SB Nation - Dennis Sarfate

Thursday Bird Droppings

Camden Chat — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:49:41 -0000

Your Off-Season O of the Day: Dennis Sarfate

Lee, Utley lead Phillies over Yankees in Game 1, 6-1

The Phillies beat the Yankees. And there was just a little more joy in the world. -duck

O's head to offseason market with quite a list

Andy MacPhail and his staff have got some work to do in a free agent market that probably doesn't provide answers to most of the teams questions. -duck

Marylanders have enjoyed Series stage

Plenty of Maryland natives have done well in the World Series. Here's a reflection upon this fact. -duck

O's Fans Will Likely Pull for Phils

O's fans in York County, PA, are finding themselves pulling for the Phillies over the Yankees in this year's World Series. They also don't enjoy pulling the wings off of flies and stabbing small animals. I think. The article doesn't really get into that. -duck

Dennis Sarfate knows his time may be up

He's out of options, he didn't set the world on fire last season, and the Orioles have to set a 40-man roster soon. Dennis Sarfate wants to stay with Baltimore, but knows he may be a Rule V draftee. -duck

Jason Berken , Mentally Tough

Steve Melewski finally runs out of material. And it was only Oct. 28. -duck

O's to hold Nov. fanfest in Sarasota

"The Orioles will celebrate their new spring training home by holding a free "Family Fanfest" from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 14 at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla." I'm hoping in the chemical-free area of the complex. -duck

Reality Show in Works About 'Die-Hard Nationals Fans' - DCist

I mean, really? This just makes me sad. The idea is to make the reality show around the insane Nationals players, not the sad sack Nationals fan. -Stacey

I don't belong here, I feel it, don't you think I feel it. I can't do any of these vile things and I wouldn't WANT to. Oh, my life is like death. My children are the spawn of Open Thread, and you're the devil.

Wednesday Bird Droppings

Camden Chat — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:15:11 -0000

More photos » by Manuel Balce Ceneta - AP

Your Off-Season O of the Day: Rich Hill (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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Rick Dempsey Signs Your Favorite Christmas Hits
I shamelessly stole this link from Dempsey's Army because it's so awesome. I cannot wait to hear him sing "Baby It's Cold Outside." -Stacey

O's on Deck: Gamboa recovering from minor back injury
So that's why he hasn't pitched for the Desert Dogs yet. In case you were losing sleep over it. -duck

O's on Deck: Arizona Fall League recap -- Oct. 27
Josh Bell's slump deepened, with the future slugger going 0-for-3 with a K in a Desert Dogs win. That's it, ship him to Aberdeen next year. -duck

Dennis Sarfate finding success in Mexican Pacific League
Roch says: "Sarfate has permitted five hits over his seven appearances, with three walks and 10 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .156 against him." Sarfate says he feels like his velocity is up, and definitely likes being a closer. -duck

Brad Mills: Houston Astros hire Mills as manager
"Brad Mills is the new manager of the Houston Astros. The 52-year-old Mills has been Terry Francona's bench coach in Boston for the past six seasons." Well, good luck Brad. -duck

Jay-Z to Perform at World Series
The New York Yankees have been blasting Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind". Now, he's going to perform it live ~~before Game 1 tonight~~. (Performance postponed to Thursday. See FanShot above this entry) -duck

PressBox: Trade Birds For Marlins -- Now
"A blockbuster trade is in order, but swapping out a player or two simply won’t do. No, the entire organization needs to be exchanged for the Florida Marlins." Sure, it's ridiculous, but it is a fun read. -duck

The Schmuck Stops Here: Phony controversy
"By the way, to be fair, the place was full of Orioles and MASN employees, so the notion that Brooks was being ignored by the current organization is ridiculous." He goes on to say comparing the gala to Elrod Hendrick's funeral is "just plain wrong." You tell 'em, Peter. -duck

AND COMPLETELY UNRELATED...

D.C. Sports Bog - Redskins ban signs at FedEx Field
The Redskins have banned signs at their games. Do they think it'll stop people from seeing how miserable their fans are? -Stacey

What? No! No, they cannot watch the show from backstage. That's it! That's what's been missing from the show! That's what we need! More frogs and dogs and bears and Open Threads and... and whatever! You're not gonna watch the show, you're gonna be in the show! Come on, everyone!

Rays 3, Orioles 0: Snoozer

Stacey — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:34:26 -0000

More photos » by Gail Burton - AP

3 months ago: Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mark Hendrickson throws to a Tampa Bay Rays batter in the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

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This would have been a good game to watch if I was a Rays fan. Young prospect bounces back from a bad second start to throw a complete game, 10 K shutout. Pretty good. I'm not a Rays fan, though, so this game was pretty sucky.

With Brian Matusz being shut down, the Orioles turned to their bullpen in the hopes that they could put together 9 innings of not-sucky pitching. And guess what? They did! Mark Hendrickson allowed two runs in 3.1 innings, followed by Dennis Sarfate, Cla Meredith, Brian Bass, Chris Ray, and Alberto Castillo. Chris Ray (who else) gave up one run, but the rest held the Rays down.

Unfortunately their efforts would not be rewarded. The Orioles loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning against Wade Davis but couldn't score a run. Nick Markakis, Melvin Mora, and Luke Scott left the runners stranded and that was as close as the Orioles would get for the rest of the night. Davis dominated the Orioles for the rest of the night, allowing just three more hits.

Losing sucks, but you know what? In their last four series against the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay Rays, this team has gone 6-6. Would any of you have guessed that would happen? I know I wouldn't. Hooray not playing losing baseball over the last 12 games!

Tomorrow the Red Sox and their fans invade Baltimore one last time. I'll thankfully be out of town. The good news is that the Orioles have a history this year of winning games when I'm out of town. Maybe that streak will continue!

Yankees 9, Orioles 6

Stacey — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:17:35 -0000

by Rob Carr - AP

3 months ago: New York Yankees' Jorge Posada rounds the bases after hitting a home run, as Baltimore Orioles first baseman Luke Scott stands nearby during the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

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You'd have to be blind not to notice that there have been some tense moments around Camden Chat lately, and I'd be in denial if I said that I had nothing to do with it. It's another long, hard baseball season and personally it's taken its toll. It takes a toll on me every year, but this is the first year I've had a larger responsibility here. Don't get me wrong, I love Camden Chat. We have a wonderful thing going here. But for me it's been sort of amplified, the suckitude, at least compared to years past. So if I start acting like a biotech on anybody, my apologies in advance; just call me on it and I'll get over myself.

Tonight was yet another frustrating loss. My head says, "Who cares" but I can't help it. Watching the losses, listening to that pro-Yankee crowd, seeing another season end with a whimper, it's tough. It makes my stomach hurt. We keep banking on the future, but what if it never comes? What if there is 12 more years of this? Do I stop liking baseball? Because I can't keep it up, and I can't root for another team.

I'm sorry. This is self-serving drivel. It's not a game recap, not even close. I just can't wait for the day that fights don't break out about Felix Pie because we have nothing else to focus on, and that September isn't a month to dread and the the off-season isn't one of the most exciting times of the year. That's it for that kind of talk, though. It's depressing and useless. On to the recap!

David Hernandez pitched poorly. He only gave up four hits but he walked 7 and 3 of the 4 hits were home runs. Two of those home runs were hit with a runner on base who'd gotten there via a walk. Dennis Sarfate then made his triumphant return by facing two batters, both of which reached. Then with two outs and both of Dennis Sarfate's runners still on, Dave Trembley brought in Chris Ray to face A-Rod, because that's always a good idea. A-Rod at least didn't hit a home run, but he did hit a single to score a run. He looked awful but for some reason he went back out for the next inning where he gave up back-to-back home runs to Nick Swisher and Erik Hinske. Nice.

Anyone who has ever watched Chris Ray knows that he's garbage against the Yankees. In 18.1 career innings he's allowed 19 runs and 6 home runs. That's before tonight, by the way. But God forbid anyone on the Orioles pay any attention to that. Who needs strategy when we've got folksy?

The Orioles offense wasn't awful tonight. The Yankees allow an average of 4.69 runs per game and the Orioles scored six. Felix Pie hit another home run, Melvin Mora had a nice RBI hit, and Luke Scott hit a vintage LUUUKE 3 run home run onto Eutaw Street. But it wasn't enough, of course it wasn't. They had a few missed opportunities, sure, but you want to think that six runs would be enough.

Oh, and Adam Jones hurt himself again.

Poll

Who was tonight's Most Birdland Player (MBP)?

Felix Pie (another home run)

16 votes

Luke Scott (beastly 3 run home run onto Eutaw Street)

77 votes

Nick Markakis (3 hits, 2 runs)

11 votes

Nolan Reimold (3 hits, 1 walk, 2 runs)

12 votes

Melvin Mora (3 hits, 2 RBI)

7 votes

Nobody

36 votes

159 votes | Poll has closed

The Milwaukee Brewers' Last Trade With Each Team

TheJay — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:48:24 -0000

More photos » by H. Rumph Jr - AP

A long time ago, in a league 98 miles away, this guy was part of the Brewers' last trade with the Yankees.

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One of my favorite parts of each year's team media guide is the page listing the Brewers' last trade with all the other major league teams. Maybe it's because it's so esoteric, maybe it's because of all the "some-team-wanted-him?" thoughts it prompts, or maybe it's the idea that for years Brewers and Mariners management had a bitter blood feud getting in the way of amicable trading. I don't know. Either way, let's take a trip down memory lane, transaction-style:

(note: PTBNL below stands for "Player to be Named Later," defined here)

The Milwaukee Brewers' Last Trade With...

Arizona Diamondbacks - 11/25/2006
Traded LHP Doug Davis, LHP Dana Eveland, and OF Dave Krynzel for C Johnny Estrada, RHP Claudio Vargas, and RHP Greg Aquino
Atlanta Braves - 12/7/2005
Traded RHP Wes Obermueller for RHP Dan Kolb
Chicago Cubs - 8/31/2004
Traded OF Ben Grieve for LHP Andy Pratt and cash
Cincinnati Reds - 1/14/2000
Traded OF Alex Ochoa for OF Mark Sweeney and a PTBNL (RHP Gene Altman)
Colorado Rockies - 12/13/2004
Traded RHP Marcos Carvajal in exchange for cash
Florida Marlins - 11/25/1996
Traded RHP Eddie Collins for LHP Joel Adamson
Houston Astros - 9/11/2007
Traded RHP Dennis Sarfate for cash
Los Angeles Dodgers - 3/26/2007
Traded OF Brady Clark and cash for RHP Elmer Dessens
New York Mets - 11/20/2007
Traded C Johnny Estrada for RHP Guillermo Mota
Philadelphia Phillies - 7/28/2006
Traded RHP Wilfrido Laureano for 3B David Bell
Pittsburgh Pirates - 12/7/2007
Traded RHP Marino Salas and RHP Kevin Roberts for RHP Salomon Torres
St. Louis Cardinals - 8/22/2003
Traded RHP Mike DeJean for two PTBNL (RHP Mike Crudale and RHP John Novinsky)
San Diego Padres - 7/25/2007
Traded LHP Joe Thatcher, RHP Will Inman, and LHP Steve Garrison for RHP Scott Linebrink
San Francisco Giants - 7/20/2008
Traded OF Darren Ford and LHP Steve Hammond for 2B Ray Durham
Washington Nationals - 9/4/2007
Traded a PTBNL (1B Andrew Lefave) for LHP Ray King

The AL teams are after the jump.

Baltimore Orioles - 7/16/1999
Traded a PTBNL (RHP Al Reyes) for RHP Rocky Coppinger
Boston Red Sox - 7/31/1998
Traded IF Eddy Diaz for RHP Joe Hudson
Chicago White Sox - 12/13/2004
Traded OF Scott Podsednik, RHP Luis Vizcaino and a PTBNL (IF Travis Hinton) for LF Carlos Lee
Cleveland Indians - 7/7/2008
Traded OF Matt LaPorta, LHP Zach Jackson, RHP Rob Bryson, and a PTBNL (OF Michael Brantley) for LHP CC Sabathia
Detroit Tigers - 7/1/2007
Traded RHP Jose Capellan for LHP Chris Cody
Kansas City Royals - 3/27/2007
Traded RHP Ben Hendrickson for a Marxist Empire
LAnaheim Angels - 7/31/2002
Traded OF Alex Ochoa and C Sal Fasano for C Jorge Fabregas and 2 PTBNL (RHP Pedro Liriano and IF John Raburn)
Minnesota Twins - 11/15/2002
Traded RHP Gerry Oakes and RHP Matt Yeatman for RHP Matt Kinney and C Javier Valentin
New York Yankees - 8/23/1996
Traded IF Pat Listach and LHP Graeme Lloyd for OF Gerald Williams and RHP Bob Wickman
Oakland Athletics - 5/23/2007
Traded RHP Alec Zumwalt for cash.
Seattle Mariners - 5/19/2005
Traded C Pat Borders for cash.
Tampa Bay Rays - 4/22/2008
Traded OF Gabe Gross for RHP Josh Butler
Texas Rangers - 7/28/2006
Traded OF Carlos Lee and OF Nelson Cruz for RHP Francisco Cordero, LHP Julian Cordero, OF Kevin Mench, and OF Laynce Nix
Toronto Blue Jays - 1/6/2006
Traded RHP Brian Wolfe for 3B Corey Koskie

This information comes out of the Brewers' 2009 Media Guide. I believe all listed trades include someone on the 40-man roster for one of the teams. Any errors are mine in transcription or not diligently checking MLB's work.

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:17:45 -0000

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Bill Hall catches a line drive. It has nothing to do with the Mug, but it's a cool picture nonetheless.

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Some things to read while labeling things for your zombie friends.

So, even following last night's loss, PECOTA is projecting the Brewers to win 86.6 games and gives them a roughly 30% chance of making the playoffs. I'll take that at this point.

Micah Owings was pretty good last night as both a pitcher and a hitter. Before the game, Baseball Musings wondered when one makes the decision to move him off the mound full time. Right now, I think I'd keep him on the mound.

Meanwhile, Reds SS Paul Janish probably won't return to the mound anytime soon: Janish was complaining of soreness after throwing 35 pitches Wednesday night, but was forced to play last night anyway after Brandon Phillips was scratched with the flu.

Now that several position players have pitched in a game this season, TheJay has updated Recondite Baseball's list of the last position player to pitch for each team. The Brewers last had one in 2004, when Trent Durrington made a mound appearance.

Chris Duffy might have gotten a bruise or two in the late innings of Wednesday night's game, but he doesn't care. The Official Site talked with Duffy about his highlight reel catch and prioritizing defense.

Speaking of outfielders who can play some defense, Mike Cameron checked in at #28 on Circling the Bases' list of potential 2010 free agents.

Around the league:

Cardinals: Placed Rick Ankiel on the DL.
Dodgers: Manny Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games for a violation of the league's drug policy.
Indians: Released reliever Juan Salas and designated Vinnie Chulk for assignment.
Marlins: Are expected to place Anibal Sanchez on the DL today with shoulder discomfort.
Mets: Angel Pagan, who was in Florida for a rehab assignment, was arrested yesterday for driving with a suspended license and several unpaid fines for traffic violations.
Nationals: Designated reliever Mike Hinckley for assignment.
Orioles: Utilityman Ryan Freel was scratched from a rehab appearance yesterday, and could be activated or designated for assignment today.

Odds are you've heard about Manny Ramirez's suspension. I probably skipped over 50 or more posts and columns about it this morning, and I'm not about to write another one. There is one thing I'd like to mention, though: Now that I know that a player like Ramirez can get caught and baseball won't sweep it under the rug, I have significantly more faith in the current testing program.

Also, a note on Angel Pagan: I know pursuing warrants for minor violations isn't a top priority for law enforcement, but how did it take years to arrest Pagan for outstanding warrants dating back to 2005? Anyone who took five minutes to look at his team's schedule could tell you where he'll be every day.

I picked Cecil Cooper, so I would have lost my money: D-Backs manager Bob Melvin was the first manager fired in 2009 yesterday, and he took hitting coach Rich Schu and pitching coach Bryan Price with him. Babes Love Baseball thought Ken Macha would be the first manager canned. If Macha is canned now, the Brewers could hire Melvin to form a Doug Melvin-Bob Melvin braintrust that would confuse columnists and talk radio callers across the land.

The news might not be good for former Brewer farmhand and current Orioles reliever Dennis Sarfate, currently on the DL with a circulatory problem. Sarfate is expected in for more tests today, but it's possible the issue is career-threatening.

Meanwhile, Brian Shouse, who seems to show up in conversations about obscure stats and rules all the time, picked up his first Rays win last night despite not entering the game until after the Rays had the lead.

Oh, and Brett Lawrie's sister can knock you out.

Drink up.

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:03:53 -0000

More photos » by Darren Hauck - AP

7 months ago: Milwaukee Brewers' Prince Fielder, left, is congratulated by Mike Cameron, right, after hitting a solo home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks' Yusmeiro Petit in the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 3, 2009, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Darren Hauck)

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Some things to read while getting an early start.

The Brewers overcame what Tom H. called a loud belch in church yesterday to salvage a split of a four game series with the Diamondbacks. As if a belch in church wasn't bad enough, Trevor Hoffman followed it up by messing with the D-Backs' heads in the ninth. It was game one of a rare four-opponent week: The Brewers open a two game series with the Pirates today, then another with the Reds on Wednesday, and will see the Cubs this weekend.

Carlos Zambrano will likely miss his scheduled start this weekend against the Brewers after leaving yesterday's game with a hamstring strain. Randy Wells is expected to be called up from AAA Iowa to make the start in his place. Wells pitched in four games for the Blue Jays and Cubs last season but has never made a major league start.

Hopefully Mike Cameron will still be this hot at that point. Cameron led all NL hitters in Value Runs in April. Tom Zeimer of the Wisconsin State Journal has a profile of Cameron, discussing his hot start.

Mike Rivera should be back before too long. He's expected to be activated on May 14, just in time to catch Dave Bush's start on that day.

Manny Parra still hasn't won this season, although he did get a no-decision over the weekend after losses in his first four starts. While many people are blaming Parra's lack of control and/or mental toughness for his struggles, In-Between Hops also notes that Ken Macha seems to be playing the bench players much more frequently on Parra's day.

A couple of minor notes:

The Huntsville Stars, never really a big attendance draw in the first place, are now dealing with a new problem: swine flu. The new hysteria has them struggling to draw 1000 fans to games.
Mark Rogers started Saturday for Brevard County but threw just one inning. The team is taking it slow with his rehab, and expects him to throw two innings next time.

Around the league:

Astros: Signed Brendan Donnelly to a minor league deal.
A's: Placed Eric Chavez on the DL with elbow discomfort.
D-Backs: Tom Gordon had to be carried off the field after suffering a hamstring strain, and will be placed on the DL.
Dodgers: Hong-Chih Kuo has been placed on the DL with elbow trouble.
Indians: Designated Tony Graffanino for assignment.
Mariners: Placed Brandon Morrow on the DL with biceps tendinitis. They also designated catcher Jamie Burke for assignment and signed reliever Steven Shell and outfielder Jerry Owens to minor league deals.
Mets: Oliver Perez has been moved to the bullpen, with the official explanation being a knee issue.
Nationals: Signed reliever Mike MacDougal to a minor league deal.
Orioles: Placed Dennis Sarfate on the DL with a circulatory condition causing numbness in his right middle finger.
Yankees: Signed Casey Fossum to a minor league deal.

In case you had forgotten, it's still not a very good time to be a newspaper writer. With more layoffs over the weekend, there are now just two full time beat reporters covering the Dodgers.

At this pace, baseball players could become Japan's biggest export: the Biz of Baseball takes a look at what the Seibu Lions did with the $51+ million they received from the Red Sox for the right to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka. Those may be the nicest ballpark toilets on Earth.

Oh, and after a slow start, the Mets would like permission to fire Willie Randolph again.

Drink up.

Red Sox 12, Orioles 1: Totally Rad!

SC — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:03:43 -0000

More photos » by Michael Dwyer - AP

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Let me say this but one time, and hope it's the last time I have to say it for a long while: Radhames Liz is terrible. He was terrible last year, and somehow he's even worse this year. When the Orioles demoted him from starting pitcher to bullpen fodder for the Tides, I think it sent a message that the staff and the coaches and the front office and everyone knew Liz wasn't really very good. When you're 25 and have been looked at as a starting pitcher your entire career and you get bumped down to relief work, and it's not caused by an injury that has affected your ability to pitch a lot of innings, it's not a good sign.

Liz wasn't the real problem today. Even if someone pitches his one-third of an inning and doesn't allow any runs at all and the six that came in earned on him don't happen, the Orioles got ripped for their fifth straight loss in a row, completing a four-game sweep at the hands of the Red Sox -- who came in struggling, mind you -- at Fenway Park. Take those six runs off the board and Boston still comfortably wins, 6-1.

But Liz now has a season ERA of 67.50. He has gotten 1.1 innings of work in and surrendered TEN EARNED RUNS.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm guessing a week in Norfolk wasn't really long enough for him to get acclimated to relief pitching, which is surely different than starting. (It might also just be me, but I don't think he's ever going to stick around no matter what he's doing.)

But I'm not trying to pile on Liz and nothing more, though surely they've seen enough that he needs to be sent back down to Norfolk in exchange for literally anybody with a healthy arm. Look, bottom line before I really move on: The team made a career decision for Liz and then gave him a week of real baseball to work on it before they threw him into the fire. There are guys in Norfolk that have been relieving for years and even if they aren't great, could certainly be doing better than this. It is clear Liz isn't ready. He might never be. And yeah it's a rebuilding year and that's great, but putting Liz on the hill right now is like asking the other team to score. Period. I don't expect to contend, but giving the games away by putting completely incompetent players on the field is another story.

And I'll exhale...

The offense was limp for the second game in a row, scoring once in the third inning when Cesar Izturis got Robby Andino in from third base. Andino came into the game to play third base after Ryan Freel (who started at third) was drilled in the back of the head, near his ear on a pickoff attempt at second base by Justin Masterson. It kind of looked like Freel was knocked out solid in mid-dive, because the ball hit him and he faceplanted pretty hard into the dirt. He was down and not moving for a minute or two, and looked really groggy as he was helped off the field. Hopefully he's OK, but I wouldn't rule out a concussion.

Mark Hendrickson played with fire and had a bad first two innings, but he got out of there after five innings having allowed just three earned. And then the bullpen tanked it something fierce:

IP H R ER BB K HR Season ERA

M. Hendrickson (L, 1-2) 5.0 5 3 3 3 6 1 3.86

D. Sarfate 1.0 4 3 3 1 1 0 7.36

R. Liz 0.1 3 6 6 1 0 0 67.50

M. Albers 1.2 3 0 0 0 1 0 5.87

Albers finished it out OK, so that was nice.

For the life of me, I don't understand why all the writers and commentators and everyone keep going, "Well the bullpen was supposed to be good, it was supposed to be the rotation that had issues." What bullpen were they looking at? Sarfate has major command issues and one plus pitch (a hard fastball), Johnson is a sinkerballer that was absolutely bound to regress from last season because his K-to-BB really stunk for a guy with an ERA that low, and Sherrill was junk in the second half. Add that to Walker coming off a terrible year, Ray coming off of a season lost to injury, Albers with some arm issues, Danys Baez coming off of a season lost to injury and a rotten one before that, and coaching staff love child Brian Bass (batters are hitting .386 off of him) and I just don't see where this solid bullpen was supposedly coming from. There was a chance it was going to be decent, but it was 50-50 at best, man. The other 50 is winning right now.

I said last season and this spring that knowing your team isn't there to contend and accepting it mentally is one thing, but watching them fail so dramatically hard is another thing entirely. It's frustrating, it's maddening, and it's painful. Everyone winds up wanting the quick fix. "Get rid of this guy, bring up that guy!" It's easy to say, but there's hardly any guarantee that Lou Montanez or Brad Bergesen or any of these guys are going to fare any better. They got Pie to play left field because MacPhail believes in him, so like it or not we're stuck with Pie, his awful glove and his 5-for-34 start at the plate for the time being. They needlessly picked up Adam Eaton in spring training even though they already had 36 pitchers in camp, and he's exactly what we expected.

My point is, this team is going to anger you mightily many, many days. There may seem to be obvious fixes to at least upgrade to mediocrity instead of wastes of time, but they're going to let Pie play himself out of the position. He has no options left, they traded for him, he's going to play. And they went to the trouble of signing Adam Eaton for God knows what reason -- nobody say "to eat innings" because he doesn't eat innings, he just stinks and then gets hurt -- so Eaton is going to pitch for a bit.

And just remember: We all knew this team wasn't going to be good, and if you expected a repeat of last year's offense, I don't know what to tell you there.

Final note: Gregg Zaun can't hit for beans.

Poll

Most Birdland Player (MBP) for today's game was:

Mark Hendrickson (5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K)

65 votes

Ryan Freel (1-for-1)

41 votes

Cesar Izturis (1-for-4, RBI)

7 votes

Matt Albers (1.2 IP, 3 H)

42 votes

155 votes | Poll has closed

Orioles 7, Rangers 5: "Mr. Excitement" becoming way too much to deal with

SC — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 03:42:06 -0000

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

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Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer have this habit that's getting increasingly annoying: They try to sell we, the fans, on George Sherrill being "exciting."

This is a nice way of saying he stinks. Sherrill hasn't been pitching well since the All-Star break last season, and he wasn't that good prior to it, either. He was a horribly undeserving All-Star last season, and his starring in that game really means little all things considered.

With a 7-3 lead inherited going into the bottom of the 10th inning tonight, Sherrill did his all-too-familiar gimmick: 1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER. He managed to get Josh Hamilton to hit into a fielder's choice at third, which made the game 7-5. He got the next two batters (Blalock and Cruz) on long fly balls.

It's gotten to be way, way too much is all. There's a problem with our closer situation that needs to be looked at, but instead everyone laughs it off like, "Oh well! Hey, it's always fun!"

It's not fun. It's never fun when you're pins-and-needles every single time the closer comes in. We're talking about handing the closer a four-run lead and it never felt safe. That's not right, and it's going to kill the team in close games eventually. Period.

Other than Georgie, the bullpen tonight was outstanding. Alfredo Simon left after 1.1 IP with an injury, after allowing four hits, three of which were solo home runs. It was noted in the comments, and as much as I wanted to be positive about the team actually rewarding results, watching Simon pitch to major league hitters makes it clear: This guy is not a major league starter. Not close. Not even close.

Dennis Sarfate came on in emergency relief, and gave us 3.1 innings of one-hit ball. His fastball seemed to lack some bite, but he was effective. Chris Ray (1.1 IP), Jamie Walker (IP) and Jim Johnson (2 IP) held the Rangers in check for the remainder of the scheduled nine.

In the 10th, the O's went up 5-3 on an absolutel blast of a two-run homer from Adam Jones, and got two more from Luke Scott on a double. It should've been more than enough. Turns out it was pretty much just enough.

Scott also had a solo homer in the fourth. Aubrey Huff hit his first jack of the year in the second.

Other Notes:

Gary and Jim sang a song tonight.
Jamie Walker bought the team cowboy boots. Koji Uehara was particularly thrilled.
It's nice to be 6-2, and this has been mostly fun to watch, but you look at how we're winning (often too close for comfort) and how we're losing (blown off the field) and it makes you realize how unlikely this all has been so far. If this kept up over a full season, it would be utterly ridiculous.
That said, the win clinches the O's third straight series win. They took two of three from the Yankees and the same from the Rays. If we can avoid being destroyed in the third game of the series against Texas as we were against NY and TB, that'd be butter.

Poll

Most Birdland Player (MBP) for today's game was:

Adam Jones (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB, started an incredible relay play to throw out a runner at home)

296 votes

Jamie Walker (IP, bought team cowboy boots)

31 votes

Aubrey Huff (1-for-4, HR, RBI, BB)

2 votes

Luke Scott (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, drove in what turned out to be the game-winning runs)

28 votes

Dennis Sarfate (3.1 IP of emergency, one-hit relief)

147 votes

504 votes | Poll has closed

Rays 11, Orioles 3: Well, that sucked

duck — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:16:56 -0000

More photos » by Gail Burton - AP

8 months ago: Baltimore Orioles pitcher Brian Bass reacts after giving up his second home run to the Tampa Bay Rays in the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 12, 2009 in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Browse more photos »

If there ever was a day pre-ordained for a soul-sucking loss, today was it. Tampa Bay was throwing their staff ace, James Shields, while we countered with Adam Eaton. I’m not even bothering with a sarcastic-laden adjective to precede his name, we all know how much he has sucked, sucks now, and will suck until the O’s come to their senses and DFA him. The only question is how many losses he will pile up in the interim and how many reliever innings we burn on his starts. Dude’s terrible.

I’m fighting a nasty sinus infection, and the Orioles gave me absolutely no reason to stay awake for the first 3 innings of this game, so I didn’t. I fell asleep somewhere shortly before first pitch, and woke up with Brian Bass trotting out to start the 4^th. I took one look at the score – 4-0, Tampa Bay, and thought, "Yeah, that sounds about right."

There’s not much to say about this game. There’s not much to say about Adam Eaton. And there’s really not much to say about Brian Bass, who was God-awful today, aside from "There’s a bus that leaves for Norfolk at 10:10 p.m. Be on it."

So let’s just pick a Most Birdland Player, rip a page off the calendar and be done with this game. Yuck.

Poll

Who was the Most Birdland Player for Sunday, April 12, 2009?

Adam Jones (2 for 4, 2B, pulling off the fake "I got it!" in CF on Gabe Gross))

148 votes

Chad Moeller (1 for 4, kick save and a beauty!)

29 votes

Dennis Sarfate (1.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, not being Adam Eaton or Brian Bass)

54 votes

231 votes | Poll has closed

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	Season ERA
M. Hendrickson (L, 1-2)	5.0	5	3	3	3	6	1	3.86
D. Sarfate	1.0	4	3	3	1	1	0	7.36
R. Liz	0.1	3	6	6	1	0	0	67.50
M. Albers	1.2	3	0	0	0	1	0	5.87