I'm still on the Appalachian Trail and heading into New Jersey tomorrow. Said another way, I'm leaving territory where my Orioles hat makes sense and moving into Yankee country. I missed getting crab while I was in the area but I did sample Natty Boh and other local fare. It was all as good as I remembered. While I'm on, is anyone else upset that our closer went 2.1 innings in the All-Star game? And it pains me to say it, but I have to lay off Aubrey Huff for a while. He's really hitting.
Stay cool in these warm temps.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Nats game
As I've been hoping, I got to an Orioles game, albeit not at OPACY. Baltimore won 9-1. I won't rehash it for you but I did want to share a few impressions. First, Adam Jones is the real deal. He manufactured one run with smart baserunning. I think he went 3 for 4. Second, the Nats new stadium is nice but I didn't think it has the "wow" factor that OPACY or The Jake had when they opened. It also upset me that they won't allow cabs withing two blocks of the stadium. There was a long rain delay and lots of people wanted to get a cab out. They had to walk two blocks in the rain to flag one down. Bad planning on the part of the traffic control people. Lastly, our team is fun to watch. I had a good time. Scott and Hernandez went deep, everyone played good defense and the pitching held up although Olsen put a lot of men on base.
Back into the woods now. Everybody have a good and safe 4th.
Back into the woods now. Everybody have a good and safe 4th.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Stumbling out of the woods
I just came out of the fog and wilderness and found that the Orioles are at .500 after Memorial Day. Am I still in the fog? The bullpen is kicking ass and the team can't lose at home. Daniel Cabrera, who I have often ridiculed on this site, is pitching like an All-Star. Aubrey Huff...still sucks. What can you do?
All this makes me wonder if we will make some of the trades we all assumed were coming. When we were supposed to stink, it made great sense to trade everyone over 30 and go into full rebuilding mode. Does it still? Do we ride the wave and hope the Sox and others fall apart? Do we count on inspiration and an incomplete youth movement to carry us through the year? My gut says we still need to get rid of some vets. .500 isn't a goal, its a condition under which we get poor draft picks. Somewhere out there is a team that thinks a left-handed hitter who heats up in August is just what they need. Lets move Huff and others. Lets see if the market for Brian Roberts has improved. I think the plan under which we traded Bedard and Miggy is still imperative. Remember that last years' team was right around .500 at the end of May. Also, take a look at our horrible offense. We need to revamp our offensive personnel the same way we did our organization's pitching over the offseason. Is Crowley still the hitting coach? The word we are all looking for is "accountability."
That said, I've fallen in love with this team from afar. The kids are all right, we just need a few more of them on the offensive side. I've hiked my way into Virginia and I am going to get a little radio so I can tune into Orioles games at night. Also, I still plan on hitting Harpers Ferry at the very end of June. I can catch a train and see Baltimore play in Washington. If I run a little late, I get to see the Royals at Camden Yards. Either way.
The hiking blog is still active. Link is a couple entries below this one. Come for the bear stories, stay for my constant moaning about how hungry I am. I hope all the Orioles bloggers are doing well. I wish I could check in more.
All this makes me wonder if we will make some of the trades we all assumed were coming. When we were supposed to stink, it made great sense to trade everyone over 30 and go into full rebuilding mode. Does it still? Do we ride the wave and hope the Sox and others fall apart? Do we count on inspiration and an incomplete youth movement to carry us through the year? My gut says we still need to get rid of some vets. .500 isn't a goal, its a condition under which we get poor draft picks. Somewhere out there is a team that thinks a left-handed hitter who heats up in August is just what they need. Lets move Huff and others. Lets see if the market for Brian Roberts has improved. I think the plan under which we traded Bedard and Miggy is still imperative. Remember that last years' team was right around .500 at the end of May. Also, take a look at our horrible offense. We need to revamp our offensive personnel the same way we did our organization's pitching over the offseason. Is Crowley still the hitting coach? The word we are all looking for is "accountability."
That said, I've fallen in love with this team from afar. The kids are all right, we just need a few more of them on the offensive side. I've hiked my way into Virginia and I am going to get a little radio so I can tune into Orioles games at night. Also, I still plan on hitting Harpers Ferry at the very end of June. I can catch a train and see Baltimore play in Washington. If I run a little late, I get to see the Royals at Camden Yards. Either way.
The hiking blog is still active. Link is a couple entries below this one. Come for the bear stories, stay for my constant moaning about how hungry I am. I hope all the Orioles bloggers are doing well. I wish I could check in more.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Daniel Cabrera, You Really Wet My Whistle
Can this be happening? I know this is going up on Orioles boards everywhere, but over his last three starts, Daniel Cabrera has a 2.18 ERA, with just over two walks per nine innings. Could that be right? Did we pull a switcheroo with Seattle and send them the wrong pitcher? Right now, the real Daniel Cabrera is desparately trying to squeeze into an Erik Bedard Mariners jersey that's three sizes too small.
Dave Trembley says that Cabrera finally believes in himself. Well, at $2.9 million a year, I sure hope he does. If someone paid me that much to do my job, I would do more than believe in myself; I'd write myself romantic haikus and make my wife and kids wear T-shirts saying, "Someone I Love Makes A Buttload Of Money." Because I'd be making $2.9 million a year, I might pay a little extra to have a tuxedo design screenprinted on the shirts. Regardless, if three quality starts in a row gives Cabrera an ego boost that leads to more quality starts, more power to him.
My one fear is what I call the Ponson Pitfall, in which Cabrera would have a decent season, resulting in a big contract (this is a contract season for him), and then goes back to sucking. That would be compounded by the Angelos Free Agent Corollary, which states that any free agent signing with the Orioles must be paid a minimum of 27.8% more than they are worth to any other team, plus one-time bonuses for old age, steroid/narcotic use and injury history. In this case, if Cabrera wins 12-15 games, instead of the $6-8 million he could expect to make elsewhere, Angelos will demand he be tendered an offer in the $10 million range. As usual, the Flanagan rule, mandating that nobody contradict Peter Angelos, regardless of relative baseball knowledge, will be in effect.
But right now, I'll just enjoy believing that this will last for the duration of the season. Maybe Cabrera comes into his own. Maybe Guthrie, Trachsel, Burres and Loewen can cobble together 45 wins between them. I don't know. But this is the most interested I've been in an Orioles team for probably 10 years.
Dave Trembley says that Cabrera finally believes in himself. Well, at $2.9 million a year, I sure hope he does. If someone paid me that much to do my job, I would do more than believe in myself; I'd write myself romantic haikus and make my wife and kids wear T-shirts saying, "Someone I Love Makes A Buttload Of Money." Because I'd be making $2.9 million a year, I might pay a little extra to have a tuxedo design screenprinted on the shirts. Regardless, if three quality starts in a row gives Cabrera an ego boost that leads to more quality starts, more power to him.
My one fear is what I call the Ponson Pitfall, in which Cabrera would have a decent season, resulting in a big contract (this is a contract season for him), and then goes back to sucking. That would be compounded by the Angelos Free Agent Corollary, which states that any free agent signing with the Orioles must be paid a minimum of 27.8% more than they are worth to any other team, plus one-time bonuses for old age, steroid/narcotic use and injury history. In this case, if Cabrera wins 12-15 games, instead of the $6-8 million he could expect to make elsewhere, Angelos will demand he be tendered an offer in the $10 million range. As usual, the Flanagan rule, mandating that nobody contradict Peter Angelos, regardless of relative baseball knowledge, will be in effect.
But right now, I'll just enjoy believing that this will last for the duration of the season. Maybe Cabrera comes into his own. Maybe Guthrie, Trachsel, Burres and Loewen can cobble together 45 wins between them. I don't know. But this is the most interested I've been in an Orioles team for probably 10 years.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Feeling My Age
Evidently, Miguel Tejada has a secret. Well, not anymore. It seems somebody miscounted the rings in Miggy's trunk somewhere along the line, and in actuality he is two years older than anybody knew. Sigh.
I knew it was a good move to dump Tejada, particularly in light of what the O's stole from the Astros in return, but I didn't know how good it would turn out to be. The timing of the trade, dyas before the Mitchell debacle, was priceless. And now that the Astros have effectively lost two years off Tejada's career, I'm practically giddy with the joy of fleecing. It's that feeling you get when you realize that the apathetic 17-year-old checker at Target didn't charge you for the pack of Hubba-Bubba; it's not really stealing, because you didn't mean for it to happen (or did you?), but it's also $1.29 in your pocket, and delicious Hubba-Bubba in your cheek. Maybe that's just me.
Just the same, maybe someone should check Luke Scott's birth certificate.
I knew it was a good move to dump Tejada, particularly in light of what the O's stole from the Astros in return, but I didn't know how good it would turn out to be. The timing of the trade, dyas before the Mitchell debacle, was priceless. And now that the Astros have effectively lost two years off Tejada's career, I'm practically giddy with the joy of fleecing. It's that feeling you get when you realize that the apathetic 17-year-old checker at Target didn't charge you for the pack of Hubba-Bubba; it's not really stealing, because you didn't mean for it to happen (or did you?), but it's also $1.29 in your pocket, and delicious Hubba-Bubba in your cheek. Maybe that's just me.
Just the same, maybe someone should check Luke Scott's birth certificate.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Traveling
As I mentioned a while ago, most of my summer will be taken up with an extended backpacking trip. I am starting Thursday and hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. It should take me from Thursday to early September. Here is my trail blog. BTW, Blogger is much better than Blogstream. Trying Blogstream was a mistake. Too late now, I have already given the URL to lots of people.
http://trailhiker.blogstream.com/
As a result, my posts on Weaver's Tantrum will be few and far between. I am hoping Blackbird will catch the posting bug and put something in this space. He is an excellent writer.
Besides the challenge of the trail, the thing I am most looking forward to is the certainty of getting into Baltimore for a game. I think the Orioles will be away while I am passing through, but part of that road trip is in Washington (June 27-29) and I wouldn't mind seeing the new stadium. I'd love to imagine that I could be in town for the Houston series but that would take super-human hiking through Virginia. Thanks to everybody who has left comments and cited me on your sites. I will look forward to catching up when I stop to resupply. If anyone is interested in catching part of the Washington series, let me know.
http://trailhiker.blogstream.com/
As a result, my posts on Weaver's Tantrum will be few and far between. I am hoping Blackbird will catch the posting bug and put something in this space. He is an excellent writer.
Besides the challenge of the trail, the thing I am most looking forward to is the certainty of getting into Baltimore for a game. I think the Orioles will be away while I am passing through, but part of that road trip is in Washington (June 27-29) and I wouldn't mind seeing the new stadium. I'd love to imagine that I could be in town for the Houston series but that would take super-human hiking through Virginia. Thanks to everybody who has left comments and cited me on your sites. I will look forward to catching up when I stop to resupply. If anyone is interested in catching part of the Washington series, let me know.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Perspective
We are about 1/16th of the way through the season. If this were a football season, we would be through our first game. Its nice to be 7-4. Its nice to be in first place. But in the standings it isn't any more important than one September football game.
Albers is getting a spot stat Monday. I'm not sure I get the logic on that. Albers has been very successful in the pen and I don't understand why Trembley would break him out of his routine. Why not promote a AAA starter if you need 13 pitchers?
Albers is getting a spot stat Monday. I'm not sure I get the logic on that. Albers has been very successful in the pen and I don't understand why Trembley would break him out of his routine. Why not promote a AAA starter if you need 13 pitchers?
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