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Interim manager Juan Samuel says he wasn't angry tonight.
I guess I was fooled by the screaming and the way he played long-toss with his cap.
"I just didn't think Kranny deserved to be thrown out," he said, referring to how he rushed the field after pitching coach Rick Kranitz was ejected. "He did not do anything basically to deserve being thrown out. I don't know if they know that they blew the call and fuses were very short.
"Kranny didn't say anything. That's what I was trying to tell (plate umpire) Bill Hohn. Kranny did not say anything. I was trying to tell him, how can you blame Kranny when one of your guys blew the call? Kranny didn't deserve that. He didn't miss the call."
I'm so glad I didn't miss this game.
Ty Wigginton was the first to go after loudly stating his case that J.J Hardy was out at first base.
"We thought Wiggy tagged the guy not once but twice," Samuel said. "Gary (Darling) after watching the replay probably will admit it was a blown call. Unfortunately, it didn't go our way."
Darling told MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski that Wigginton bumped him. He also conceded that he missed the call.
"I did not see Wiggy touch him," Samuel said. "I did not see a replay. I did not see any video. I was just trying to make sure we didn't do something that we would not be proud of. I was trying to restrain him a little bit. I did not see Wiggy touch him."
That's not Darling's version, and Wigginton could be facing a suspension. Chucking the ball in the stands before the inning was over probably earned him a fine.
Melewski will post comments from the umpires room a little later, so be sure to visit his blog.
Chucking the ball in the stands is the cherry on the sundae. Awesome.
I can't wait to see it when I get home from work.
Speaking of which, we get off around the same time, Roch. We should get a beer once I figure out how to bend the space part of the space-time continuum.
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I'm in! - Roch
Hey Roch,
I'm going to be at the game tomorrow. If I wanted to say hello, what do I do? I kinda blew it today. Sorry man.
William
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Just walk through the stands to the front of the press box and give me a shout. See you tonight. - Roch
O's were down 3-0, by the time I got back they were finishing another humbling loss by all appearances. When I scrolled down the box I saw the ejections. Guess I missed the fireworks. It's good to see these guys with some fire. Hope Wiggy isn't suspended.
I, like many other fans, were glad just to see the fire on the team I suppose.
The team was playing with no life, even Markakis who I will defend until I am blue in the face regarding hustle, jogged out a ball tonight.
It was unfortunate that it didn't light a fire to get the team back into the game, especially since Wiggy should be suspended (he appeared to bump Darling twice before Samuel got to them). Not sure what else the team needs to get some life into them.
Another night..........
Another loss..........
Business as usual.
Roch: Did the Orioles ever consider pursuing Pavano over the last two winters? I saw his name on this blog a few times but I presumed there was never serious interest due to his injury history.
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No Brummie, they didn't. - Roch
Hey Roch: We need more emotion, not less. I am sick of losing close calls and seeing strikes four inches off the plate. I get the sense that the Orioles lose the calls, because they are tagged as losers. I hope this is the first of many incidents where we fight for every inch until the fans start sticking their heads out the windows of their homes, screaming, "We are mad as h*** and are not going to take it anymore.!"
Couple of questions on potential trades: The Mets are supposedly taking a hard look at Guthrie, believing he could be much more successful than his record demonstrates. Could be an interesting fit for him with a couple of good prospects coming back. The Padres have supposedly put Tejada at the top of their list, thinking he still has some pop in his bat and can either play third base or coome off the bench as a super reverve with a couple of good prospects coming back our way. Philly apprently walked away from a deal for Wiggy, because the asking price was too high. You think smoke dreams or is there anything to these rumors?
I wil donate my dollar toward any fine that Wiggy may be assessed. It's about time for the O's to show some real fire and passion. Wiggy already had my vote as an Oriole All Star. Now he may be the player of the year!
I totally believe Samuel when he says he was not angry last night. In fact, I think the conversation probably went a little like this:
Samuel: Why did you throw my pitching coach out the game?
Hohn: He made a remark I did not like.
Samuel: What? He did not say anything.
Hohn: I know what I heard.
Samuel (slamming hit cap to the ground): Darn it, Hohn. If you are going to throw anyone out it should be me. I am miserable. I have to sit here and watch this team night after night. I am hungry and I would like to go grab a steak down by the Inner Harbor. I don't want to be anywhere near this place when the game is over."
Hohn: Fine, your outta here.
Samuel (with theatrics): Thank you. It's about time. How's your wife and the rest of your family? I saw a picture of your daughter, she is beautiful. Hey, don't say anything yet. I need to keep pretending I am angry so I can get my money's worth...
A few observations about last night's game and the season.
1. I saw Amber with the box as she left the Pre Game show with Tom Davis. She was guarding it with her life and how see kept it away from Tom, I don't know. G&M's are great, but so is Pappas. And, if you would like to take a short ride, try Friendly Farms up I-83.
2. I've come to the conclusion that the hitters on this team are down right in a "fantasy land". Millwood threw 35 pitches in the first inning and should have been out of it but Pie didn't react to the line drive in time and the problems started there. His misplay caused Millwood to throw 20 or more pitches.
3. After throwing 35 pitches in the first inning, what did his teammates do? Pie, 1 pitch. Miggy 2 pitches, Nick 2 pitches. That's 5 pitches from the Birds and Millwood didn't have time to wipe the sweat off his face. Whatever happened to "taking some pitches to give you pitcher a break?"
If I'm a pitcher on this "team", beit, young or veteran, it's got to be in the back of your mind, "if I don't throw a shutout, we're in trouble. Or, if I allow 1 or 2 runs, we're going to lose". Since we have so many people playing out of position how can a pitcher feel comfortable throwing a pitch and not knowing whether his fellow teammates are going to make the play or not? If you think back, most problems develop when a player behind the pitcher doesn't make the play and all hell break loose. Just like last night. Pie doesnt' make the play because he didn't pick the ball up off the bat and made an a nice effort to catch the ball, but it was too late. This team needs a lot of work and I hope SOMEBODY sees it.
JO
As much as I love to criticize officials (I'm proud to say that I've DVR'd games I've been at and when I've watched the games again I've heard my voice from the stands yelling at the umps during down times), I do believe that most of them are at the very least fair. However I think that teams' reputations probably precede them. As an example, the Orioles are a team that consistently swings at bad pitches out of the zone. So I think a lot of umpires subconsiously know that, hence so many strike calls off the plate. Furthermore, most of the time when teams appeal down the base lines on a check swing, the call goes against us. The Orioles also have a reputation as a team that makes a lot of errors; so in Darling's mind Minnesota got the benefit of the doubt there. I will give Darling credit for saying that he blew the call, but that doesn't help at the time. As a result, one of our players might get suspended, and we lost two of our coaches. (And does anyone not think that the league wouldn't make an example out of a guy on a team that isn't in contention seeing that it won't affect any penant races?) I do agree that fans and analysts should scream about these kinds of things to the highest mountaintops, because perhaps something will get done to remedy it. Jim Hunter started down that path on O's Xtra last night. I've said this on a couple of different outlets, but when I saw his rant after the game, I stood and applauded in my living room.
JO, I've thought that about the hitters' impatience for a while now. We have a pitcher who labors thru a tough inning, and then our hitters go down on something like 6-8 total pitches. That's terrible. You have to protect your pitcher there, give him a break, let him calm down and catch his breath. Our hitters, as good as some of them are, just don't seem to understand basic baseball things like that, which is a manifestation of not taking pitches in general, and not having a plan at the plate.
As for the ejections, they were great theatre. I admit I haven't been a fan of Samuel, especially since the break, but he did the right thing twice last night. He protected his player, and argued on behalf of his coach, knowing he'd get tossed one of those times. Good for him. I haven't seen the players quit on Samuel or the season yet, and Wigginton's outburst at that hideously bad call was just another example. They keep playing hard, and while I really don't like Samuel as a manager, he has to deserve some of the credit for that.
I agree - umpires are human, and while they honestly try to be fair, they are also subject to fall victim to their own expectations. Oriole pitchers had a horrible string of leading the league in walks for several years, and I think that still haunts us (borderline pitch, we're less likely to get the call). The Yankees have been a good team for ages, close calls will go their way (in a sense, it's the umpires playing the percentages).
I don't recall the source (FanGraphs, probably) but there was an article on umpire's strike zone calls by count. It was pretty crazy - with a 3-0 count, the called strike zone expanded by a large factor (50%, if memory serves). Conversely, on 0-2 it contracted (33% rings a bell here). The article took a slant about sympathy (help a pitcher in trouble, help a batter in trouble) but I think it's expectation. What do you do, as a pitcher, on 3-0? You serve up a strike. Everyone expects it, you throw that fastball, it's confirmation, and the strike call is automatic. What do you do when ahead 0-2? You throw something out of the zone to get the hitter to chase.
Yet another reason why this season has been so painful. We were getting a little buzz as an improving team with a future, I believe it would have helped us out with some calls. That's gone now.
No Brummie, they didn't. - Roch
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Just can't resist to.....LOL
First there were women disguises; now Shakespearean characters. Apropos it was a villain.
"Lord what fools these mortals be"
Jack Webb: Hey, I just figured it was time for a new name. But you reciting Shakespearian lines on here?
“I am not what I am".
"We cannot all be masters, nor all masters cannot truly be followed. "