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Archive for the 2008 Season Category

Congratulations Trembley

19. June 2008 by Crys.

Today, June 18 marks the one year anniversary of Dave Trembley serving as the Orioles manager. Earlier this season, I started a post of the “how we love you, let us count the ways” genre, but I realized I needed more time to create a proper list honoring him. He has done so much to create a team, a roster of players who have chemistry, work well together and can depend on each other. Each member of this team contributes. Trembley has worked to bring back the “Oriole Way,” making sure that the players have the right attitude. And, it’s worked. You can see it on the field. I could go on, but there’s so much to say about Trembley and I want to say it properly.

It was appropriate that to mark Trembley’s anniversary, the Orioles won. When? In the bottom of the 10th, of course, because that’s how fabulous this team is. Today also marks another anniversary that we’ve all agreed to never mention again. Isn’t it wonderful how far this team has come in a year!

How far it’s come indeed. Guthrie pitched an outstanding game. Eight full innings, striking out eight batters and surrendering only one run. Bradford pitched beautifully for the ninth and tenth, giving triple hot Sherrill the night off.

Some other highlights of the game were when the camera happened to be pointed on Astros’ first baseman Erstrad just as he was adjusting his misters. I’m sorry, but that was funny. In the bottom of the ninth, something fascinating had the fans watching an unseen events in the stands instead of the game. We didn’t get to see the action, but I’m sure a Red Sox fan was involved.

Finally, in case anyone was counting, the camera panned to the dugout, showing a hatless Sherrill five times. It was a great game all the way around!

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Sherrill, WB Tribute, and 2008 Magic

18. June 2008 by Crys.

Tonight was Wild Bill Hagy night at Camden Yards. There was only one appropriate way to honor him besides giving away t-shirts and that was by finishing the game with a come from behind win. If Jones had surrendered his number 10 jersey to Terry Crowley, and Crowley had driven in several RBIs, it couldn’t have been more reminiscent of those days of magic with Wild Bill leading us. What’s even better than the magic of the seventies is that this team, this year, is just as much fun to watch as they have ever been on the heels of one of their worst years ever (their worst year, surely?).

Each game offers something new too. Tonight I saw something that I swear is completely brand new. The Astros pitcher wasn’t happy with home plate ump Ed Hickox’s call and responded by making an aggressive gesture of sorts. It wasn’t “the Bird” or anything, but I can’t tell you exactly what it was since the viewing audience never had the pleasure to see it. I’d love to know actually because it so riled Hickox that he started for the mound! He had to be held back by the Astros catcher. It raises the question, can an ump be ejected for starting a fight and if so, who gets to eject him? Another ump? Trembley? If an umpire is ejected from the game are there backups?

Of course, there are other details about the game that are more exciting than a little umpire misconduct. The Orioles did great, Mora is a hero, I couldn’t love Luke Scott more, this team is definitely going to the World Series, yada, yada. Let’s skip ahead to talk about Sherrill. After Sunday’s game, I read that he admitted to having a tired arm. I was glad that there was an explanation. Let’s give the guy a break. After all, did you know that he has the second highest number of saves in the American League? He pitches every day, he’s going to have an off one, right?

Before tonight, I might have been wont to say something irrational and unforgiving like, “I don’t understand the game today. Savers pitch one inning. I don’t understand it.” Tonight however, I saw Sherrill in the dugout without his cap. Let’s just say it put everything in a whole new light. Earlier tonight, my husband and I had a little laugh when he nudged me with a wink about an upcoming event, “Sherrill giveaway day…” He’s heard me complain many a night and knows that I’d be more likely to set fire to a Sherrill t-shirt as an outlet for my torment than wear one.

But that was before. I’m a reasonable person and open to re-evaluating my position. I decided to give it a little more thought and you know, it turns out, I just might like to have that t-shirt. And maybe a poster. They still sell milk in Baltimore, right? Oh yeah. I’m on board.

Sherrill ended the game with a beautiful strikeout, the kind where, for all three strikes the batter whips the bat with an assured swing that only makes contact with air.

I’ll hug and squeeze him and call him George.

Cabrera HBP: 14. He didn’t pitch tonight, but he has the ability to increase his HBP count on his night off.

Note: Don’t worry, my husband lives what for him is the wretched experience of watching the Orioles every single night. He’s not troubled to read my endless blog entries about it. This will be our little secret.

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10-6

11. June 2008 by Crys.

Yesterday was almost as good as it gets. Cabrera added one to his HBP count, always a bonus when we’re playing the Red Sox. If Payton had hit a grand slam, well, that would have been decoration on the cake. As it was, the cake was iced and it was delicious. Shut up the Red Sox fans in their own stadium delicious. The only thing that could have made it better is if it had been a shutout and Fenway had been full of loud Orioles fans for the entire nine innings. Oh, and for the seventh inning stretch, “Thank God, I’m a Country Boy” blaring over the loudspeakers. Now that! That would be heaven.

Don’t think I don’t have plans to organize such an event one day.

Then again, I’m the same person who still, depressingly, has a very unhappening Orioles Meetup group, that let me add, I’m still paying for, and for which I even ran a three-week ad in Creative Loafing to generate interest. All the time I meet people who say, “I know such-and-such and he’s a rabid Orioles fan,” but where these people hide, I don’t know. Shouldn’t MASN be my partner, run a free pity ad for me or something? It would generate viewership for them. As a loyal Orioles fan, you know that I’m not the sort of person who gives up on things easily, but I may be about to throw in the towel on this one.

Who am I kidding? I could have skipped that whole last paragraph. No full disclosure needed. You know by now not to take anything I say seriously. But, just because I’m a failure at things doesn’t mean I can’t find a new way to disappoint myself. I’m not beyond throwing money at hopeless ventures like trying to organize a bus trip to Fenway from Baltimore. I can see it now. I’d be the only person on the bus, shivering from the over air-conditioning, my head leaning despondently on the tinted window, bus flying up I-95 and then probably driving off into a ditch.

On a brighter note, I’m sure you’ve seen that Trachsel is leaving us. On the one hand, I’m like “woohoo” and on the other I feel like a mean, bad person for speaking so disparagingly of him. It’s just that we really need another great starter. Cabrera seems to have lost some of his early oomph and is worrying me that he won’t be our dependable ace, the one who strikes fear in batters. Well, he may do that now, but not for the reasons I want. Batters shouldn’t come to the plate with a realistic fear of being issued a contusion or a concussion. That’s really not how the game is supposed to be played, despite my sinister delight when it happens with certain teams. I’m counting on Cabrera to find himself again so that this season can turn out as predicted.

Along those lines in case anyone thinks we need to trade Roberts, that answer is, “No!” Yes, I admit I was wrong about Bedard, but I’m not about this. Roberts is a veteran and we need a veteran on the team. He is the modern Al Bumbry, who sported the same number and has the same stature, same discipline at the plate, and the same great base stealing ability. Only the position he plays is different. And maybe the color of his skin. We need our Bumbry. We must not trade him.

Aren’t you glad that I don’t own the Orioles? But if I did, I can tell you certain songs that would never be played and certain merchandise that would never be sold in our stadium.

Posted in Boston Sucks, All is Right, 2008 Season | Print | No Comments »

Pinch Me!

21. May 2008 by Crys.

I’ve been telling my friends for the last week that we were going to crush the Ys this series, but WOW!

I’m busy packing for a vacation, so I paused the television so that I could watch the game after I was done deliberating what to leave behind in order to squeeze everything into one measly bag. (I’m an American female, this is so unfair!) While I wasn’t chaperoning the television, the naughty thing changed the channel. Apparently we have two programs set to record at eight o’clock (American Idol Finale and Nova (of course)). My husband, wonderful man that he is, alerted me to the crisis and gave me a choice, cancel Nova or forego watching the game. “Uh…uh…uh…” I stammered.

I decided to log into the MLB audio and when I did, I discovered the score as of the second inning. Naughty, naughty television for depriving me of seeing a nine to nothing lead in the second inning!

Am I dead? “But I still go to work every day,” I answered my own question. Maybe heaven isn’t the perfect utopia we imagine. Maybe that would be boring and depressing. Maybe it’s the struggles, the challenges big and small that keep us awake and pushing ourselves, the fleeting victories that give us a temporary feeling of satisfaction, the feeling of appreciation that comes in between the exhaustion of the rest of it, maybe that’s where heaven lies.

I don’t know. I only know this is sweet for as long as it lasts. Sweet just the other side of heaven.

As I typed the last sentence, Kevin Millar hit a solo to make the score 10-0, and just a moment ago Cabrera beaned Jeter hard enough to send him out of the game.

Remind me. Who was meant to be in last this season, and who was meant to go to the World Series?

I have to return to packing now. If you find an eerie silence emanating from this url, look for me at Nomadic Traveler for the next week. I’ll leave it a mystery as to where we’re going, mostly because I know very little. My husband has planned some secret, surprise adventure. I love surprises, and I love vacations. I love this game! I love this team! I hope there is a heaven and I hope it’s this good.

Posted in All is Right, 2008 Season | Print | 1 Comment »

Today’s Game

8. May 2008 by Crys.

I had to leave the office early for an emergency at home that began with “Orioles” and ended with “vs. Oakland.” Today’s game was pretty good. We came from behind and took the lead, in the seventh, I think it was. (I’m feeling too lazy to look it up.) Then the rest of the game was…, and here, I’ve been struggling most of the night to find the right word to describe it, but it rhymes with “SCHMOD” and “SCHMAMMIT!!!!!”

Yes, Oakland won again in the bottom of the 10th. I was really bummed too because I wanted to know if Roberts would have to bat again. My husband often asks me to explain the rules. (I never realized there are so many.) Today I figured out one rule I don’t know. Roberts was in the middle of his at bat when Hernandez was thrown out at first base (schmammit!). It was the third out. Would Roberts come up to bat in the 11th, starting with the same count? I’m racking my brain, but I don’t know the answer. It’s such a rare thing or I really don’t pay very close attention. How do I not know that?

Anyway, the game ended with some Oakland schmain in the schmass (not bothering to look it up) hitting a homerun to left field. The first camera angle didn’t show the ball bouncing off the foul pole, only it landing to the left side of it in the stands. I couldn’t figure out how it could be a homerun and thought I was really losing it, like there was some other really obscure rule that I know nothing about, or that everyone on the field was drugged up or crazy. I have to be honest, I often feel like the rest of the world is crazy and acts in a bizarre manner, so it wasn’t really that disconcerting. I’m kind of used to it.

We had our way with Oakland last year. I suppose I shouldn’t have assumed this series would be the same. Tomorrow is a fresh start, hopefully one that includes more RBIs when we have men on base!

Posted in Loss Column, 2008 Season | Print | No Comments »

79 Orioles vs Oakland

6. May 2008 by Crys.

Do you know who the American League is afraid of now? The Orioles. Yeah, buddy, you heard me right. This is the ‘79 Orioles all over again, and very, very different from the ‘07 Gift Lead to Opposing Team Orioles.

The Orioles tied up the game with Oakland 1-1, in the top of the ninth. The bottom of the ninth was full of Orioles magic. Melvin Mora wished a soft infield hit over the foul line, Roberts made an outstanding diving catch that prevented a go-ahead run, and Luiz Hernandez made the third out before Emil Brown on third could advance…

What you just read was the post I composed last night in preparation for our win. Sometime after one a.m., before the bottom of the 10th, I set the DVR to record and went to bed, sure that this morning I would have a victory to rejoice. For breakfast, I sat down with my bowl of cereal and turned on the game thinking that I might have several innings to watch in order to see the ending. It took five minutes. Emil Brown drove in the final run for Oakland.

Oh well.

We really need to work on not leaving so many men stranded on base. Really need to work on that. On a positive note, Garrett Olson gets two thumbs up in his first outing.

Enthusiasm undampened. World Series baby. World Series.

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A few errors

5. May 2008 by Crys.

We lost. Huh!

Huh!

The Angels beat us 6-5. Well, I suppose it had to happen. It may be true that I can’t accurately predict everything that happens with the Orioles. There were a few missteps, or should I say, “mis-runs.” Ramon thought he hit a homerun so was casually trotting his way to second when he realized the ball was in play. Oops! His last minute acceleration to make it to second safely wasn’t fast enough. It happens.

These silly mistakes the Os are making have been relatively minor compared to some of the fielding errors last season. Better to figure this stuff out early in the season.

No worries. The team has been studying. Payton was smokin today. It will all be okay. It will.

Oh yeah, and about Trachsel. Um…need a better starter.

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Cheating Umps are Crap!

3. May 2008 by Crys.

Up until the last inning tonight, the Orioles played great ball. I’m loving most of the team, but I have to say that I’m really not feeling it for Sherrill. I don’t understand what all the hoopla is about him yet. It’s almost as bad as watching Don Stanhouse. Only Sarfate (and Aquino) are (were) worse. (Enter McCrory.) I’m listening to Jim Hunter talk about him now, “and he pitches so well.” So well? Did he say, “So well?” What am I missing? How about a reliever who doesn’t give you a knot in your stomach?

I should mention that I’m typing this post immediately following the ending of the game, and I’m still wiping the sweat from my brow. Here’s how it went down. Guthrie pitched eight outstanding innings. Eight! Bradford and Walker pitched the rest of the eighth. Then Sherrill came in in the ninth.

It was no easy 1, 2, 3. No. Bad things happened and Tori Hunter scored in a call that after rewinding my DVR several times, I still can’t understand. The ball was way ahead of the runner, and Hernandez’s foot was on the plate from the angles I could see. Again, maybe it’s a problem with my eyes. (Damn, blind umps!)

Eventually bases were loaded with the Orioles only up 4-3, but with a couple of merciful pop-ups, between which I found myself talking to the television begging Sherrill to remember his purpose on the mound, reminding him that it wasn’t to cause me to imitate Fred Sanford, and reiterating my opinion to the ump that he was crap, the game ended with the Os on top.

Phew! I only used a couple of my forbidden words tonight. I’ve done so well this season. (My goal is to make it all the way through the season without any threats of having my remote control privileges revoked.)

Jones made another incredible diving catch! Roberts made a bare-handed catch to get an out at first. And Guthrie was the man! I’m loving this team! I would love it more if we had a reliever who didn’t make me sit on the edge of my seat and have to suppress my impolite words.

Edit: I have a correction to make. The ump was right and the runner was safe. I don’t know what I was thinking, but Hernandez was on the plate but the tag wasn’t in time. After thinking about it, I realized that Hernandez had to tag the runner for the out, not just be on the bag. Sorry for calling the umps blind, it’s a reflex action.

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Bob McCrory

1. May 2008 by Crys.

We lost yesterday’s game largely due to the pitching of a young rookie, Bob McCrory, who the Orioles brought up in exchange for Aquino. First, let me express gratitude that Aquino has left our bullpen. Now let’s talk about the game. McCrory had a rough outing, quickly loading the bases. Sarfate, known to give up his own share of walks, was brought in to get us out of the jam McCrory created. In the end, Tampa Bay scored five runs that inning and the Orioles were unable to recover from Tampa’s seven run lead.

McCrory, in his very first major league outing, had a rough time of it. I’ve seen some criticism around the Internet that Trembley threw McCrory into a situation where the Orioles were already behind. Consider this. Our young, green pitchers have to get used to playing in the majors. They have to get used to facing tough situations. They have to learn to not let their emotions get the better of them and to have confidence in their abilities. Watch Sarfate on the mound. You can visibly see him sighing and talking to himself in intense situations. Maybe he’s just a sigher and a little crazy. I don’t know. But it looks like he’s trying to compose himself. Only experience will give these guys the comfort of knowing that when they get in a tight situation, they have been there before and made it through the other side. McCrory said that he wasn’t a victim of nerves. I’m not convinced. At any rate, the next time he gets to pitch, he may think, “I can only do better than last time, so there’s nothing to sweat about.” Or maybe he’ll be scared out of his mind. But either way, he’ll only get better with practice.

So, should Trembley have waited for a different game for McCrory? No. It’s early in the season. He has to get used to the pressure and there’s no better time than now to give him that opportunity, to let him develop physically and emotionally.

And that’s the difference with the Orioles this year. When we lose a game, it doesn’t hurt the way it did last year. There’s no sense of hopelessness like we may never see another win again ever. It’s just one game. We know, or maybe I should say, I know that we have a bright future and many more wins ahead in 2008. Yes, I do realize it’s only April and anything could happen. We could have injuries. Lots of catastrophic things could ruin the great start we’ve had.

Or, we could get stronger and stronger with a team of players who are happy to be in the majors, interested in working as a team, interested in doing everything they can to get better, with the help of a manager who is serious about winning and seems to know something about how to work with people.

Yes, anything can happen.

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