Former USC running back Reggie Bush will reportedly be stripped of his Heisman Trophy.
Bush says he was promised that any stripping would include one of the Kardashian sisters.
I want to begin my morning by wishing a very Happy Birthday to good friends and former colleagues Jeff Zrebiec and Peter Schmuck.
They were born on the same day, but I'm not sure if they're celebrating together. They usually take turns jumping out of the cake.
With Koji Uehara unavailable last night, I assured a...
The Orioles ran up CC Sabathia's pitch count tonight and watched him walk off the mound in the seventh inning.
Sabathia is gone after 6 1/3, with Nick Markakis' RBI single the final blow. Sabathia will win 20 games this season, but he won't reach that milestone tonight.
What a sweet piece of hitting by Markakis, who again slapped the ball to the left side and through the hole between short and third.
Sabathia allowed nine hits and exited with the Orioles ahead, 6-2. Five of the runs off...
Did that just happen?
The first five batters reached against Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia, as the Orioles bolted to a 3-0 lead. Four of them singled, including Adam Jones, who drove in two runs.
Third base coach Gary Allenson aggressively sent Nick Markakis, who looked like he would be an easy out. The ball arrived in plenty of time, but catcher Jorge Posada couldn't hold onto it.
Posada committed a passed ball earlier in the inning that allowed Brian Roberts to advance to second...
Lou Montanez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk.
What's next for Montanez?
Minor league free agency.
It's not a real important transaction because Norfolk's season is over and Montanez is free to go. And you have to assume that he'll test the waters and try to hook on with another club, since he seems to be boxed out here.
Montanez had never been outrighted before, so he couldn't refuse the assignment. But it's just a technicality. I don't see him remaining in the...
The Orioles activated David Hernandez from the disabled list and recalled left-hander Troy Patton from Triple-A Norfolk and left-hander Pedro Viola from Double-A Bowie.
Maybe Patton will get a chance to pitch this time.
Hernandez will wear No. 29, Patton No. 40 and Viola No. 47.
For the Orioles:
Brian Roberts 2B
Felix Pie LF
Nick Markakis RF
Ty Wigginton 1B
Adam Jones CF
Nolan Reimold DH
Craig Tatum C
Robert Andino SS
Josh Bell 3B
Jake Arrieta RHP
For the Yankees:
Brett Gardner LF
Derek...
I don't know when Pedro Viola will pitch for the Orioles or how he'll fare, but he won't be making his major league debut.
Viola appeared in nine games with the Cincinnati Reds last year, allowing four runs and seven hits in seven innings, with three walks and five strikeouts. He surrendered two home runs, including the first for Colorado's Eric Young Jr.
You can read more about him right here. It's his bio, which must be accurate if it ran in Wikipedia.
The Orioles claimed Viola off...
You ask and I answer. And you ask again.
It's our little dance here at School of Roch, and it's the only cardio I get, so I'm not complaining. My responses often get lost in the comments section, so better to post them here.
"Why do the Orioles keep pitching Kevin Millwood when he isn't part of the future?"
They couldn't trade him and aren't willing to cut him loose unceremoniously. They're more likely to shut down a young starter or two that reaches his pitch limit while working...
Pedro Viola will join the Orioles in New York as an extra bullpen arm, further expanding their September roster.
Viola is on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding move is necessary.
Double-A Bowie's season ended today with a loss to Richmond. Viola was notified after the game that the Orioles had recalled him.
Viola went 0-2 with a 17.65 ERA, 10 walks and eight strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings at Triple-A Norfolk before moving down to Bowie. He was 3-4 with a 3.59 ERA, 19 walks and 64...
0-2.
0-2.
0-2.
Koji Uehara got ahead of all three batters he faced in the ninth inning today.
Throw strikes, work quickly, go out to dinner.
Uehara recorded his seventh save in pretty routine fashion, getting a fly ball and two strikeouts to complete a 4-3 victory over the Yankees. Pinch-hitter Colin Curtis saw three pitches and froze on the last one to end the game.
We're still not calling Uehara the closer. No labels here.
Just saves.
He's converted all seven opportunities since...
I won't detail all 50, but the Orioles covered a few of them in the sixth inning.
They didn't slip out the back, but they definitely should have made a new plan.
A leadoff walk. A wild pitch. The catcher's failure to block a ball in the dirt. The failure to catch a fly ball in shallow left field.
That'll do it.
Brian Matusz walked Nick Swisher to begin the sixth, putting his 3-1 lead in immediate jeopardy. Mark Teixeira singled and a wild pitch move up both runners. Matt Wieters...
Brian Roberts just gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead with a two-out single in the fifth that scored Cesar Izturis from second base.
I thought we'd have a close play at the plate, but Alex Rodriguez cut off Marcus Thames' throw from left field and gunned down Roberts at second for the final out.
Roberts is clearly in pain, wincing and staying bent over as a teammate brought his glove. He made a cautious slide into second, as if trying to lessen the impact of slamming into the bag.
The back might...
The Orioles have put runners on the corners with one out in the second inning and no outs in the third and settled for a 1-0 lead.
Good, but not nearly good enough.
Corey Patterson popped up and Cesar Izturis struck out to end the rally in the second. Josh Bell scored on Felix Pie's double play grounder in the third, moving the Orioles ahead but eliminating the potential for a much bigger inning against A.J. Burnett.
Matt Wieters walked with one out in the fourth and was erased on Ty...
For the Orioles:
2B Brian Roberts
LF Felix Pie
RF Nick Markakis
DH Luke Scott
C Matt Wieters
1B Ty Wigginton
CF Corey Patterson
SS Cesar Izturis
3B Josh Bell
LHP Brian Matusz
For the Yankees:
SS Derek Jeter
RF Nick Swisher
1B Mark Teixeira
3B Alex Rodriguez
2B Robinson Cano
LF Marcus Thames
DH Jorge Posada
C Francisco Cervelli
CF Brett Gardner
RHP A.J. Burnett
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of 2,131, I think we should all run a lap around our houses at exactly the same time. If you're stuck at work, I'm sure your boss will understand if you circle the building.
As I've written in the past, I attended the two games that allowed Cal Ripken to tie and break Lou Gehrig's unbreakable record. I was still working for The Sun, though I wasn't on the Orioles beat. My editors asked me to help out, and I did so with great enthusiasm.
I had to write a...
The official scorer exercised his right to award the win to Alfredo Simon, judging that Jim Johnson and Michael Gonzalez were too ineffective in brief appearances. Once Johnson was skipped, you pick the guy who was the most effective out of the remaining group. It's not real common, but it happens.
Simon turned in a perfect eighth, and Koji Uehara did the same in the ninth by retiring Ben Zobrist, Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria.
"We were all joking, everybody kind of turns when Koji...
Koji Uehara took the ball again today, less than 24 hours after giving up back-to-back home runs.
Uehara closed out an 8-7 victory, earning his sixth save, but he's not the closer. Just the guy who protected a one-run lead in the ninth. That's all. No need to slap a label on him.
This one was easy. Strikeout, pop up and strikeout. Fans were chanting "Koji, Koji, Koji" before the final strike to Evan Longoria.
This season has taken a strange turn in more ways than one.
Alfredo Simon gets...
The Orioles have retaken the lead in the sixth, and the bottom third of the order spirited the comeback.
Admit it, you didn't see that one coming.
Craig Tatum and Cesar Izturis walked with one out against reliever Dan Wheeler. Chad Qualls replaced him and gave up Josh Bell's single to center field on an 0-2 pitch that tied the game.
This was especially significant because Bell had struck out twice against starter Wade Davis, giving him 42 Ks and only two walks in 118 at-bats.
Brian...
Chris Tillman gave up six hits today. Two were triples. Two were home runs.
Not the extra-base ratio he sought in his return to the majors, but the Rays managed only three runs in 5 1/3 innings and he stood to be the winner if the bullpen could hold onto a 4-3 lead.
It didn't. Pinch-hitter Reid Brignac greeted reliever Jim Johnson with a single and B.J. Upton hit a two-run homer, the ball traveling an estimated 410 feet.
Tillman will have to settle for a no-decision.
Evan Longoria's...
Cal Ripken has watched first-round pick Manny Machado at Aberdeen and offers the following scouting report on the young shortstop:
"I like the size, I like the strength. He made a couple of plays in the field really easy, and I like the way the ball jumped off his bat. He's definitely got some good size to him."
A big guy like that can play shortstop?
Ripken smiled.
"A big guy like that can play shortstop," he replied. "He's got the right frame for a shortstop."
Chris Tillman has...
Cal Ripken's ceremonial first pitch was a perfect strike to Jake Fox. Knowing Cal, that shouldn't come as a surprise.
Seeing Fox behind the plate was the shocker. But I digress...
It was nice of the Rays to stand and applaud Ripken as he walked to the mound. They moved to the top step of the dugout. They stopped playing catch. Evan Longoria stood the closest to home plate, and he might have been clapping the hardest.
Buck Showalter was managing the Yankees on the nights that Ripken tied...
