The Loss Column — Baltimore Sports Blog and Community

Milwaukee. Home of the Brewers, Bucks, fine cheeses, and Schlitz.

Wisconsin is a beautiful state and worth a pass-through on any road trip. I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Milwaukee, but I’ve driven through the country side and stopped to have a couple of drinks in Madison.

I don’t know a damn thing about the Milwaukee Brewers. I fully admit in researching anything I am about to tell you. The Brewers, led by big basher Prince Fielder, are a solid team. At 39-33, they sit in third place in the NL Central, 6 games back of the Chicago Cubs. They have good starting pitching with guys like Ben Sheets and Jeff Suppan. And they play real good at home.

The good news is that Eric Gagne is fresh off the DL and ready to blow games, and their closer in his stead, Salomon Torres, has been good but overused.

Tonight’s matchup features Jeff Suppan (4-4, 3.68) vs. Radhames Liz (1-0, 4.32).

So how ’bout dem O’s? 21 comeback victories. 2 games over .500. Different heroes every night. All of this happening mostly under the radar since the entire AL East is playing well right now. Makes you wonder where we’d be in another division.

There was plenty to like about last night’s game, including Q.S. Guthrie’s most dominant start of the season, good baserunning from Melvin Mora, two scoreless innings from Chad Bradford, and another walk off victory, this time at the hands of Kevin Millar. The icing on the cake is that Miguel Tejada has come into his old ballpark and gone 0-7 thus far. Although I might not mind seeing him take a solo shot deep if the game is out of reach.

I’m putting this thread up early because I might not be around at game time. The Orioles’ first 3-game sweep of the season will be in the hands of Brian Burres tonight. He showed guts his last time out, giving up a quick 6 runs, but holding strong through the 6th inning to pick up a lucky win. His opponent will be Shawn Chacon (2-2, 4.69), who the Janquis probably wish they still had kicking around their organization.

EDIT: Added that pic of DT’s signature (it’s a nice John Hancock, too) which I found from this cool site.

Greg mentioned it in the comments and I had to post the whole quote:

“You have to ask him and I know that’s no fun. And he’s going to have a stupid answer for you can count on it. He’s going to have some dumb-ass answer. He’s either gassed because he’s laboring. He’s protecting himself because he knows even he sticks around and is mediocre he gets another 2 million bucks lopped onto his salary. Why doesn’t he go longer? It’s a real pointed question. But you need to ask him. And good luck with that.”

Bill Bavasi, the ex-GM of the Seattle Mariners, does not mince words about our old buddy Erik Bedard.  It’s the kind of thing where you just shake your head.  The Mariners organization and the Seattle fans are learning the hard way about all of Bedard’s poorest qualities.  Because this year, with his ace-like dominance suddenly failing him, there’s nothing to hide those poor qualities.  It’s a damn shame, really, and I hope one day Erik gets his attitude and his pitching together because it’d be a waste of talent otherwise.

In the world of Baltimore baseball - it’s Dave Trembley’s one year anniversary today.  He’s been a joy to see manage this team from where they stood last year (expecting to lose) to where they stand this year (expecting to win).  He could be a flash in the pan or a Baltimore legend in the making - only time will tell - but it’s been a fun ride so far.

It’s the good ship Q.S. Guts going against Brian Moehler (3-3, 4.73).  Go get ‘em.

Apologies for the late post.  Here’s your Orioles/Astros open thread.

What can we say about Miguel Tejada?  Overall, I think we can say that he’s basically a good guy who created some problems for himself.  The Mitchell Report, falsifying his age, and kinda packing it in when it was clear the team was no good - all things that he could have and should have avoided.  To Miguel’s credit, Orioles management never made good on their promise to surround him with a legitimate team.  He probably doesn’t deserve to be booed, but he will be a little.  Most of us probably wished him well when he got traded and he is indeed doing just fine.  He’s driving in lots of runs and leads all of the NL shortstops in All-Star votes - same old Miggy. 

More importantly, however, is the fact that it’s Wild Bill Hagy T-Shirt Night at the Yard.  A year ago, the Orioles organization would have laughed at the suggestion of such a thing.  This year, it’s just another good sign in a growing list of good signs.  It’s nothing short of an apology to the fanbase as a whole - after all, that’s what Hagy represents - and although it’s long overdue, it’s much appreciated.

There’s bound to be something magical tonight.  I’m at my place of business right now wishing, as I’m sure Neal is, that I could join the LC’ers for a night out. 

O-R-I-O-L-E-S!

Ok, so we all agree it’s too early for “Why Not”, but any O’s fan should feel safe in saying that Oriole Magic is officially back in Baltimore. This Pirates series is just one example, but it’s shaping up to be the best yet, regardless of a sweep.

There’s no point in saying here what we’ve all been saying in the comments. But I will say that I cannot remember the last time the energy and excitement of Orioles baseball was so palpable. And not just on the field.

Everything seems to be turning, and O’s Nation can feel it. We’ve all seen the signs, from something as big as Peter Angelos himself taking the steps to put “Baltimore” back on the road jerseys, to something as small as the Camden Yards promotions honoring the ‘83 team, the ‘79 team, and the sudden reappearance of the cartoon Bird. The work isn’t over by a long shot, but for the first time in a long, long time, it appears that this once-derailed train is back on track.

So here’s hoping for a Sunday sweep. We all know the Orioles’ less-than-stellar record on Sunday games, but I bet you didn’t know that it’s all completely Jim Hunter’s fault. The more you know.

It’s a tough time for Baltimore sports.

After their heartbreaking loss to the perfect Patriots, the Ravens are no longer relevant this season. Like the Orioles during last September (and the September before that, and the September before that…), all you can do as a fan is watch for the kids to improve and hope they at least try hard the rest of the season. And don’t lose to the Dolphins.

For us Orioles fans, the news hasn’t been much better. Jay Gibbons added his name to the growing list of players that have shamed the Great Bird with their deceitful, cheating ways. For now we just shake our heads and hope he won’t get a chance to don the orange and black again. And for all of us still hoping for our promised Sign of Change, it appears we will have to wait a little longer. After the big Winter Meetings hype, and Orioles players being in the middle of everything, Andy MacPhail didn’t end up seeing anything he liked. With Johan Santana still on the market, it was clear not a whole lot would get done - if you’re the Dodgers, you aren’t going to give up Matt Kemp for Erik Bedard when you might need Kemp to get Santana. We should, however, give Andy a little credit for not making bad deals. The Roberts for Murton/Gallagher trade was bad. The Tejada for Everett and some dudes trade was even worse. For now, we play the excruciating waiting game.

Well, at least the Wizards should be the bearers of some good news, right? Not so much. It’s old news by now, but Gilbert Arenas is going to miss the next 2-3 months rehabbing his second knee surgery in a year. After getting swept in the playoffs last year without injured Gilbert and Caron Butler, this is a slap in the face for our Bullets. Fortunately, they are treading water around the .500 mark quite nicely, with some inspired play by Gilbert backup Antonio Daniels (a much better true point guard than Arenas), Andray Blatche (averaging almost 2 blocks a game - the most for a bench guy in the NBA), and rookie sharpshooter Nick Young.

It’s going to be cold, hard winter in Baltimore. Stay warm, drive safe, and try not to obsessively refresh websites for shreds of Orioles news like I do.

The Wizards aren’t exactly helping my cause to rally some NBA interest around The Loss Column.  They have started off the year 0-3, their worst since the ‘92-’93 season, losing to the Pacers, the Celtics, and the Magic. The main culprit has been their poor shooting, with Gilbert Arenas only sinking 33% of his shots and 1 out 17 three-pointers. He’s not the only one to blame, though, with Jamison and Butler helping compile an historically bad 0-22 stretch from beyond the arc. The Wizards are a team that relies on momentum and a fast-paced, jump-shooting offense to fire on all cylinders. When it doesn’t, they can look completely uninspired.

The thing is, Gilbert hasn’t been helping recently, and not just because of his poor shooting. Before I say why, credit goes to him for 1) single-handedly forcing fans and media to finally regard him as the superstar he is and 2)shamelessly stealing his nickname, Agent Zero, from wizznutzz.com and getting fans and media to actually use it. Commendable. But starting last season, he’s been using his “secret weapon” blog to pump up his swagger image and ruffle his opponent’s feathers. Mind you, it’s all with a certain Gilbert-esque quirkiness that, for some reason or another, you know is more about poking fun than starting beef. He’s a popular cat around the league and a known jokester, so the issue isn’t that he’s a poor sportsman. It’s that he’s putting too much pressure on himself, especially after coming off of knee surgery, and drawing too much attention to his team, which hasn’t proved to shine under pressure in the past.

Going into the Celtics game, he “guaranteed” a win in Boston over the “old” Big Three, the kind of jive that obviously gets pounced on, regurgitated by the media, and relayed to fans. The Gahden was packed and it was pissed. For nearly three quarters, Gilbert was booed vigorously every time he touched the ball. With all the pomp and ceremony of christening the parquet floor with Red Auerbach’s name, the emotional speech by Paul Pierce, and the packed seats eager to see KG, it was a playoff atmosphere in which Washington had no chance succeeding. It was game 2, Gilbert, let’s save the shit-talking for at least the second week, eh?

Make no mistake, though, the Wiz will get hot. They started off slow last year before finishing with the best record in the Eastern Conference before the All-Star break. The one positive so far has been the astonishing play of much-maligned center Brendan Haywood. He was leading the league in rebounds last week (he’s tied for 5th now), and he’s been a beast down low, finally showing his potential with Eddie Jordon giving him the minutes he’s been whining about not getting in past years. By the time Etan Thomas gets back from open-heart surgery, he may have lost his starting job. Fortunately for him, Andray Blatche still isn’t getting the minutes he needs to be effective.

In other Wizards news, Caron Butler was named team captain, which makes sense. While Jamison has always appeared to be the leader, I’m not so sure that was the case. Your Baltimore Bullets will continue their long break and take on the New Jersey Nets at 7:30EST on Thursday.

Jersey tidbit: One time I had to make a pit stop in Jersey. I took an exit off of the NJ Turnpike and, I kid you not, saw these three landmarks on the same road through my pollution-stung eyes, one after the other: landfill, factory, cemetery.

The National Basketball Association.

Words that may make a number of you cringe, undoubtedly. While I understand the typical qualms with the sport, often I find these are just excuses. There’s plenty to love about professional basketball and I’m of the opinion that the sport is improving. Perhaps NBA commissioner David Stern said it best the other day:

“Amazing is where 81 points happens, where Ben Wallace’s hair happens, where Yao Ming happens, where caring happens. Where Donaghy happens, where clubbing happens, where registered weapons happen. We invite our fans to mesh up whatever happens. It’s all there. With the playoffs and preseason, we have close to 1,500 episodes of the best reality programming that plays around the world. That reality happens, fortunately or unfortunately, on the court and off the court. It includes everything. We are the absolute reflection of what’s going on out there in the world. Anyone who doesn’t think so doesn’t know what’s going on in the world.”

Give the commish some credit for being so forthcoming about the league’s more unsavory aspects. Don’t mistake that for him not caring about these issues – on the contrary, he’s been criticized for cleaning up the sport a little too much. But unlike Bud Selig, he’s smart enough to come out and talk about these issues to draw interest to his sport. Because it is interesting. Honestly, do we really want a league full of Tim Duncans?

In order to enjoy the NBA, you have to accept its silliness. You have to understand that yes, the fourth quarter is the most important quarter, after all, and that it’s ok to tune in a little later into the game. And you have to feel strongly about one or two teams. Of course, if you’re a Pacers fan or a soon-to-be-Kobe-less Lakers fan, then I can’t help you – it’s going to be painfully slow brick-fest for most of the year. Fortunately, Baltimore does have a basketball team – it just moved to DC awhile ago – and it’s a good one. Embrace.

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