News Archives: July 2001

Casey Stengel once asked, of the 1962 Mets, "Can't anybody here play this game?" He might as well have been asking about the 2001 Orioles. Hide your head in shame. Nobody wants to be a fair-weather fan, but at some point, you just have to avoid embarassment. This game was ugly. Sidney Ponson was handed a 5-1 lead, courtesy mostly of Jay Gibbons and Jeff Conine, but he was unable to hold it. Primarily because the fielders behind him were unable to hold onto the ball. Jerry Hairston threw a ball away and Jay Gibbons let a ball go over his head for a double, giving the Rangers three runs they shouldn't have had, and they were able to catch up. But multihit games from Chris Richard, Conine, Gibbons, and Hairston enabled the Orioles to put 7 runs on the board, and it might have been enough. Except that Mike Kinkade dropped a fly ball, leading to two more Ranger runs, and Brady Anderson struck out with the bases loaded to end the game.

• Jeff Conine continues his hot hitting, raising his average to .322 with a 2-4, 1 BB day.
• Although Melvin Mora was 0-3, he walked twice and made a great catch at the wall.
• Jay Gibbons' bat: Gibbons went 2-3 with 3 RBI and a run scored; he doubled and hit his team-leading 15th homer. Toronto must already be regretting letting him get away.
• Jerry Hairston may be out of his offensive slump, going 2-4 with a double and a run scored.
  
  
• The bad: Sidney Ponson. He wasn't as bad as his box score line (7 IP, 8 H, 6 R) made him look; if the Orioles could play defense, he'd have done much better. Still, if he had struck out more than two batters, there would have been fewer opportunities for his defense to boot the ball.
• After allowing just 3 of his first 31 inherited runners to score, Buddy Groom has now allowed 5 of 8 to do so. Why oh why won't Syd Thrift trade him before his value evaporates?
  
  
• The ugly: yes, we've said this before. The defense. They were "only" charged with 2 errors, but that doesn't count the misjudgments in the outfield by Jay Gibbons which led to the ball sailing over his head for a double. Officially, 3 of the runs were unearned, but at least 5 of the runs would not have scored if the Orioles had played defense.
• The blame for the defensive woes of the team belongs not with the players, but with management. While Hairston is in a slump, the others are playing out of position. If Syd Thrift put 1/10th the effort into building a roster that he does into whining about being misunderstood, maybe the team would have outfielders in the outfield instead of utility players and first basemen.

Well, they're now 16 1/2 out. They've dropped 15 of their last 18 games. They now have the 6th worst record in baseball. What's the good news? Well, we still have our health. Not for much longer, though, because we're going to have a stroke waiting for GM Syd Thrift to actually do something for this team. Something good, we mean. We should probably count our blessings that he hasn't traded Sidney Ponson and Jay Gibbons for Pedro Astacio or something.

• The Orioles have made a decision about their rotation in the short term; John Parrish has been recalled to start the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader, after Calvin Maduro starts the first game.
• To make room for Parrish on the roster, the Orioles optioned Jorge Julio to Rochester. For our analysis, you know where to look: Transactions Breakdown....
• Larry Bigbie was promoted to the majors to replace the injured David Segui on the roster; to replace Bigbie on Rochester's roster, Tim Raines Jr. was brought up from Bowie. Raines has shot through the farm system this year, and is one of the few players demonstrating that he might be able to hit.
• Mike Hargrove has made official what was obvious but unannounced: Fernando Lunar has displaced Brook Fordyce as the team's #1 catcher. There is the perception that Lunar has hit well (.275 average) while Fordyce has not (.196 average). That's only half true. Fordyce has hit terribly. But Lunar, despite his .275 average, is a terrible offensive player, one who never walks and who never drives the ball, giving him a poor .306 OBP and .343 SLG. And Lunar can be expected to fall off, believe it or not, while Fordyce's play should pick up, given regular playing time. On the other hand, Lunar is significantly younger (24) than Fordyce (31). Either way, it's a "pick your poison" decision.
• Rochester has lost 11 of its last 12 games.
• The Ripken retirement tour continues; Ripken had his locker??? retired by the Rangers on Tuesday. Uh, yeah, whatever. A little pre-game ceremony is one thing, but this is just getting weird.
• Ex-O News: This one's a real shocker. You'll never believe it, but Jeffrey Hammonds is hurt! What are the odds of that? In any case, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Hammonds' season is officially over; he's having season-ending surgery to repair cartilage in his right shoulder.

Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Fortunately (?), when that good thing is "winning," the Orioles will never have to worry about too much of it. A day after finally snapping a six-game losing streak, the Orioles were back to losing. Badly. For the second time in three games, Anaheim thumped Baltimore, 9-4, as a Baltimore starting pitcher was pounded. This time, the culprit/victim was Jose Mercedes, who lasted just 3 innings and gave up 6 runs. The Orioles got no relief from the bullpen, as John Wasdin gave up 3 runs in his 5 innings of relief. Offensively, the Orioles got a bunch of singles -- 11 of them -- but with just 3 extra base hits, none of them homers, they still managed just 4 runs, and two of them came in "garbage time."

• Fernando Lunar had his best day as an Oriole, going 3-4 with 2 doubles and a run scored.
• Jerry Hairston had his second straight game with a hit, and also walked twice and drove in two runs.
• For a change, most of the lineup did decently, with everyone except Chris Richard and Jay Gibbons getting hits, and Lunar, Brian Roberts, Melvin Mora, Jeff Conine, Tony Batista, and Cal Ripken each having multihit games. Somehow, they managed time those hits so that they scored just 4 runs, though.
  
  
• The bad: Jose Mercedes: lasting just 3 innings, giving up 6 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks.
• John Wasdin, again. Pitching long relief, he went 5 innings, but he turned a 6-2 deficit (almost manageable -- at least for a team with a decent offense) into a 9-2 hole from which the Orioles had no chance of recovering. He gave up 4 hits, walked one, and hit two batters with pitches. We still can't figure out why Wasdin's on this team.
  
  
• The ugly: timing. Given the looming trading deadline, a very bad time for Jose Mercedes to have his worst start in six weeks.

The Orioles fell back to 15 1/2 games out, their worst deficit of the season, as they dropped their 14th in their last 17 games. While they still have a comfortable lead over Tampa, they have the 7th worst record in baseball. Is Syd Thrift going to do anything about this team?

• The schedule for the makeup games against Texas has been announced; one game will be played as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday in Texas (yes, even though the game was originally in Baltimore), and the other game will be played in Baltimore on Monday, a previously-scheduled off-day.
• The Orioles don't have any idea who will pitch the second game in the Wednesday doubleheader; Calvin Maduro was recently announced as the first starter. But the Orioles haven't thought it through and don't have anyone in place for the second.
• The Orioles finally made a decision on David Segui and his sore knee, putting him on the disabled list retroactive to last Sunday, and calling up Larry Bigbie to take his place. For our analysis, see Transactions Breakdown....
• Ex-O News: LHP Chuck McElroy, released by the Orioles two weeks ago, was signed by the San Diego Padres. And journeyman RHP Doug Linton was sold by the Mets to a Korean team.

Well, the losing streak is finally over. Jason Johnson was brilliant, pitching 6 2/3 innings of six-hit, one-run ball, striking out a season-high seven batters, and Jay Gibbons hit a go-ahead two-run homer as part of an unanswered five-run "outburst" by the Orioles. Gibbons and Cal Ripken each had two hits, and Chris Richard and Jeff Conine each walked twice, and the Orioles took advantage of two Anaheim errors. Meanwhile, the bullpen, despite a scare in the 8th, pitched scoreless relief to clinch the 5-1 victory for the Orioles. Unfortunately, before Jason Johnson could take the mound, Willis Roberts started the afternoon game of the doubleheader, and he pitched Robertsianly. (No, it's not a word. But you know what we mean.) He was hit hard for six innings -- though he certainly wasn't helped by the team's defense -- and completely fell apart in the seventh, walking the first two batters before Jerry Hairston's error loaded the bases with none out. And he certainly wasn't helped by his bullpen; John Wasdin came in and allowed all the runners on base to score. That turned a 5-4 deficit into a 9-4 blowout. The Orioles did generate some offense, getting 11 hits (including doubles, a triple, and Tony Batista's fourth home run as an Oriole) and 3 walks, but grounding into three double plays cost them.

• The good: Jason Johnson: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 K. He lowered his ERA to 3.18, fifth in the American League behind Pedro Martinez, Tim Wakefield, Tim Hudson, and Aaron Sele.
• Jay Gibbons: 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 Runs, a big HR, his team-leading 14th. Not including Tony Batista, who accumulated most of his HRs for Toronto, he's the only player with a realistic shot at 20 HRs this season.
• Jeff Conine continues to play well; he went 3-6 with 3 runs scored, an RBI, a 2B, and 2 walks in the doubleheader.
• Chris Richard went 3-5 with 3 walks. Unfortunately, because the bottom portion of the lineup is so poor, he scored just one run.
  
  
• The bad: Willis Roberts: 6 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. Roberts has been erratic all year, and this was one of his really bad starts.
• John Wasdin, who came in with the bases loaded and allowed all the runs to score. The Wasdin acquisition has been pretty pointless so far.
• Another poor day for Brady Anderson, who went 0-7 and is now batting .201.
  
  
• The ugly: the defense. How many defensive mistakes can one team make? Sure, it was two games, but between them, the Orioles made four errors, including two by Hairston, and one by the extremely error-prone Brian Roberts. And Brady Anderson managed to misplay a ball without being charged with an error, too.

The team's win in the nightcap snapped a six game losing streak, allowing the Orioles to remain 13 games under .500. Still, they lost yet another half-game in the standings, and are now 14 1/2 games out of first place. Only Tampa, Kansas City, and Texas have worse records in the American League.

• The Orioles got a scare when Jay Gibbons was hit with a flying bat while sitting in the dugout in game one; he was bruised, but x-rays were negative and he was healthy enough to homer in the second game.
• Still no decision on David Segui; he sat out of two more games on Sunday.
• The trainout and subsequent doubleheader has resulted in a warped pitching rotation; the Orioles have decided that Calvin Maduro will get the start on Wednesday in Texas. Maduro earned the start by pitching so well against Texas in relief of Sean Douglass last week, just before the trainout.
• Jerry Hairston missed his first game of the season in the opener of the doubleheader. He came back in the second game to get his first hit in months. Or at least it seemed that long.

All good things must come to an end... and the Orioles' non-playing streak is over, which means that their losing streak is increasing once again. Despite having new almost-ace Josh Towers on the mound, the Orioles dropped yet another game. Towers gave up two two-run homers to Troy Glaus, and that put the Orioles far enough in the hole that their pathetic offense had no chance of coming back. And yet, they did come back, scoring single runs in the fourth and fifth, and then rallying for a 3-run ninth off Anaheim stud closer Troy Percival, with the key blow being a two-run single by Melvin Mora with two outs. Unfortunately, Mike Hargrove brought Alan Mills to pitch after the Orioles tied the game, and Mills gave up a triple and single to give up a run and, ultimately, lose yet another game for the Orioles, this time 6-5 to the Angels.

• The good: Well, this is a little mixed, but we'll call it good. Josh Towers pitched pretty well. He made two mistakes to Troy Glaus, which were hit out of the park, but he also struck out a career-high six, and he once again lasted deep into the game, pitching 7.2 innings.
• Brian Roberts: 2-5 with a run, a SB, and 2 RBI. While batting leadoff! How often does an Oriole leadoff hitter reach base safely twice in the same game? Answer: the last time was July *1st*, three weeks ago.
• Jeff Conine: 2-4, 2B, run, BB. He continues to play well, boosting his trade value.
• Melvin Mora, 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI. And he stole two bases.
• An offensive rally at a key time! Three runs in the ninth to tie the game against dominant reliever Troy Percival!
  
  
• The bad: the bullpen, pitching 2.1 innings, allowing 2 runs to blow the game. The main culprits: Mike Trombley, Buddy Groom, and Alan Mills. Mills, in particular, has been poor since his return, giving up the losing run to boost his ERA to 6.75.
• Jerry Hairston was 0-2, continuing his poor showing of July; he's now 0-24, and 4 for his last 47.
  
  
• The ugly: When you come back to tie a game against a closer with an improbable three-run rally, can't you at least wait more than 5 minutes before blowing the game and losing anyway?

We hate to say "We told you so." (No, wait a minute. We don't hate that -- we love it.) If the Orioles had only been trained out again, they'd be "only" 13 1/2 games out. Instead, they played, so they remain 14 games out. They've now lost 5 straight games and have fallen 13 games under .500. The Orioles definitely need to make some trading deadline decisions, and they know it. The Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles may be willing to make a bid for Jason Giambi, J.D. Drew, or Jermaine Dye. They're also interested in trading Jeff Conine, Buddy Groom, Jose Mercedes, Sidney Ponson, Mike Trombley, or Melvin Mora.

• Thanks to Friday's trainout, the Orioles play their first doubleheader of the year on Sunday, of the day-night variety.
• Pat Hentgen's return is not going to be immediate, but it's beginning to look imminent; he threw batting practice on Saturday and is expected to throw a simulated game and then go on a rehab assignment.
• The Orioles are still refusing to make a decision on David Segui, forcing them to play with a 24-man roster. He hasn't played in a week -- after missing a game on Saturday the 14th, he got one AB on the 15th before having to leave the game with his injury. This just shows more organizational cowardice; they're afraid to do anything, hoping that a decision will be made for them.
• There's still no news on when -- or even if -- the missed games from the Texas series will be made up.
• We finally found a team doing worse than the Orioles: Rochester has now dropped nine straight games.
• Ex-O notes: Here's an article on C Jayson Werth, traded to Toronto before the season started. And Larry Lucchino, former Oriole team president and current Padre president/CEO, has announced he's stepping down as head of the Padres after the season.

You've heard it said that good teams find a way to win? Well, the Orioles aren't quite there, but they finally found a way not to lose. All they needed to do was derail a train and cause a hazardous materials spill, and a fire that can't be put out, right near Camden Yards. So far, the "trainout" has cost the team three scheduled dates and two games, and there's no information yet on when, or even whether, the Orioles will be able to make up the games against the Rangers. Texas is not scheduled to make any more trips to Baltimore, and there are few off days left in the schedule, and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has said that the games must be made up before the end of the season, if at all.

Unfortunately, the Orioles got in one game against the Texas Rangers before the spill, and the Orioles' roster could have been classified as a hazardous materials spill. Rookie Sean Douglass, just called up and making his first major league start, showed he was not quite ready-for-prime-time, giving up 12 baserunners and 6 runs in just 3.2 innings. Calvin Maduro was brilliant in long relief, completely shutting down the Rangers after that, but of course, with a 5 run deficit, it was far too late. The Os actually tallied 4 runs, matching their total from the entire Marlin series, thanks in large part to home runs from Jeff Conine and Tony Batista, but of course it wasn't nearly enough, and the Orioles lost again. (On the bright side, had the game been long or gone into extra innings, then the stadium might have been full when the train derailment occurred.)

• The good: Calvin Maduro, who came into the game in the 4th with the score already 6-1 and Texas having two runners on base; Maduro killed the rally and then gave up just 4 baserunners -- none past first base -- over the final five+ innings.
• Jeff Conine: 3-4 with a HR, run and RBI. Hey, 3 hits is a good teameffort these days.
• Tony Batista: 2-4, double, HR, RBI, and 2 runs scored.
• Mike Hargrove, for finally using a pitcher in long relief, instead of turning every game into a parade from the bullpen.
  
  
• The bad: Sean Douglass, making his major league debut an inauspicious one. 3.2 innings, 9 hits and six runs, walking three and striking out just 2. Despite his struggles, his debut was described by management as "encouraging."
• Jerry Hairston was 0-3, making him hitless in, what, his last 700 ABs? (Actually, he's 0-22, and 4 for his last 45, but who's counting?)
  
  
• The ugly: The offense. Are we supposed to get excited about a team effort which resulted in 4 runs? Sure, they had 10 hits, including 4 for extra bases, but they didn't walk at all, and this sort of effort is supposed to be a bad day, not a good one.
• And, of course, the losing, which has now hit 4 straight and 11 of 13.

The Orioles' loss on Wednesday afternoon dropped them to 15 1/2 games behind the Yankees, but their subsequent trainouts actually managed to gain them back a game in the standings, so they now stand 14 1/2 games out. There's only a week and a half left until the first trading deadline, though, so the distraction can only hurt them as they (hopefully) try to work out deals. Unfortunately, there has been little news on that front so far. There are occasional rumors of trading Sidney Ponson, still, this time for either Jermaine Dye or Magglio Ordonez.

• There's still no news on the David Segui health front; his knee is still bothering him, and he might still have to go on the DL, but the Orioles refuse to make a decision one way or the other.
• As noted, Sean Douglass was called up from Rochester (and Chad Paronto sent down to make room) for the start, and after the start, he was sent right back down to Rochester, and the Orioles called up Jorge Julio. For our analysis, see Transactions Breakdown....
• The minor league teams are doing little better than the major league ones; Rochester has dropped seven straight games, while Bowie had lost eleven of fourteen. This organization needs an overhaul from top to bottom.
• Ex-O notes: OF Alex Ochoa has been traded to the Colorado Rockies; look for his career to get a sudden boost.

At least it can't get any worse. We think. There's little place to go but up from here, we hope, Certainly that's the case offensively, where the Orioles are very consistent We always know which lineup is going to show up: none of them. Stop us if you've heard this before: the Orioles generated nothing at the plate whatsoever. Tuesday's starting pitching (namely, Sidney Ponson) was shakier than Monday's, but it really wouldn't have mattered, since the Orioles didn't even manage a hit until the fifth inning. But just to forestall any chance of comeback, John Wasdin came into the game and turned a 4-1 deficit into a 7-1 deficit. A nice, well-rounded defeat.

• The good: Jay Gibbons, 2-4 with his team-leading thirteenth home run. (Boy, the decision to sign David Segui right after drafting Gibbons is looking dumber and dumber.)
• Cal Ripken, who went 1-3 with a walk and 2-run home run, his seventh of the season, and third in the past week. And he came close to a second one today before the ball hooked foul. The one he did hit was a rocket, not a high fly ball, showing that Cal can still turn on a pitch and drive it in the right circumstances.
  
  
• The bad: Sidney Ponson had an off day, lasting just 4 innings and giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on five hits and three walks. His control was extremely shaky, as he walked 3 and hit a batter (forcing in a run) while throwing 84 pitches in just 4 innings of work. Still, he might have been given the chance to settle down if it weren't for the fact that, down 4-0, the Orioles couldn't afford to let him hit anymore. Not with this offense. Not, as it turns out, that it mattered. But we don't think Mike Hargrove can afford to give quick hooks to his starting pitching.
• John Wasdin, in only his second appearance as an Oriole, his first in 2 weeks (after having missed some time with family issues), was not at all sharp, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and a walk in just 1 2/3 innings.
  
  
• The ugly: Oh, you know -- the offense, of course. They did get two home runs -- but those were their only extra base hits, and they only got 4 other singles. For the entire three-game series, the Orioles were 13-88 (.148) with just 4 runs scored. Their #1 and #2 hitters went 1-22 (.045) with one walk.

The resulting 8-3 thrashing, and thus the Marlins' three-game sweep over the Orioles, left Baltimore at 6-12 in interleague play. We hated the entire idea of interleague play before this, and now we hate it even more. Their 10th loss in their last 12 games left the Orioles so far off the pace now (11 games under .500, 14 1/2 games behind) that they can't even see the wild card. Only the Devil Rays, Royals, and Rangers are worse in the American League. The pathetic Montreal Expos, the symbol of baseball ineptitude in recent years, are just 1 1/2 games behind the Orioles.

• 1B David Segui's knee is still bothering him. The Orioles aren't talking -- but he may have to go back on the disabled list. Gee, what a shame. The Orioles might be forced to continue playing younger guys. Even perhaps (gasp) Big Cal Pickering. (If indeed the Orioles call him up, they will almost certainly be the only team in history to have three Calvins on the roster at the same time.
• After starting rumors that minor leaguer Sean Douglass would start the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader, Mike Hargrove denied them the other day. But now it turns out the rumors are true; Douglass will get the call from Rochester, making his major league debut against the Rangers this afternoon. To make room for him, Chad Batting Practice Paronto was sent down. Unless Douglass does something astonishing, this is expected to be his only major league start for now, but you never know.
• No new news on the trade front.
• Ryan Kohlmeier is being converted into a starter at Rochester, at least for the time being. He made his second start the other day, a mediocre one, which prompted manager Andy Etchebarren's less-than-enthusiastic assessment: "He threw the ball OK. His location wasn't great, and it needs to be for him to be effective." Boy, that's the nicest thing Etchebarren could come up with?
• Ex-O notes: Armando Benitez: remember him? The guy the Orioles didn't trust? He's now 23-23 in saves this year -- the only closer in the majors who hasn't blown a save. Meanwhile, former flamethrowing LHP Brad Pennington signed a deal with Allentown of the Northern League.

Well, we take it back. There is momentum. The team's just moving in the wrong direction. Every day, the offense gets further and further away from the ballpark. In a scenario that's becoming routine, the Orioles got a good pitching performance from their starting pitcher -- in this case, Jose Mercedes, who had his ninth quality start in his last twelve outings -- but it was wasted. Wasted by an offense that was completely invisible, once again. We could recite a litany of statistics which show how bad the offense was, but what would be the point? Suffice it to say that the Orioles were shut out for the sixth time this season, and recorded just two hits.

• The good: Jose Mercedes had a good outing. 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R. If nothing else, he's boosting his trade value.
  
  
• The bad: Alan Mills doesn't seem to have it quite yet. He pitches 1 inning, gives up a solo homer and walks another batter.
• The Orioles got 2 extra base hits today -- both doubles -- but no other hits, and walked just 3 times. Only one batter even reached third base, Jeff Conine.
  
  
• The ugly: Cal Ripken Jr. sat on Monday -- and still recorded as many hits as seven of the team's starters. 2 hits? 2 hits? The Orioles are now batting .221 in July -- with an embarassing .296 OBP.

With the 4-0 loss, the team's 9th loss in its last 11 games, the Orioles dropped to a season-worst 10 games under .500 and 13 1/2 games out of first place. The team is now closer to the awful Devil Rays than they are to the playoffs, and there's no longer even a hint of a glimmer of a chance that the Orioles think they can contend this year.

• Talk of trading Jose Mercedes to the Minnesota Twins appears to be intensifying, at least according to the Baltimore Sun, which suggests that the Orioles would get unnamed "prospects" for him. Strangely, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune doesn't mention Jose Mercedes at all, but instead suggests that the Twins are about to get Pedro Astacio. The other local paper for the Twins, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, does mention the Twins interest in Jose Mercedes -- but only in citing the Baltimore Sun. More disinformation from the Sun?
• 1B David Segui's knee is still bothering him, and although his MRI was negative, he went to Baltimore to be examined by team doctors. It will be fashionable for the Orioles to blame his absence for the team's offensive struggles, but don't believe it. That they have a first baseman with a grand total of just 8 HRs after the All-Star Break is a symptom of the problem, not a solution to it.
• Ex-O note: a second big-name pitcher goes down with injury: RHP Kevin Brown is expected to miss a month with a sprained elbow.

So much for momentum. One game winning streaks just won't do it, and Cal Ripken can't homer twice in every game. In fact, the Orioles as a team have trouble homering twice in a game; they've only done it two other times all month, and four times in the last 26 days. Today they didn't even hit one. Or even a double. Heck, they're lucky they got any singles. They scored one run, on a groundout. It probably wouldn't have mattered if they had done better, since the bullpen was pathetic, as B.J. Ryan and Chad Paronto came into a 3-1 game, pitched a combined 2/3 of an inning, and left with the Orioles trailing 7-1.

• The good: Jason Johnson didn't pitch that badly. He allowed 4 runs in 6.1 innings, but one of those runs scored after he left the game, and he walked just 1 while striking out 6.
  
  
• The bad: Where do we start? BJ Ryan and Chad Paronto combined to allow all 3 runners that they inherited to score.
• The offense was once again missing. Completely. It seems to have stayed behind in Atlanta, or perhaps in 1996. The Orioles had a grand total of 5 hits -- all singles -- and one walk. Did we mention that all of their hits were singles?
  
  
• The ugly: as we said, the Orioles got 5 hits and 1 walk. The walk, and one of those hits, came from Jason Johnson. Yes, the pitcher. The one who had a grand total of zero career hits before Sunday. The non-pitchers in the lineup were 4-30 with no walks. So when's Cal Pickering coming?
• You want more ugly? How about this? Oriole catcher Charles Johnson doubled and homered -- only, he's not an Oriole catcher anymore. The Orioles let him go, and so he now plays for the Florida Marlins. So look:

  Player       AB   R   H   2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO   AVG/OBP/SLG
  
  Johnson      267  39  77  22  0   17  58   28  79   288/361/562
  
  Lunardyce    286  25  63  16  0   3   22   18  56   220/273/308

The Orioles are now 2-8 in their last ten games, courtesy of this 7-1 thrashing. They're not falling any further behind in the division or wild card races, but at this point, does it really matter? All that's left is the farewell tour for Cal Ripken, which on Sunday entered City #3, Miami.

• Cal Ripken Jr. went 0-3, snapping his hitting streak at 15 games.
• Chad Paronto has now allowed 7 of the 9 runners he has inherited this year to score, and has allowed an embarassing 5 home runs in just 26 innings. We don't know precisely how the Orioles will handle things when Pat Hentgen comes back from the disabled list, but Paronto sure shouldn't make any long term plans. Hentgen threw off a mound for the first time since going on the DL, and the Orioles expect he will need several rehab starts before being ready for a callup.
• Sean Douglass will not be called up to start Wednesday afternoon's first game of the doubleheader, though the Orioles have not yet announced who will start. Either way, the second (night) game will be one of those oh-so-trendy "Turn Back The Clock" games, with the Orioles wearing 1977 uniform replicas and bringing back a bunch of players from that year's team.
• After sitting out of Saturday's game with a sore knee, David Segui was in the starting lineup on Sunday, but left after one inning because of the injury. Aren't old players fun to have on a team?
• A big game for prospect John Stephens in Bowie on Sunday: he pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits, walking none, and striking out nine. We love to see this, and can't wait for Stephens to be promoted to Rochester.
• Ex-O note: Here's a big one: Montreal called up Bobby Munoz from AAA. I'm sure memorabilia collectors will be rushing out for his autograph.

Now that's more like it; that's what we were talking about when we talked about needing a sense of drama. Now if only this game had happened two days ago, before the debacles of Thursday-Friday. Today the Orioles got the starting pitching -- backed up by defense. But that wasn't the story of the game; not even close. After Tony Batista homered to tie the game at one, Cal Ripken took over in the sixth. With a man on first, Ripken homered to deep left on the first pitch he saw. Not one of his gosh-I'm-40-and-can-barely-clear-the-wall homers, but a no-doubt-about-it smash. Although the homer gave the Orioles a 3-1 lead, the Atlanta crowd erupted with applause and forced Cal to come up for a curtain call. But Cal wasn't finished; in the eighth inning, he did it again, homering to left to give the Orioles an insurance run and give the Atlanta fans even more to cheer about. And the bullpen held on, as B.J. Ryan, Mike Trombley, and Buddy Groom pitched 2.1 scoreless innings to save the victory for Willis Roberts and even his record at 7.

• The good: Duh. Cal Ripken. 2-3, 2 HRs, 3 RBI, a walk, and 2 runs scored. Let the babble about Cal's All-Star Game home run being a "gift" end now.
• Willis Roberts: In an off-again, on-again year, today was "on-again." One run on 5 hits in 6.2 innings, almost as if he knew that it was Cal Ripken's day. And it wasn't luck; he looked good on the mound, baffling Atlanta hitters with splitters.
• Tony Batista: His second home run as an Oriole. He's not going to win an MVP based on his Oriole performance so far (240/316/400), but at least he's turned it up from his Toronto days earlier this year (207/251/399). Plus, we were glad to see him playing shortstop.
  
  
• The bad: well, Brian Roberts made another error. We're not overly worried about it -- he's young, and these things happen -- but he's not making much of a case for staying on the major league roster when Mike Bordick returns from the disabled list.

The 4-1 win was just the Orioles' second in their last nine games, but obviously couldn't keep the Orioles from losing their first series in Atlanta since interleague play began. Of course, we're only talking about three series. Supposedly, interleague play is going to rotate divisions next year, so the Orioles probably won't be back in Atlanta for six years or so.

• Ex-O note: LHP David Wells is likely to have surgery on his arm and be out for the rest of the season.
• David Segui sat out of Saturday's game with a sore knee.
• Thanks to a rainout, the Orioles have a day-night doubleheader scheduled on Wednesday; the Orioles haven't yet decided who will start the second game. The Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles might call up prospect Sean Douglass for a start; if so, it would be his major league debut.
• Cal Ripken Jr.'s great day extended his hitting streak to 15 games.
• Cal Pickering leads the International League in RBI. Maybe he can get a callup sometime soon?

It's better to win ugly than lose pretty... but it's worse to lose ugly. And that was a loss. And it was ugly. What more can be said about Friday night's 7-1 pounding at the hands of the Atlanta Braves? Trust us, you don't want to hear more. Everything that could go wrong, did. Starter Josh Towers was his usual effective self, scattering several singles but never getting hit hard, but unfortunately, his defense completely let him down, as Brian Roberts made numerous mistakes in the field. Officially, only one run was unearned, but had the Orioles played competently in the field, Atlanta would have scored only 3 or 4 runs at most. But it really wouldn't have mattered, since they had no offense to speak of, once again. The Orioles have been a weak-hitting team all year, but they have reverted from their merely bad form of June to their pathetic showing of earlier in the season.

• The good: Josh Towers, despite giving up 7 runs (6 earned). He gave up just six hits -- five of them singles, and one double and walked just two. Unfortunately, he was victimized by the team's "defense."
• The bad: the "offense" was offensive only to Oriole fans, once again. Tom Glavine has struggled this year -- but not against the Orioles. He walked 4, but gave up just 2 hits in seven innings. The Orioles got three doubles today -- but no other hits.
• The ugly: the defense. Some botched plays are excusable, like a ball taking a weird hop and hitting Brian Roberts in the head. But some are inexcusable; Roberts and Hairston miscommunicating on a ball up the middle, or Roberts botching another grounder. Or Melvin Mora misplaying a ball in the outfield to allow runners to advance. And then there's the idiocy of getting fooled by the delayed double steal; with men on first and third and two outs, you're not supposed to throw the ball to second on a steal attempt -- but the Orioles botched it. And then there was another play where a ball went between third baseman Tony Batista and Roberts,

The loss was the Orioles' seventh in their last eight games, and they're now 9 games under .500 for the first time this season. In addition to being 12 1/2 games out of first, they're also 12 games out of the wild card spot. Finally, talk seems to be turning, appropriately, towards trading away veterans, instead of getting them. We want to emphasize that we're not happy that the Orioles are losing -- but we think that another year of rebuilding is necessary, and a decision to abandon youngsters in favor of veterans would crush the Orioles' chances for another 4 or 5 years. So we're happy that the Orioles recognize (hopefully) the need to continue the rebuilding process. In this case, talk is of trading away the 30-year old Jose Mercedes to the Twins for prospects, rather than the 24-year old Sidney Ponson for a veteran third baseman or outfielder.

• Ex-O note: Speedy no-hit OF Kimera Bartee, who the Orioles traded to Minnesota for Scott Erickson, has bounced around the league; yesterday he was acquired by the Rockies from the Angels for a minor leaguer. Even Coors Field won't be able to help his career, though. Also, Ex-O RHP Nerio Rodriguez pitched eight no-hit innings against Bowie on Thursday night.
• In addition to all the other problems he had, Brian Roberts went hitless to see his hitting streak snapped at 15 games, tying the longest in Orioles' history for a rookie (Rich Coggins in 1973 and Eddie Murray in 1977). In an example of the tyranny of batting averages, though, even though Roberts hit .281 in 15 games, his performance during the streak was lousy. He got the minimum one hit in 12 of the 15 games, and incredibly, walked just once during the streak, giving him a pathetic .288 OBP during the 15-game span. In addition, he had just 3 doubles and 1 triple, meaning his SLG was an anemic .359. (Of course, on the Orioles, an anemic SLG is pretty much de rigueur.) Roberts is a fast, exciting player, but he has little power, so if he can't show significantly more plate discipline -- which he has done in the minors -- he'll never be anything more than a pinch runner and defensive replacement.
• Alan Mills appeared in a game for the first time since last September 3rd. He pitched a scoreless 2/3 of an inning, but (as usual) he walked someone, and he allowed his inherited runner to score. If the Orioles expect him to be a bullpen savior, they're sadly mistaken.
• Cal Ripken Jr. had just the second pinch hit of his long major league career when he doubled for Alan Mills in the eighth inning. The hit extended his own personal hitting streak to 14 games.
• Larry Bigbie, who appeared briefly for the Orioles last month, was promoted to Rochester from Bowie yesterday.

Anticlimax, thy name is the Orioles. Don't the Orioles have any sense of history, of drama? After an All-Star Break that was basically a 3-day Calfest, All Ripken, All The Time, it would be a perfect start to Act II of the season if the Orioles started off on a long winning streak, preferably with Cal Ripken playing the role of hero. Alas, reality often intrudes, and facts take precedence over narrative. Thus, we're stuck with what the Orioles actually did. And that was to drop a 6-5 decision to the Atlanta Braves, a game in which the Orioles led 2-0 after just 3 batters against superstar ace Greg Maddux, but couldn't hold the lead. Actually, Sidney Ponson gave it right back, sandwiching a run-scoring double in the second around solo homers in the first and third. And then later, giving Atlanta the lead by allowing back-to-back solo shots in the sixth. Jay Gibbons almost rescued the Orioles with a game-tying home run, but he couldn't quite overcome the bullpen. And bad baserunning killed any chance the Orioles had to come back. Cal Ripken came to bat with two outs in the ninth inning with a chance to tie the game with another dramatic home run, but he managed only a single. He was replaced with pinch-runner Jerry Hairston, already in the doghouse for being late for practice. And Hairston was promptly picked off, ending the Orioles' threat and the game.

• The good: Melvin Mora, 2-4, 2B, run scored.
• David Segui, 2-4, RBI, run scored. This isn't exactly hitting for the cycle or anything, but with the Orioles, you take what you can get.
• Jay Gibbons: a pinch hit two run homer to tie the game. Can't get much better than that. Every time he plays, he makes more of a case for why he should play some more. He extended his team lead in HRs over Chris Richard.
• The Braves became the second team, after the White Sox, to honor Cal Ripken. Stay tuned for many more such honors as Cal makes his final tour around the majors.
• The bad: Sidney Ponson. He's always been prone to the longball, but had been showing some signs of improvement this season -- until today. Four home runs today contributed mightily to the Orioles' loss, even if they were all solo shots.
• Fernando Lunar. He's sure not on the team for his bat; it's his alleged cannon of an arm that makes him attractive. So a throwing error which leads to the losing run is inexcusable.
• The shaky bullpen: Chad Paronto has to get one out without allowing a run; he can't. As we said, Fernando Lunar is blameworthy, but that doesn't excuse Paronto. Every time Hargrove sees an outing like this, it reinforces his notion that Buddy Groom and Mike Trombley are the only trustworthy relievers on the team.
• The ugly: the baserunning. Losing three baserunners, not to great defense, but to stupidity. Particularly Chris Richard, who managed to get caught in a rundown and picked off. But Jerry Hairston committed the cardinal sin, getting picked off as a pinch runner. And manager Mike Hargrove sounded none too pleased.

With the loss, the Orioles' sixth in their last seven games, the Orioles fell to a season high (or low) 8 games under .500. As we noted the other day in our Bricks from the Warehouse entry, the Orioles are at a crossroads right now; a few more days like this, and even the front office will be forced to admit that this team just isn't there yet at a competitive level.

• Roster Note: LHP Chuck McElroy was designated for assignment to make room for RHP Alan Mills, finally returning from the disabled list for the first time this season after undergoing surgery last September. For our analysis, see Transactions Breakdown....
• Ex-O notes: LHP Rick Krivda, who once looked like he could be the next Jamie Moyer, was released by the Cardinals' AAA affiliate. While we've learned never to say never, particularly with left-handed pitchers, at age 31 his career isn't looking too promising. He may need to go to an independent league if he wants to play. And speaking of independent leagues, the Atlantic League's Newark Bears signed former farmhand Billy Ashley.
• Cal Pickering went 0-2 in the AAA All-Star Game on Wednesday, while John Stephens pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out two, in the AA All-Star Game.
• Brian Roberts' first inning double extended his hitting streak to 15-games, tying the longest in Orioles' history for a rookie (Rich Coggins and Eddie Murray).
• For those of you far more interested in the farm system than the lousy major league team, you can listen to Frederick Keys games by visiting their website.

Even Vince McMahon's WWF couldn't have scripted a more perfect evening. If you were going to do it, you'd have the beloved aging star, who had previously announced his retirement, allowed to start one last All-Star Game. You'd have him start at his natural position. You'd have him star in the game. You'd have him recognized and rewarded for his performance. Guess what? It all happened, on an amazing night in Seattle.

Cal Ripken was elected to start the All-Star Game, the 19th All-Star Game of his incredible career. Cal Ripken, in a surprise, got to start the game at shortstop as current superstar shortstop Alex Rodriguez, who grew up idolizing Cal, pushed him across the diamond to switch places. A visibly self-conscious Cal didn't want to go, but manager Joe Torre gave his approval, and Cal went. That alone was enough to make the Oriole fan misty-eyed, seeing Cal back at his real home, shortstop. But (as the infomercial host would say) wait, there's more! Ripken's selection had been the target of some criticism, as it symbolized fans voting for sentiment over current performance. But Cal silenced any hint that he "didn't deserve" to be at the game; on the very first pitch he saw from Chan Ho Park, he jumped on it like he was still 25 years old, slamming it deep over the left field wall for his second career All-Star Home Run. The crowd went wild. His fellow American League All-Stars went wild. Even his opposing National League All-Stars went wild. In the end, the American League won, 4-1, but that was a footnote to the Cal Celebration, important only because the AL's victory was required for Cal to get his Most Valuable Player trophy.

So now, the only question left: can Cal, who has risen to the occasion so many times before, homering when he tied and broke Lou Gehrig's record, and homering in two All-Star Games, do it again? Can Cal homer in his last game, in his last at-bat? Tune in later to find out, but we sure wouldn't be surprised.

• The home run was Cal's first in the All-Star Game since 1991; Ripken also won the MVP in that game.
• Cal became the oldest player ever to homer in the All-Star Game.
• Ripken also made official, in pre-game comments, that he would not be retiring on September 23rd, his last game in Baltimore, but would finish out the schedule, playing in the team's last roadtrip the final week of the season. To Ripken, anything else would be cheating, saying that public relations was more important than the game.
• Bud Selig is a twit. Okay, this isn't news, and isn't unique to the All-Star Game, but not only did he interrupt the game so he could insert himself into the day's news with a "Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award" for Cal, but he also managed to botch Cal Ripken's career stats, crediting him for 400 RBI when he meant 400 HR.
• Former Oriole Curt Schilling, previously announced as the National League's starter, begged off, saying that he wasn't ready to pitch after a Sunday start. Ex-Os Charles Johnson (0-1) and Roberto Alomar (0-2) did appear, however.

Roster note: OF Eugene Kingsale, who was designated for assignment last week to make roster room for John Wasdin, failed to clear waivers. The Seattle Mariners claimed him off waivers on Tuesday, ending his career in the Oriole organization. For our analysis, see Transactions Breakdown.... Other notes:

• The AA and AAA All-Star Games are being held on Wednesday, with ESPN2 televising the AAA game on Wednesday evening. The only Oriole prospect selected for the AA game is RHP John Stephens, the soft-tosser with phenomenal numbers, who hopes that Josh Towers' success will convince the Orioles to give him a chance. Meanwhile, in the AAA game, 1B/DH Big Cal Pickering will appear. (Also, Ex-O P.J. Forbes.)
• Pickering was recently named organizational Player of the Month, and may have successfully revived his status as a prospect. Keep in mind that Pickering is only 24 -- the same age as Jay Gibbons, and 3 years younger than Chris Richard.
• An ESPN poll named Oriole owner Peter Angelos the second worst owner in professional sports. We really can't agree. He may be an egotistal idiot, but at least he cares about the team and wants them to win. Now, an owner like Carl Pohlad of the Twins, who's far richer than Angelos but who won't invest anything in his team, deserves a lot more criticism. Not that we're excusing Angelos, mind you.

And please note our Bricks from the Warehouse comments on the crossroads the Orioles find themselves in as they enter the second half of the season.

On the one hand, the Orioles are playing much better than we thought they would. (Of course, that has something to do with Josh Towers, rather than Chuck McElroy, being in the rotation, which we couldn't have predicted. But it also has to do with Jason Johnson finally having a good year, which we didn't foresee.) They're solidly ahead of Tampa at 40-47, which projects to 74 wins, and we would have pegged them for 64.

On the other hand, they're 40-47, which projects to 74 wins. We're not talking about a major accomplishment, here. They're also 12 1/2 games out, in 4th place, their lowest point of the season. And they're 11 games out of the Wild Card slot, in 7th place for the wild card.

Now, you and we know that their chances of winning the wild card are the same as Albert Belle winning Ms. Congeniality, but do the Orioles realize it? Before this past week, they were only 3 games under, at 39-42, 8 1/2 games out, and they were talking contention. IMO, no team under .500 has any business thinking about contending, no matter how close in the standings. Hopefully, the sweep by the Yankees and the rather pathetic showing against the Phillies will disabuse them of the notion that all they need to do is get Pat Hentgen and Mike Bordick back and pick up one other Conine-like player, and they'll be instant contenders. (Hopefully, a look at the Red Sox this year will clue the brainrust in to the difference beetween a good and bad team. Bad teams have injuries and pretend that the injuries are the difference between contending and losing. Good teams have injuries and win anyway.)

July is the ultimate crossroads for them. Before the trading deadline, they play against Atlanta (3 road games), Florida (3 road games), Texas (5 games - 2H/3A), Anaheim (7 games - 4H/3A), and Tampa (one home game). That's one strong team (3 games), two average teams (10 games), and 2 bad teams (6 games). In other words, they should be able to tread water in July, in terms of their record (though they'll probably fall 3-4 games further in the GB column). Do they look at that and say "Hey, we're not that bad. One more big bat and another reliever, and we're in this"? Or do they say, "Hey, veterans are playing over their heads, Towers, Johnson, and Ponson have been great, and we're still *not* in this. We need to cash in Conine while we can, before he performs Coninely. We've seen how helpful young players can be; we need to get a few more."?

Unfortunately, we fear it may be closer to the former. The Washington Post reports that the Orioles may want to trade Mercedes and Mora for a closer -- and when they say "closer," we'll bet that they don't mean "A hard throwing young guy who may one day be a closer." We'll bet that they mean A Proven Veteran 33 Year Old Closer. (As usual, when a management team doesn't know what it's doing, it focuses on the bullpen -- an easy target, since a bullpen *always* blows saves, and a team can always sit around imagining What Might Have Been if only they hadn't ever done that.)

But we shall see.