Park 20th anniversary tumbler giveaway scheduled for Saturday, June 23 will not arrive in time to be handed out as originally planned, the Orioles announced Saturday. Instead, those eligible for the original promotion (the first 10,000 fans 15 and over) will receive a "Greetings from Birdland" T-shirt on June 23, along with a voucher to be redeemed
The Orioles tagged Erik Bedard for seven earned runs in 3 1/3 innings Thursday night, hanging a rare interleague loss on the former O's lefty. For his career, Bedard was 9-3 with a 1.86 ERA, 1.011 WHIP and 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings in interleague play prior to last night's game. Some of his finest interleague outings came in Baltimore, including a dominating run through
It has been an extraordinarily good week for the Orioles, as they have shone in interleague play, taking two out of three games from the Phillies and taking the first two in their series against the Pirates. The Orioles had struggled until the middle last week during a brutal stretch, but found a way to turn it on against Boston. As of now, they are
If you use a pen on your calendar - assuming, of course, that you're not one of those tech-savvy folks who keeps all their appointments and events on a smart phone - I've got some news that's going to mean big scratched-out mark on a Saturday in July. The date in question is Saturday, July 14. That's when the Orioles are hosting the Tigers and
Truly, there is nothing else like baseball. Countless sporting trends have risen and fallen since this game arrived in our popular culture. Boxing and horse racing, once huge, today fade even from the margins. Auto racing comes and goes in various forms. Tennis had a moment but can't really make a dent anymore despite the fact that three of the greatest players of all time
They say you never forget your first, and I never forgot Dave Boswell, the first major leaguer I ever met and talked with at length. Boswell died yesterday of an apparent heart attack at 67, and a tweet from Minnesota Twins president Dave St. Peter, followed by a Facebook post from Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, brought the sad news on an already gloomy morning.
Earlier in the season, I wrote about how great the Orioles bullpen was doing and in the weeks since, the relievers have not only kept it up, they have gotten even better. Heading into this evening's game, the Orioles have the best bullpen in baseball in terms of ERA. But what you may not have known is that the Pittsburgh Pirates come to town, and
As a young Orioles fan, I did not have the opportunity to grow up watching the legends that have defined the franchise. Jim Palmer, Frank Robinson, Rick Dempsey and even Cal Ripken Jr. unfortunately do not headline most of the memories that I have of the Birds. While I have grown up hearing and reading about them, I am what you could call Generation Y
When it comes to the All-Star Game, I've always functioned under one simple mantra: one man, one vote. Each summer since balloting was returned to fans in 1970, I've gotten one ballot on a visit to either Camden Yards or Memorial Stadium and punched out my dream team. I usually wait until near the end of the voting - wouldn't want to have an untimely
My baseball memory begins somewhere in the 1980s on 33rd Street. I can remember the first batting practice baseball I caught (Dante Bichette, Milwaukee Brewers), the nachos I helped spill during a rare visit to Memorial Stadium's blue box seats, and the lesson I learned about appropriate ballpark decorum by violating it with an obscene heckle. At its best, the ballpark can teach a kid
Groups are the backbone of baseball attendance numbers. It's a simple equation, really - a block of tickets sold to a group inevitably includes ducats in the hands of casual fans or people who have never been to a game before. They come to a game at a usually discounted price and hopefully like what they see and feel. Amid all the sodas and hot
It seems like Jake Arrieta is doing everything that he can to make people forget that he was the Orioles' opening day starter, who pitched a seven-inning gem on April 6. Although the Birds' ace by title, the struggling right-hander is pitching himself out of the rotation, let alone the No. 1 spot. Currently, Arrieta's WAR (wins above replacement) is -0.2. For the team's supposed
If you think Johns Hopkins University doesn't sound like a perfect venue for baseball discussion, you don't know your Orioles history. Back in the 1960s, then-O's second baseman Davey Johnson studied in the hallowed halls in north Baltimore, poring over statistics en route to an eventual degree in mathematics from Texas' Trinity University. Even back then, Johnson understood ideas like platoons and lefty/righty percentages for
Orioles fans had their pick from Robert Andino, Jake Arrieta, J.J. Hardy, Tommy Hunter and Mark Reynolds. Who's their current favorite? Who did they want to see in bobblehead form? Well, the answer is in, as Hardy has been picked as the AT&T Fans' Choice Bobblehead, which will be given to the first 20,000 fans age 15 and over on Sept. 30 at Camden Yards.
