This isn’t sports or Baltimore related, but before anything else: Rest In Peace, Patrick Swayze.

I’ll tell you why I like Swayze: because he was a great character actor who managed to achieve top billing. That the same guy who played Jed in “Red Dawn” could also play Bodhi in “Point Break” (pictured) is a fairly amazing thing. To say nothing of his turn in “Donnie Darko,” which redeemed him for also having appeared in “Ghost” and “Dirty Dancing.” Best of all, when you watch him in “Point Break” or — even better — “Road House,” you know that he gets it. These weren’t serious roles, but he played them perfectly.

So, raise a toast.

Moving on the the regularly scheduled programming, the Orioles have decided to shut down rookie Brian Matusz for the rest of the year in order to avoid risking injury. We had a good discussion about this earlier today in the comments, if you missed it.

The move makes the rest of the season less interesting, but I understand why it’s necessary. There’s no reason to risk him with nothing on the line. He’s a cornerstone player starting next spring, and I think we can all agree that we want him at 100%. It’s true that he might get injured anyway, but there’s no reason to invite the possibility.

You have to love the kid’s attitude, too:

“I play this game for one reason, and that’s because I love it. I like to be out there on the field, I like to give the team a chance to win and I like to pitch. It will be tough, but when it comes down to the professional side of it and the health side of it, it’s the right thing to do. And that’s why the decision was made.”

Tonight, the Rays are in town and they’re up 8-4 in the sixth. David Hernandez continues to hot help his own cause.

Oh, by the way: Mark Hendrickson will take Matusz’ place in the rotation.