Orioles Warehouse: News Archives

News Archives: July 1999

July 28

Okay, we give up. On several occasions over the past two seasons- most recently last week- we declared that the dismal play of the Orioles would eliminate any illusion the Orioles had of contending and would virtually guarantee that even management would finally, albeit reluctantly, begin the rebuilding process. Each time management came close to conceding the season, however, the Orioles would win a few games in a row, and each time the rebuilding process would be put on the back burner. The latest hot streak, in which the O's have won 12 out of the past 15, has been no different, and a week after we declared rebuilding a done deal, the Brainrust has changed course again, and despite two consecutive seasons of sub-.500 play, it appears as though a 3-game series against the Texas Rangers is going to determine whether the Orioles become buyers or sellers around the July 31st trading deadline. After ace Mike Mussina and the O's lost the first game of the series by the score of 8-6, the Orioles rebounded behind Scott Erickson and Delino DeShields to defeat the Rangers in the second game by that same score. So does this mean that the the course the O's take in the future rests on the outcome of Thursday's game? Or, as that previous link indicates, is Arthur Rhodes going to be the only veteran traded before the deadline?

Of course, should the Orioles once again forgo rebulding, it would be a monumental mistake. It's almost as if the Brainrust can not remember all the way back to June, when the Orioles followed a stretch in which they won 11 out of 12 by losing the next 10 games. But once the July 31st deadline passes, it will be too late, as players will first have to clear waivers before they can be traded. And it's not as though we're talking here about a solid ballclub several games out of the wild card hunt. This is a team that just recently passed Tampa Bay to get out of the AL East cellar, the same team that sits 8 games below .500 and trails not just Boston for the Wild Card, but also Toronto, Oakland, Chicago, and Seattle. With the value of players like B.J. Surhoff, Mike Bordick, Scott Erickson, Juan Guzman, and Arthur Rhodes as high as they are, it's time for the Orioles to restock the farm system so that fans do not have to endure another dismal season with an even older team so that a sub-.500 team can tilt at windmills.

And in other news:

One player who has taken much of the heat for this disappointing season may have begun to heat up, as last week Albert Belle blasted 3 homeruns, as well as the media, in leading the Orioles to victory over the Angels on Sunday in perhaps their most dramatic win of the season. And apparently, what we reported last week was incorrect, as in a rare press conference, Belle refuted the claim that he had agreed to waive his no-trade clause.

Thomas Boswell writes that in a game where players hang on for years after they are productive just to reach career milestones, Cal Ripken's march to 400 homers and 3000 hits in one of his finest seasons is nothing short of remarkable.

Mike Fetters, who went on the DL in early June, is ahead of schedule recovering from shoulder surgery. Nothing personal, but whoopee. Is a 34-year old reliever with a 5.48 ERA exactly what the Orioles need right now, or would they be better served by letting some younger arms develop in Baltimore?

And in Ex-O's news, Lenny Webster has caught on with Boston (sorry, couldn't resist). David Segui was traded from the Mariners to the Blue Jays for Steve Sinclair and Tom Davey, another former Oriole. And finally, David Dellucci, who had just started to earn some regular playing time with Arizona, now has only a 70% chance of ever playing again, after undergoing surgery for a rare condition in his wrist.

July 21

We've been raving all season about the success of Sidney Ponson, so much so that perhaps we've overlooked Mike Mussina, who once again is having an incredible year. Last night, Mussina gave up 1 run, by scattering 4 hits over 8 innings to lead the Orioles to their 7th win in 9 games, a 6-1 victory over the Wild-Card leading Red Sox. Mike Timlin, who is paid $4 million a season but complains when he is called upon to pitch before the 9th inning, pitched a scoreless 9th to bring his ERA below 5, despite giving up two hits in the process. Cal Ripken, in his first game back since being hit by Mike Thurman last week, got two hits and drove in two runs, bringing himself even closer to some elite company. Jeff Conine also had two RBI, and Albert Belle and Will Clark each chipped in two hits as part of an 11-hit attack.

In defeating the Red Sox, Mussina improved his record to 13-4 and lowered his ERA to 3.44, and may finally be on the way to his first 20-win season. Were it not for the amazing season that the currently injured Pedro Martinez is having, in fact, Mussina would be right there in the Cy Young race. Of course, given that Mussina, Ponson, Harold Baines, B.J. Surhoff, and Cal Ripken, among others, are all having excellent seasons, you know why we place so much blame for the underachieving Orioles on Manager Ray Miller. In fact, since the Orioles have scored more runs than they've given up this year (513-505), their record should be around .500. Instead, they are 12 games under, 15.5 games out of first place.

In other news:

To close out the series, Scott Erickson will face Jin Ho Cho. Mark Portugal, the original starter, had to be scratched from his start due to back spasms.

As we mentioned earlier, Al Reyes was the PTBNL in the trade that sent Rocky Coppinger to the Brewers. (The Washington Post | The Baltimore Sun.

Finally, Thomas Boswell writes that with the mess they got themselves into, the Orioles are going to have to make a lot of right decisions to correct the mistakes they made earlier.

July 20

Sooner or later, the rebuilding process is going to get underway for the Orioles. While veterans like Arthur Rhodes, Scott Erickson, Will Clark, and Juan Guzman may not be wearing O's uniforms much longer, one player who should remain a fixture in the rotation for years to come is 22-year old Sidney Ponson, who led the Orioles to a 4-1 victory over the New York Mets, once again providing a bright spot in an otherwise dreadful season. In pitching his American League-leading 5th complete game, Ponson gave up 6 hits, walked 3, and struck out 3 in lowering his ERA to 3.74 and upping his record to 9-6.

While Ponson was once again brilliant, he had just enough help on the offensive end. The much-maligned Albert Belle chipped in a 2-run homerun, his 20th of the season, and Will Clark and Mike Bordick each picked up an RBI with a bases loaded walk and a sacrifice fly respectively. Ryan Minor, who was demoted after the game, got his first hit of the season, and youngster Jerry Hairston added a hit and a stolen base of his own.

And in other news:

We have no idea how accurate these rumors are, but we've seen in more than one place that Cleveland GM John Hart has rejected a trade that involved Scott Erickson for Richie Sexson. Sexson, although a fine prospect, is primarily a first baseman, and so it seems odd that the Orioles would pursue him since 1B is where the Orioles have their best prospect waiting to step in- Calvin Pickering- who has been on fire as of late in Rochester. Of course, in another trade rumor article, Pickering is listed as a player who is available, although every player and their mother is also on that list.

We've written on numerous occasions that, despite the hype coming from the Orioles, Ryan Minor is not a good prospect. Well, that puts him one step ahead of the Orioles 1995 #1 draft pick, Alvie Shepherd, who was just released by the club. Shepherd, who battled injuries thoughout his minor league career, failed to advance past AA Bowie.

As has been widely reported, it appears that Albert Belle has indeed agreed to waive his no-trade clause. However, as John Eisenberg writes, it will it will be very difficult to find someone willing to trade for Belle, given his huge contract and off-the-field baggage. Of course, while we acknowledge the baggage Belle carries, and the fact that he has not produced as well as was hoped, we at The Warehouse think too much blame is heaped on Belle for the team's poor play this season, and that he is not the primary problem the team should be addressing.

Finally, we mentioned a few days ago that Rocky Coppinger was traded to Milwaukee for a player to be named later. Well, it turns out that the PTBNL is Al Reyes, a right-handed reliever who compiled an 8-4 record and 4.08 ERA in 101 games with the Brewers over the past four seasons.

July 19

Last season, the Orioles came out of the All-Star break on fire, winning 17 of their next 20 games leading up to the July 31st trading deadline, and in the process, quelling any thoughts of beginning the rebuilding process. In mid-June of this year, the Orioles won 11 of 12 games, and thoughts of the Wild Card once again popped into the heads of optimists. But despite a recent 5-game winning streak that included a sweep of the Expos, and what Ray Miller may "think," the Orioles have no shot at the Wild Card, and the sooner that becomes clear to everyone the better, so that the long-awaited rebuilding process can finally begin. And while we hate to see the Orioles lose, it's probably better that the Mets have taken the first two games in the series, including last night's 4-1 victory over the O's. The later it gets into July, the harder it will be for a winning streak to delude management into thinking that this last-place team can contend, and once again postpone the rebuilding process.

Youngster Jason Johnson, labeled an untouchable should the Orioles in fact decide to rebuild, was erratic last night in his first appearance in 12 days, giving up 5 walks in 4 2/3 innings of work. Mets youngster Octavio Dotel, making just his 4th start, scattered 3 hits over 7 innings, giving up only a solo homer to Will Clark in the 5th, to lead the Mets to the win. Despite his wildness, Johnson gave up only 2 runs, but the Orioles bullpen once again failed to shut down the opponent, as Arthur Rhodes gave up 2 home-runs in his 2 2/3 innings of work, before Scott Kamieniecki pitched 2 scoreless innings. Wouldn't it be nice to still have Armando Benitez, who lowered his ERA to 1.82 in picking up his 8th save, and who ended the game by striking out Charles Johnson on a 100-mph fastball?

In any case, in other news:

There is some indication that Albert Belle may in fact be willing to waive his no-trade clause. His $65 million contract includes a blanket no-trade clause through the year 2001.

Cal Ripken, who has been out since being hit on the hand by a pitch, is almost ready to return to action.

Rocky Coppinger, traded to the Brewers on Saturday, had a rough welcome to the National League. After pitching a perfect 11th, Rocky gave up back-to-back homers in the 12th inning. We'll keep you updated on Rocky's progress.

Finally, from your "news of the weird" department, Baltimore fire-fighters had to be called to Camden yards yesterday to put out a small, mysterious fire during the middle of the afternoon.

July 18

Is it just our imagination, or do the Orioles never play well on national television? [update: yes, it's our imagination: the O's are now 2-1 in nationally televised games, including the 22-1 win over Atlanta. Thanks Alan.] Well, they sure didn't on Sunday night, as their little mini-winning streak ended at five in an 8-6 loss to the Mets which wasn't as close as the final score. As is too often the case this year, the Orioles fell behind early due to a poor starting outing, this time by Juan Guzman. Then the bullpen failed to shut the door, giving the opposing Mets needed insurance runs. Finally, when it was too late, the offense got going, scoring some runs and padding their stats, but not changing the ultimate outcome. They did get the tying run to the plate in the person of Harold Baines, but as has happened infrequently this year, he failed.

The good:

Brady Anderson's excellent leadoff hitting continued, as he was on base 4 times (2 hits and 2 walks).
BJ Surhoff's excellent all-around hitting continued. Another two hit game for him.
A three-hit game for Albert Belle. Hopefully if his offense continues, the whining about him will stop.
Parts of the bullpen, at least, performed well, as Doug Johns, Jesse Orosco, and Scott Kamieniecki combined to throw 3.1 scoreless innings.

The bad:

Juan Guzman's habit of walking people finally caught up with him, as he allowed 5 runs while giving up 7 hits and walking 5 in just 5 innings of work.
Reliever Ricky Bones provided no relief whatsoever, showing his pre-DL form in giving up 3 hits and a walk in just 2/3 of an inning.
Well, Ryan Minor is performing just like he did in the minors: 3 AB, 2 Ks. That's 4 Ks in his 6 ABs since his callup.

The ugly

Gabe Molina and Rocky Coppinger really needed to be replaced by Ricky Bones? What a great decision to call him back. But he's older, so he must be the answer, right?
Armando Benitez, run out of town by management, has prospered all year, and to add insult to injury, slammed the door on the Orioles tonight in the ninth. This season, Armando sports a 1.86 ERA to go along with his 7 saves, but Orioles fans are instead forced to put up with Mike Timlin and his 5.06 ERA as closer. Yes, the same Timlin who blew more saves in the first 6 weeks of 1999 than Benitez did all last season, when he saved 22 games and posted an impressive 3.82 ERA. Instead of criticizing his "Latin temper," as Pat Gillick did, or his "immaturity," as Ray Miller did, the Mets love him.

Despite Sunday night's loss to the Mets, the rumor is that the Orioles are petitioning to sign on to Bud Selig's massive realignment plan, to be permanently moved to the NL East. The loss snapped a five game winning streak the Orioles had within the division -- the last 2 games against Philadelphia before the All-Star break, and a three-game sweep of the (admittedly woeful) Montreal Expos earlier this week. The loss also snapped a string of six straight strong performances by the Os starting pitcher.

Deja vu: Ray Miller insists the Orioles aren't really out of the race, and all they have to do is make up a game a week on Boston. Frankly, that's one of the stupidest statements we've ever heard. (And after 1.5 years of suffering with Miller, we've heard a lot.) For one thing, it's false. They also need to make up games on Toronto, Tampa, Chicago, Oakland, Anaheim, and Seattle. For another, "making up one game a week" is ridiculously difficult. Boston, right now, is a .556 team. If they play just .500 the rest of the year -- and why would they? -- they'd finish with 86 wins. The Orioles would need to play .662 ball (a 107-win pace) just to catch them.

Since the Orioles have no real shot, they desperately need to rebuild. So what have we seen from them so far? Trades of veterans for prospects? Ha! Don't make us laugh. We saw Rocky Coppinger run out of town, just like Armando Benitez before him. It's not like they traded him for anything real; he was dumped on the Brewers for a player to be named later. Meanwhile, Gabe Molina was demoted, so that (as we noted above) the Orioles could call Ricky Bones off the disabled list. It's true that veteran Lenny Webster was designated for assignment, but it wasn't because they were calling up a youngster. Instead, it was in favor of almost-29-year old Mike Figga. (Not that we're complaining, never having been big fans of Lenny Webster. We're not surprised that they haven't been able to get anything for Webster, a career backup catcher who's a poor hitter and baserunner.)

Finally, the Orioles called up Ryan Minor -- but not as the start of a youth movement. (And in that same article, Ray Miller once again demonstrates his tactful way of insulting his former players in the media, this time Rocky Coppinger is the target. Again, we hear Miller talk about accountability, and we keep wondering when he's going to be held accountable for running every team he's ever managed into the ground). Instead, in a freak incident, Cal Ripken, hit by a pitch, may have to go on the DL again, after not having gone on the DL for seventeen years. Since the Orioles don't know, they need Minor around. Unfortunately, Minor isn't likely to be part of any successful youth movement, despite what the Orioles hype machine keeps putting out, as he's struggling again in the minors (as opposed to Cal Pickering, who's tearing up Rochester after a slow start).

July 11

The Orioles wrapped up one of the worst first halves in team history by taking the final two of three games from the Philadelphia Phillies. Too bad they're not in the NL East; that's the only division they play well against. (They've actually won more games in the NL East than they have in their own division, where they've played three times as many games.) On Sunday, they sent Scott Erickson to the mound against Chad Ogea, and came out victorious. They got a solid outing from Erickson, a solid outing from Mike Timlin (!), and a solid offensive effort. If they could only combine those elements more often, they might have had something this year. At least they won today, 6-2. The win brought them to fifteen games under .500, still in last place.

The good:

Scott Erickson pitched 8 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits, though he caught Juan Guzman disease and walked 4 while striking out just 3. This makes the third straight solid outing by Erickson, hopefully boosting his trade value.
As mentioned above, Mike Timlin had a good outing, throwing a scoreless ninth with a 4-run lead. (Hey, he has to start somewhere.)
A strong offensive effort (12 hits, including five doubles.)
Jerry Hairston continued his strong initial showing by going 2-4 (raising his average to .328) with his 6th double of the year.
Brady Anderson added 3 hits, and Will Clark and Charles Johnson chipped in 2 hits each.

The bad:

Aw, hell. There really wasn't any today.

The ugly

Well, none from this game. Everything else from the first half, though. While nobody should rationally have expected the Os to be contenders, I don't think anybody, not even the biggest pessimists like ourselves, expected them to be in last place.

Other good news came early on Sunday, as it was announced that Jose Canseco was having (potentially season-ending) back surgery. Why is this good? Well, in addition to giving the Os a shot to catch the Devil Rays for fourth place in the division, it meant that Canseco had to pull out of the All-Star game. This gave Harold Baines a shot, as he joins Mike Mussina, Cal Ripken, and BJ Surhoff in representing the Orioles at the game. We should note that Surhoff will participate in the home-run hitting contest on Monday night. (What does it say about a manager when his team has four all-stars and is still in last place?)

The Orioles have some big decisions to make in the second half: who stays and who goes? Does Hairston get a shot, or do the Orioles pull their typical crap and demote him in favor of Delino DeShields? Do the Orioles trade veterans like Baines, or do play out the season? Does Miller stay or go?

July 8

And it just keeps getting worse. Adding insult to injury, not only are the Orioles utterly incapable of beating the Toronto Blue Jays, not only do the Blue Jays always find a way to beat the Orioles, but they do it with players the idiots running the team thought weren't good enough. Willie Green cost them a couple of games already, and today it was Willis Otanez hitting two homers in a rout of the Orioles. And Tony Batista, who the Orioles could have had easily if they were willing to rebuild earlier this year, hit two homers of his own, sending the Orioles to a humiliating 11-6 loss. With the debacle, the Orioles' 13th loss in their last 15 games, the Orioles fall to a season-worst 16 games under .500 and a season-worst 17.5 games out of first place.

The good:

The really good news starts and ends with Jerry Hairston, who went 4-5, doubled twice, and stole two bases.
Harold Baines chipped in a three-hit game of his own, including his team-leading 19th homer.

The bad:

Sidney Ponson had a bad game. He's entitled to do that occasionally, but it didn't help.
Rocky Coppinger got knocked around in mopup, too.

The ugly

The Orioles finished the season 1-11 versus Toronto. And are currently 6-25 versus the AL East.

July 7

We're back, after a hiatus. Sorry about that folks, but as we've said, we've been extremely busy lately. We're going to try to get back to regular updating, but real-world responsibilities have taken most of our time lately, and we do do this just for fun. We're certainly open to your contributions, though. Got some thoughts on the All-Star selections? Have you figured out what's wrong with the Orioles? Want to let the world know your Master Plan to rebuild the team? Send us your essays. (Semi-literate Yankee fans need not apply.)

Well, the Orioles may suck, but they're consistent. If they take a lead, their bullpen gives up runs to blow it. If they fall behind, their bullpen gives up runs to ensure they can't catch up. Did we mention their bullpen giving up runs? Last night was no different, and it was all the more painful because it was former Oriole Willie Greene who did the damage. Greene propelled the Blue Jays to a come-from-behind victory by hitting a two-run homer off Gabe Molina in the ninth inning, sending the Orioles to a 7-6 loss.

The good:

Jason Johnson: 6 IP, 3 hits, 3 runs, 4 walk, 3 strikeouts.
Cal Ripken: closing in. He went 3-for-4, and his 12th home run of the season put him just four away from the 400 barrier.
Harold Baines continues to be hot, hitting his 18th home run.
Jerry Hairston continues to play well, going 1-2 with 2 walks and an RBI, making the Orioles' roster decisions more difficult. (Speaking of roster decisions, it looks like Lenny Webster, who is currently on a rehab assignment, is close to becoming a Pittsburgh Pirate. The Pirates, as you probably know, lost starting catcher Jason Kendall for the rest of the season).

The bad:

As usual, the bullpen: Scott Kamieniecki and Jesse Orosco stop throwing strikes. Rookie Gabe Molina, infected by Os-Bullpen-Disease, allows 2 inherited runners to score before giving up a game-losing 3-run homer.

The ugly

The Orioles are now 1-10 versus Toronto this year. And 6-24 versus the AL East as a whole.

The All-Star selections have been announced, and the lowly Orioles will have three representatives. No big surprises though. Cal, of course, was voted in. Manager Joe Torre selected Mike Mussina and BJ Surhoff, giving the Orioles at least three all-stars for the fourth year in a row. Other Orioles who could have been chosen, but weren't, were Sidney Ponson and Charles Johnson. Speaking of the All-Star Game, we're sort of befuddled to hear people whining about Cal Ripken getting elected. He's been undeservedly elected (if by "deserving," one goes by midseason stats only) several times in recent years. This year, he's back among the elite players at his position, and now people complain? (In related news, the Orioles rewarded Cal's production by exercising the option on his contract for the 2000 season).

Keep checking out our draft chart for updates on the progress of the Orioles at signing their draft picks. They added another one: supplemental pick Josh Cenate, the other day.