Point Break
Now this. This is only fitting.
The Orioles have played — by any measure — one hell of a half-season. And yet their shortcomings and the injury bug are both starting to catch up. We still don’t know if they’re a roughly .500 ballclub or if they’re simply a bunch of lovable overachievers whose comeuppance will arrive shortly.
So today they play the last game before the All Star break. In Boston, on a Sunday (natch), and with none other than the DC Cab himself on the hill. Or to put it another way: this game represents a collision of every question we have with every hope we hold out.
It also represents an excuse to make a Point Break reference, and I don’t miss those.
Unfortunately I won’t be able to watch it because of a friend-of-my-girlfriend-got-married event. I don’t know why anyone would schedule such a thing on the last Sunday before the All Star break, but there it is. I’ll have at least some of it on the radio, though, and I’ll get text message score updates. And, of course, I’ll come here for the recap.
Let’s say I’m cautiously optimistic.
so justin morneau and his 14 hrs gets the last spot in the HR derby. i would have liked to see huff with his 18 hrs go. no love for b-more. no love for chi town either, dye and quintin get snubbed too.
We get to watch jake arrietta in the futures game today too.
I have absolutely had it with Bynum, who can’t seem to do anything even mildly competently.
yeah Mike even the other day ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt was on some baseball roundtable that included Tim Kurkjian, and he [SVP] went out of his way to make fun of Baltimore.
SVP: “Tim, of course you make bad decisions, you worked for the ‘Baawlmerr Oreoos’!”
*SVP and other dude laughed like hyenas while TK gave a “Oh F@#% you.”-scowl*
It always seems really, really weird to me when the Orioles are brought into the national spotlight. I guess being so bad for so long makes them feel like a local story that doesn’t belong. Like they were “discussing” the Sunday Curse on Around the Horn and I was just like “When did you guys even hear about this?”…not to mention that nobody on the show sounded like they’d even ever been to Baltimore.
It always takes a while to get respect. Honestly, do the Orioles really deserve any respect? Do the Royals or the Pirates?
We need a shortstop.
It’s amazing to me that Melvin Mora has come up three different times with our best chances to score riding on him, and that while his approach has been pretty good, he just hasn’t been able to get it done. But that’s sort of how our day has been going, with a lot of just stupid luck. For example, Bynum should totally have been on second, instead he’s out, and Casey should have been out and instead he’s on second. What a game.
Hopefully we can break through against the Boston bullpen, we should see plenty of them today.
Four times! I Mora still had some fraction of his old talent, we’d be blowing this game out. What are the odds that it always comes down to him?
Urgh. We’re close, so close…but we’re running out of time, and we might not get our best hitters up again. Damn it.
Not really paying a lot of attention as I’m busy working on a SYD-related surprise for those of you who care.
All things considered though, they don’t look anywhere as bad as could be expected considering the past two series.
Let’s hope the break does us some good, and we come back out swingin’.
five times. Five times Melvin Mora comes up and he leave 11 runner on? That’s just horrible luck. Horrible. Damn it.
“yeah Mike even the other day ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt was on some baseball roundtable that included Tim Kurkjian, and he [SVP] went out of his way to make fun of Baltimore.
SVP: “Tim, of course you make bad decisions, you worked for the ‘Baawlmerr Oreoos’!”
*SVP and other dude laughed like hyenas while TK gave a “Oh F@#% you.”-scowl*”
Van Pelt is a self-professed Orioles fan, went to Highschool in Montgomery County, and is a alumni at UMD.
He constantly speaks Bawlmerese when referring to the Orioles when doing highlights and such (e.g. “O’s , Stroh’s, and Natty Bo’s hon!”). It’s not malicious or anything.
And for the jab at Kurkjian, Kurkjian didn’t work for the O’s, he covered them for the Sun.
Does anyone disagree that the O’s FO has made bad decisions? Didn’t think so.
@AooR: I completely agree. Ever since Cal retired, aside from us spending big on FA in ’03, us trading for Sosa in ’04, and us being in first place for 60+ days in ’05, and the Palmeiro debacle, the O’s haven’t been in the national spotlight much at all (as evident by the lack of nationally televised games). It makes me bitter, but if you think rationally, we never really deserved much positive attention anyway.
They have given us credit for the trades in the offseason, and I have to think with MacPhail in charge, we’ll be mentioned more often nationally if our young players get better.
I always thought we were in some sort of vacuum between Philly and DC, but in reality the O’s just sucked for a long time, lol…not to mention the rest of the league probably doesn’t think much of our owner.
Todays game – Just too many runners LOB…I think the Sox combined for nearly 10 BB today…Mora not coming up for us all those times with RISP was probably the key.
xi0, sorry I did mean to say “covered” with The Sun, and I have noticed Van Pelt’s using local terms, but since he always couches them in negative terms I figured he was making fun of them.
Well he may very well be. It’d be hard to find someone who hasn’t made fun of the O’s in recent years, even if they are fans. I can poke fun at their futility, most non-license-holding radio stations do it themselves as well.
Van Pelt always does the Bawlmerese thing when highlights come up in Sportscenter…but there aren’t too many times he’s doing SC and there are O’s highlights……there aren’t many O’s highlights this year, even with the drastic improvements, mainly because we aren’t a huge market team, and the Ray’s are the new “it” team…doesn’t help that there in the same division as us as well.
I really would have liked to see this one, but I kept tabs as best I could. In reading and thinking about it now, it seems like a perfect microcosm of our season so far. A hard battle, no quit in any of the guys, but an inability to execute at key points (in this case clutch hitting) leads to a tough, close loss.
The break couldn’t possibly come at a better time. A .500 season is still within reach, and for all of the doom and gloom talk of late it seems like winning one and losing another by a thread in Fenway is not so bad. I still kinda think the wheels are off, but I also think they’ll be fighting as hard as they can until that last September pitch. I don’t really fear the Big Collapse anymore.
I’m also kind of happy that the DC Cab plunked Youkilis. I have a deep, irrational dislike for that kid. I’m not sure I can justify it.
In any case, I’m glad the team is getting a huge home stand after the break. That’s a real fine chance to come back strong and reassert all the things that made the first half so great.
Sox allegedly turned down Atlanta’s offer of Texiera for Youkilis & Hansen.
I think these Os have given me hope for the future, but its hard to put into words.
Perhaps you cats can help me fill in the blanks:
The first half of the 08 season has given me the hope that if ____ we can make the playoffs in the year ____.
“Our pitching develops as expected, specifically with Arrieta, Matusz, and Tillman”….”2010″.
Arrieta pitched 1 inning with a hit and a strikeout in the Future’s Game, held against considerably stronger competition than he’s used to (which is actually closer to what he’s used to, since as a college pitcher, of course he’s destroying the Carolina League). Exciting stuff, can’t wait for him, Wieters, Tillman, and Matusz to all be playing for the Baysox with Reimold…going to a Sox game could be like going to an Oriole game in two years. I’m jazzed.
Wieters IS playing for the Baysox. That team is no joke right now. Apparently, competition in AA is often considered tougher than AAA these days. At least, that’s where the real talent is.
And once Wieters was put in the lineup behind Reimold, Reimold started knocking them out of the park. Good stuff.
@joe, if we win more games than the other teams in our division…2009. just kidding. Andrew said it best. Pitching pitching pitching. I would also say if we can avoid injuries to key players (Albers, Loewen, Patton) we would still have a legitimate shot, hell this year. I truly believe if albers is still here then we dont overuse the pen, and win a few of those games we have blown, and maybe we sit only 5 or 6 out right now instead of 10.
I can say this, i am so glad the ASbreak is here cause I love our O’s, but I could use a break from this for about 3 days before im itching to see em again. These last two weeks have been a lil painful. we were at one point 15-5 in one run games, since then were 2-13, not to mention this sunday thing. a sweep by toronto, 3 striaght series losses, a split with KC, the pen falling apart right before our very eyes, all this leaving us in the basement, I need a break from it.
I actually met Scott Van Pelt once. It was 2005 while I lived in FL. I went to a Miami vs. Terps basketball game,(we lost) after the game im walking back the parking lot and in the sea of orange and green walking towards me was this giant red MD shirt. He’s like 6’6″ atleast. I knew who it was, and I just said “hey, go terps!” he reached out and shook my hand and replied “thats what i’m talking about, were few and far between down here, huh.” It was super bowl week, when it was in Jacksonville, I said” man your great on sportscenter. shouldnt you be up covering the superbowl”. he said “I have to get back to the helicopter, i’m flying back there right now.” sure enough i turn on the 11pm sportscenter, and there he is.
I always liked Van Pelt the best out of all the ESPN personalities. Seems like a fun guy, that’s all.
Mike, I know exactly what you mean by needing a break. I was writing something up for my special bonus post here but just lost interest in it when the team started tanking the past week. I just need a break, and I’ll probably head up to the game on Thursday and feel refreshed. Hopefully. Heck, it’s a long season for us, too. Gotta recharge those batteries.
“I’m also kind of happy that the DC Cab plunked Youkilis.”
You stay classy baltimore.
Like any Red Sox fan wouldn’t be kind of pleased if ARod got one in his purple lips (as long as that beaning didn’t directly affect the outcome).
I’m really done with this holier-than-thou fandom stuff that happens in the northeast. Even in Bmore, everyone likes to think they’re above the Pink Hat Nation and Yankee Universe because we’re not stuck up and don’t demand championships every year and we understand rooting for a loser year in and year out.
The way I see it, every real baseball fan is just a baseball fan, and the team they root for isn’t an indication of quality. I mean, we sit here and hate on how the Sox invade Camden Yards and call it Fenway South but then we think it’s awesome when there’s more O’s fans than Nats fans in Nationals Stadium? And the Sox fans think they’re better because blah blah blah.
I’ll hate the team, even some of the players, but I think I’m done with hating the real fans. And yeah, real fans like it when they’re least favorite player gets plunked. It ain’t about classiness, it’s about giving a “fuck you” when you’re beaten up. You’d do the same if whoever you’re least favorite player is got hit.
Seriously, “matt”, lighten up. It’s not like I’m advocating or rejoicing in injury — and nor would I. It was a beanball is all, and beanballs are part of the game and always have been. Maybe if your boy would stop jacking home runs against us this wouldn’t have had to happen. Ever think about it that way?
I have to take issue, Andrew, with one thing: the notion that O’s fans think it’s awesome when “our side” takes over Nationals Park. To be honest I am never particularly excited to see home fans drowned out by the visitors. It’s depressing more than anything else.
Just a feeling I got from the blogosphere in general. I can only go by what I see in general. And obviously there’s going to be people on both extremes. You might think it’s a shame to see even Orioles fans invade another stadium, and hate the New Yorkers and Bostonians that come down to OPACY, but I guarantee there’s some O’s fans that are precisely what I said. The average is, obviously, somewhere in the middle…but I think the point still stands, such as it is.
I’m sure you’re right about that on the whole. I mean, what’s sports fandom without a little hypocrisy? Every single one of us is guilty of it on some level. Hell, if Papelbon nails Markakis the next time we play the Sox my first reaction is probably not going to be “well, beanballs are part of baseball.” I’ll feel that way after the fact I think, but probably not when it happens.
All I mean, I think, is that I much prefer people that aren’t into the “most passionate” or “best” or “classiest” or “most hardcore” fans debate. I’ll give you two examples, to better illustrate my point:
1) I was watching a reality show YES put out for a few years that was about a group of Yankee fans going to all 162 games in a year and competing in stupid challenges along the way. The show was mostly dumb because they couldn’t show any game footage on it, and the challenges had little to do with anything. On the episode I watched, the group went to the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Club and were standing around when a guy in a Boston hat passed them, so all 6 people laid into this one guy, who just kept walking. Cut to the closeups: “You just can’t stand for that crap in your own home city, you know?” I mean, com’on. So you attack every Sox fan you see, because Sox fans are classless and bandwagoners and whatever else?
2) I had a great experience one time watching the Red Wings sitting next to a Red Sox fan, and we jsut chatted on and off about baseball in general, and the state of the AL East. I got the feeling that he perhaps didn’t care for Balmer, and I perhaps gave him the indication that I’ve only had bad experiences in Boston, but that was totally besides the point – because we were just talkin’ baseball, and what we thought about our prospective teams.
I don’t feel like I’m getting my point across very well, but I think that if you forget about “who’s the best fans”, you get a much better baseball experience.
“matt” also doesn’t like extra innings and thinks that games should end in a tie so long as the umpires can prove that both teams have had fun over the course of nine innings……
seriously tho – I think neal was saying that it’s good to see that sort of emotion out of DCab. Plus, it was not a dangerous beanball at all…
not to mention – you extracted the quote “kind of happy” to prove how malicious his statement was? well done.
*****
AooR was dead on about baseball fans vs. team fans.
Used to have a yankee fan roomate who could not even fathom this concept.
Anyway.
Who’s betting on the Home Run Derby. I got Utley.
The all star game is a joke.
My money’s on A-Rod.
I mean Varitek.
I heard Abreau hit like 40 whatever homers that one time and has only hit 40 whatever homers in the 3 years since.
Yawn. All star week sucks.
the all star game is a joke, but home run derby rules. I’ll be watching it in mute so i dont have to hear 200 “backbackbackback” from chris berman.
i’d like to say the fan vote shouldnt count as much, but i cant. without the fans there is no game. because there is no way Pedroia starts over Ian Kinsler. Varitek, though Mauer starts shouldnt even be there. an all boston/new york infield. Ortiz who hasnt played for 7 weeks voted in. but if it wasnt up tp the fans then i doubt ripken gets voted into some of those all star games in 98-01. so until some other teams knock off the champs, we’ll just have to deal with it being a popularity contest.
I just hope Mariano Rivera gets lit the fuck up like a christmas tree in front of the yankee crowd. Blown save and all. I guess i should be rooting for the AL, so that the orioles get home field in world series. just kidding andrew, i’m drug free. haha.
Derby on mute might be ok.
I’m a big anti-fan vote guy as well.
But varitek was voted in by the players.
Many flaws…
I heard someone say that there should be a Baseball Intelligence Survey and the top 100 scores from each state would choose all stars that year…
I think the all-star is just fine and dandy. I mean, every year you’re gonna have undeserving all-stars, and people will complain about fan voting or player voting or why does every team have to have an all-star? But for the large part, you’ve got the biggest names in there, and everyone has a reason to watch. I guess the only improvement I’d make is a player per team cap at 5 and the requirement for the manager to use a player from every team.
I used to love the Derby when I was little. Berman has sucked a lot of the wind out of that sail, and the quality of players in it seems to get a little worse every year (I mean, com’on, Grady Sizemore? You have a leadoff hitter in the home run derby?), and it’s horribly long…but it’s still fun for a good 30 minutes or so as a distraction.
I think the All Star game has pretty much worn out its welcome. It seems to me that back when all anyone saw on TV was a game of the week and a few local telecasts, the All Star game represented a rare chance to see the stars. It was a true celebration of the game and everything that made it great. Now it’s just…well, I don’t know what it is anymore. I’m not saying it should be cancelled or anything like that, but it’s basically impossible to muster any enthusiasm for it.
I wonder if its that or just we’re growing up. I think kids and people from the home city care, an everyone else just wants to see Derek Jeter get seriously hurt.
I guess it still does good TV numbers and I’m sure there are people who really dig it. Plus it’s a tradition and baseball is nothing without its traditions. For that reason alone it needs to keep happening. But it’s nothing like it used to be.
I remember it as a kind of national holiday when I was a kid, and that wasn’t that long ago. Go back even further and you had Pete Rose ending a guy’s career with a takeout slide in the All Star game.
The days when it really meant something — besides home field advantage, which is a ridiculous concept — are long gone.
So after genuinely having a great time watching the first round of josh hamilton, I figured the contest was over and switched to the replay of the future’s game on mlb.tv, figuring to catch our man Jake. First of all, the format of the Derby is stupid if Hamilton can hit nearly 40 taters and lose to a guy who hit nearly 20.
Secondly, Arrieta looked a little mixed. The hit off him was bull, the left fielder played it weirdly conservatively. If that was a major league at bat, that’s an out. And Arrieta was getting was really good strikes with his fastball. However, his breaking stuff was all missing up. Hey, maybe he was using his slider up and in to set up his fastball low and away – and it worked, dammit – but I got the feeling that that performance would have included lots of runs in the bigs.
So our man Jake looks pretty good for what he is, which is a guy who should be promoted. But he needs some more seasoning, definitely. See you in 2010, Jake!
“so justin morneau and his 14 hrs gets the last spot in the HR derby.”
Seeing this quote opening up the page today was funny, considering that Morneau won the derby with his 14 HRs. All eyes on Hamilton though.