SB Nation - Jamie Walker

Braves Rule 5 Preview

cbwilk — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:00:35 -0000

Crafty lefty Edgar Osuna could intrigue a team as a LOOGY or a back of the rotation starter.

The Rule 5 Draft has really never helped nor hindered the Braves. They rarely select a player, unless they clear a spot on their 40 man roster before the draft they won't be able to select anyone this year, and the few players they do select tend to get traded away in Spring Training (Jamie Walker and Chris Spurling are good examples). They also rarely lose a player who isn't returned; Adam Stern, who was a part of a World Series Championship with the Red Sox in 2004 after being selected in the Rule 5 Draft from the Braves was the last player they actually lost for good and he played very little in the Majors, either during the 2004 season or after. So, in reading this preview it's worth keeping in mind that the Braves might not premantently lose any players through the Rule 5 Draft, regardless of what happens today.

Most Likely To Be Selected

Edgar Osuna, LHP: Osuna was recently named the 11th best Braves prospect by the bloggers here at Talking Chop, three spots ahead of Jose Ortegano, fellow lefty and good friend, who was protected on the 40 man roster. He's the epitome of a crafty lefty, working a fringe fastball with a plus plus changeup and pinpoint control. Of the available players, Osuna seems like the most likely to be selected, particularly with his success at AA Mississippi and the fact that he'll be just 22 in 2010. His stuff would play well if he were used as a situational lefty out of the bullpen and he could even make waves at the back of the rotation for a bottom of the standings team.

Matt Young, OF: Though he was named the top center field prospect by Talking Chop, Young didn't appear on the top 25, mostly because he will be 27 next season and has only played a handfull of games above AA. But, while he may not be an ideal prospect, he could be exactly what a team is looking for in the Rule 5 draft. He has absolutely no home run power, but he hits a fair amount of doubles and a ton of triples. He also steals bases, setting team records for Mississippi the last two years, and gets on base at an above .400 clip. Though his arm is below average, he has the range to cover centerfield and began his career as an infielder so a team looking to store him could find many uses for him off the bench. His inability to play right field, he could cover the ground but never make the throws, might scare some teams off, as might his inexperience above AA, but he could be an interesting, and cheap, option for a bad team.

Possible, But Unlikely To Be Selected

Barbaro Canizares, 1B: Canizares, who made his Major League debut with the Braves in 2009, recently passed through waivers without being claimed, making it unlikely that he will be selected, since teams oculd have had him on their roster without the limitations created by the Rule 5 draft. Things change in the course of a few weeks, so it's possible that a team could choose to take him and use him as a power bat off the bench, or even the right handed part of a platoon at first base or designated hitter, but it's more likely that they'll see him for what he is, a 30 year old defensive liability who lacks the power to justify being a DH and who wears down as the season goes on.

Brian Barton, OF: No stranger to the Rule 5 Draft, having been successfully plucked from the Indians by the Cardinals in 2008, Barton could be an interesting option for a team looking for a 4th or 5th outfielder. Despite only appearing in one game for Atlanta, he played well enough for Gwinnett to suggest that he could thrive off a Major League bench again, but, as with Canizares, it seems unlikely for a player who's already passed through waivers unclaimed to get selected in the Rule 5 Draft.

Erik Cordier, RHP: 2009 was Cordier's healthiest season and while he doesn't have the near 100 mph stuff he had when the Royals made him a 1st round selection, he still has a strong, live arm and he could intruige some teams as an option out of the bullpen. But, given that he doesn't throw as hard as he used to and that's he's had some problems with walks (5.5 per 9 innings in 2009), he probably won't be picked.

Kevin Gunderson, LHP: Named the 6th best relief prospect by TC, Gunderson's funky delivery could intrigue teams looking for a lefty out of the pen. But, he was fairly ineffective against lefties last season, allowing a .321 average to them. The fact that the Braves chose to protect Lee Hyde, a lefty who's barely been able to take the field for the majority of his career, ahead of Gunderson on their 40 man roster, is telling, and may be why he remains within the organization.

Ryne Reynoso, RHP: After getting his feet wet as a reliever, Reynoso has been a consistent starter for Myrtle Beach and Mississippi the last two years. He's an interesting player, but he doesn't have the kind of top notch stuff that teams typically look for in the Rule 5 draft.

Eligible, But Unlikely To Be Selected

2B JC Holt and 3B Van Pope both have AAA experience, but neither have hit enough to merit much interest. RHP Michael Broadway and LHP Tim Gustafson both have interesting arms, but netiher have the stuff or the petigree that teams look for. OF Jon Mark Owings is basically coming off a lost season because of a rotator cuff injury. and didn't show enough constistent contact to indicate that he could handle Major League pitching right now. OF LV Ware and OF Luis Sumoza are both too far away from the Majors to merit much interest.

The End of the Bad Contracts - Pitching Edition

Stacey — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:12:10 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

Your time is almost up, Danys. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

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With just a few days left in the 2009 season, the Orioles are on the cusp of being out from under a number of contracts, notably those of the pitchers Danys Baez and Jamie Walker, two of the more ill advised contracts in recent Oriole history. Between the two of them they made $11.67M in 2009, which is over 17% of the total payroll and more than Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold, Brad Bergesen, Felix Pie, Adam Jones, Jeremy Guthrie, Brian Matusz, Luke Scott, Cesar Izturis, and Nick Markakis made combined (I know, I know, most of those guys haven't been free agents, but still, on talent vs. value that's just criminal).

Just after the 2006 season, a time that feels like an eternity ago, Mike Flanagan and Jim Duquette attempted to shore up a miserable Orioles bullpen by throwing millions of dollars at Chad Bradford, Danys Baez, and Jamie Walker. For the three relief pitchers the Orioles committed over $40M over 3 years, an investment upon which they wouldn't even come close to breaking even.

Jamie Walker: $12M. Chad Bradford: $10.5M. Danys Baez: $19M. Do you know how many relief pitchers are worth $19M over three years? Not many. With the exception of premiere pitchers like Mariano Rivera, relief pitchers are too volatile, too susceptible to injury, to sustain that type of value.

Orioles fans can say with certainty that these contracts were a bad idea. We watched the games, after all. We cringed every time Walker came in to face Carlos Pena or David Ortiz. We watched Baez walk God and country and follow it up with a home run to blow the save more than a few times. If you look at the numbers, it just gets worse. Per FanGraphs, here are the values of the Orioles three bullpen investments over the duration of their contracts:

Name/year	WAR	Value	Salary
Baez '07	-0.8	($3.1)	$5.7
Baez '08	N/A	N/A	$6.2
Baez '09	0.2	$0.8	$7.2
Bradford '07	1.3	$5.4	$3.2
Bradford '08 (O's/Rays)	0.5	$2.5	$3.7
Bradford '09 (Rays)	0.1	$0.5	$3.7
Walker '07	0.7	$2.9	$3.0
Walker '08	-1.0	($4.5)	$4.5
Walker '09	-0.3	($1.5)	$4.5

Do the math and the those three pitchers were paid just over $41M for $3M worth of pitching. See the details on each pitcher below the jump...

Chad Bradford - The least offensive of the three contracts went to Chad Bradford. The 2006 Orioles allowed 216 home runs, the most in the American League. Bradford, coming from a very effective Mets bullpen and known for being stingy with home runs, could only help with that stat. Bradford signed for three years, $10.5M, with the buzz around baseball at the time being that he only agreed to come to the Orioles if they guaranteed the third year, something most teams were not willing to do.

In year one of his contract, Bradford more than earned his $3M. He made 78 appearances, second on the team to only Jamie Walker. True to form he allowed just 1 HR all year and finished the season with an ERA+ of 138. His 2.2 BB/9 was lowest on the team as he walked just 16 in 64.2 innings.

2008 began with Bradford being as useful as the previous year. He made 47 appearances for the Orioles with a 2.45 ERA, allowing just 2 HR (one was Manny Ramirez's 500th at a game I had the "fortune" of attending). Bradford was looking strong for the second consecutive year until Andy MacPhail traded him to the Rays in August. It appeared he was traded for PTBNL but it ended up to be a cash transaction of about $20K. Some Orioles fans were up in arms over MacPhail throwing Bradford away for nothing, but it appears that he got rid of him at just the right time. Bradford finished the year with Tampa Bay in a less than stellar way. His walk rate jumped, his K rate fell, and while his final results didn't show it (just 3 ER in 19 IP), Bradford just wasn't as good.

2009 hasn't been kind to Bradford. He had to undergo elbow surgery in the offseason and didn't make his first appearance until 27 June. Less than one month later he went back onto the disabled list with back troubles. Since returning on August 23rd he's been less than impressive.

Thanks to the fortuitous timing of his trade, Orioles fans are able to look back on Chad Brad and his Chadstache fondly, but had he stayed here all three years it would have been just another failed contract.

Jamie Walker - Jamie Walker is a cool cat that never should have been signed to a three year deal. He did awesome things like say, "If it fits in a skillet, I kill it." He bought Koji cowboy boots and he got fined for saying in the press that the umpires are on the take. Unfortunately, when it came down to it, Jamie Walker did not deserve three years. Most 35 year old relievers do not deserve three year deals.

Walker was good in his first year, setting an Orioles record for games appeared in with 81. He struck out 41 in 61 innings and walked only 17. He was especially good against lefties, allowing just 24 hits by them all year, 19 of which were singles. Even with his effective year, FanGraphs still valued him at $2.9M, $100K less than what he was paid.

While he was good in 2007, it all fell apart in 2008. It wasn't Walker's fault; he just got too old. The junk he'd always thrown got a little too junky. The lefties who had had an OPS of just .594 against him in 2007 knocked him around to to the tune of a .913 OPS in 2008. He gave up 31 runs in 38 innings and caused Orioles fans around the world to curse both Walker and Dave Trembley for continuing to run him out there.

2009 was more of the same. 22 appearances, 12 innings, 8 runs, 5 home runs, 9 out of 23 inherited runners scored. Mercifully the Orioles put Jamie Walker out of his misery on 5 June, giving him his release. Walker hasn't been heard from since as, at age 37, he surely knows he is cooked.

Danys Baez - Ah, saving the best for last. Baez got the biggest, gaudiest contract of them all. Unlike Walker and Bradford, Baez did not start his Orioles career by being effective. Baez pitched 50.1 innings over 53 appearances in 2007, walking a ridiculous 5.8 per 9 innings and racking up an ERA of 6.44. In 2007 Baez was that pitcher that caused me to turn off the television before even seeing what he might do. Baez was shut down in the middle of September and would miss the entire 2008 season with an elbow tear.

Baez came to spring training 2009 as part of the starting rotation competition. He didn't make it, but started the year suprisingly well and has pitched more effectively than most of us would have predicted. That's not to say that he's been outstanding, because he hasn't been. He certainly hasn't been worth the 6 plus million dollars he's being paid this year, but he hasn't been awful, especially when compared to some of the garbage that has rolled out of the Orioles bullpen.

Even with his minor resurgence this season, the Danys Baez contract was a colossal failure. Same for Jamie Walker. Chad Bradford was headed down that road as well before he was traded. And in a few days, they will all be off the books. Somehow I can't see Andy MacPhail making those kinds of deals, can you?

Looking ahead to the Astros in 2010; The Cyclical Nature of Sports

HighLeveragePerformer — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:00:25 -0000

by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

These guys won't be on the team next season. I think. Maybe.

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RJ weighs in with a blog post telling us that the Astros don't have to be terrible in 2010. Let's point out a contradiction of his, right off the bat: in his last blog post, he noted that fans don't care about the Astros anymore. Friday though, he noted that:

People here care about this baseball team. They care deeply.

Ok, well nobody ever said Dickie was known for being consistent. Let's go on, shall we?

Astros fans will be OK with younger players as long as they see that the organization is committed to a larger picture. Besides that, whether the team is good or bad, there still aren't many better ways to spend a few hours than to sit inside Minute Maid Park and watch a baseball game.

Point to Mr. Justice. Indeed, a climate controlled environment, $8.50 beers, a downtown that is being improved upon seemingly by the week, and a city that loves sports. All factors that enable MMP to draw fans even when Humberto Quintero, Kaz Matsui, and Jason Michaels make up 1/3 of the Astros' lineup. Onward, I say!:

Also, don't go writing off Bud Norris, Tommy Manzella or Chris Johnson after just a month or even after a season. Remember how bad Michael Bourn was last year? Could you have ever imagined he would be the Astros MVP in 2009?

Damn you, Tricky Ricky! Making another point I can't readily disparage.

Weren't you a little embarrassed when the Astros made a big deal of Pudge Rodriguez becoming the all-time leader in games caught? Pudge meant nothing to most Astros fans. He got here when he was in decline, and at a time when the organization was sliding backwards.

....I don't know if embarrassed is the word I would use. Maybe it is.I'm so confused at this point. Agreeing with Justice this much is like a life long Republican nodding his head with a President Obama State of the Union address. It's just not right.

Install Tommy Manzella at short and Edwin Maysonet at second and come up with a plan to give Brian Bogusevic regular playing time in the outfield.

Chris Johnson? He should have every chance to win the third-base job. Same with Jason Castro behind the plate.

Echoing our own DQ? Stop it right now, Richard! He caps it all off with a push to sign pitching:

Among the free agents: Justin Duchscherer, Rich Harden, John Lackey, Carl Pavano, Brad Penny, Joel Pineiro, Kiko Calero, Fernando Rodney, Billy Wagner and Jamie Walker.

An interesting post, to be sure. Food for thought this weekend too.

This one is for you, 'ol Pete: the Seattle Pilots are having a player reunion this weekend, celebrating their one year of existence. The who?? Some may ask. They were Seattle's first major league franchise, playing the 1969 season before a used-car dealer from Milwaukee named Allan Selig spearheaded an effort to move Seattle's young franchise to his hometown. The Pilots would henceforth be known as the Milwaukee Brewers, so give thanks 'ol Pete, your town got a baseball team roughly forty years ago.

For those who don't know, my family is from Milwaukee (I was actually born there) and I have heard stories about the old Milwaukee Braves moving to Atlanta, and how the city was distraught after losing the team. My grandfather would watch games at County Stadium in the cold, and enjoyed every second of it. After his Braves left though, he never could embrace the Brewers fully. After much of our family moved to Texas in the early 1990s he saw the light and became an Astros' fan, following the club closer than he ever did the Brew Crew. To me, it was always funny how he bemoaned losing his Braves, but he's never mentioned how Milwaukee pried away the Pilots from Seattle. I think on a basic level, the team you grew up with is going to have that pull on your heartstrings for life. Right or wrong, good or bad, most fans have their allegiances and will until the day they die. Times change, teams do too, but those memories from your youth are eternal. Sports is beautiful sometimes, ya know? A lot of people in Seattle lost a team, but tons of little guys and gals in Milwaukee gained a sports following that has lasted a lifetime.

The worst part of the Pilots saga was that it would foreshadow the city of Seattle eventually losing their beloved Sonics, and almost losing the Mariners in the early 1990s, before Ken Griffey, Jr. and crew saved the day, Seattle has had a bumpy sports history despite fielding competitive teams in all three of the major US sports. Hell, the Seattle Sounders soccer club are wowing folks in Washington, and drawing big crowds to boot. You win some, you lose some. You lose a piece of your town, and gain a new piece. Such is life, such is sports.

25-28, Game Notes

Jeff — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:35:51 -0000

More photos » by John Froschauer - AP

Seattle Mariners' shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt prays to God he doesn't fall on that during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Seattle, Monday, June 1, 2009. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

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There you go. There's your comfortable win. It seems like every time the Mariners get out to a half-decent lead and then give up a few runs, somebody has to come by and ask "geez when's the last time this team made it easy?" so with tonight's effort - a game in which the Mariners stormed out early and never looked back - the ticker's been set back to zero. Tonight is the last time this team made it easy. We may end up pointing back to this for a good while yet, since the team doesn't score and teams that don't score seldom make it easy, but hey, at least it happened. Take that, win against the White Sox in the last week of April! We won't be needing you anymore.

I haven't the foggiest idea what Bedard was thinking prior to taking on his former team for the first time after being traded, since it'd be enough of a chore for a reporter to so much as get Erik to confirm that he played for the Orioles, but if anything was weighing on his mind, it didn't show itself early on. It wasn't until the middle innings that he started to scuffle, and even there he was somehow able to escape a sequence of line drive-line drive-walk-line drive-pop up-line drive-line drive without allowing a run. Baltimore didn't get on the board until Bedard was fatigued and the game was in hand, and while 6.1 innings of one-run ball may not sound as sexy as seven innings of one-run ball to the people looking out for Erik's trade value, the 112 pitches represent his highest total in a Mariner uniform, which is something. Whether or not he should've been left in that long is one matter, but the fact that he made it to 112 without snapping to pieces should work in Zduriencik's favor when he goes to the phones.

This wasn't Bedard's best effort by any means, mind you. He threw strikes through six innings, but he didn't miss many bats and the Orioles smacked a half-dozen line drives. His curve, though, was there when he needed it, and any time he's able to get strikes on three-quarters of his breaking balls, I feel like he's probably going to look pretty good in the box score. For a team that still hasn't determined whether or not it's going to compete, having Bedard keep his stock high is good news for everyone.

One day. It took Griffey one day to make me look like a retard. Fresh off of my suggesting that he may be finished, Griffey drilled extra-base hits to all fields, lining a double to left, a double to center, and a homer to right. Those three hits raised his slugging percentage from .362 to .407 and his OPS from .688 to .743. One of those doubles even came on a pretty good 93mph fastball. His timing could not have been worse.

The issue, of course, is that he didn't really put Griffey swings on them. The homer in particular came on a sweeping breaking ball from Jamie Walker that Griffey reached out for and yanked looking kind of off balance. It wasn't the most awe-inspiring of longballs, and tonight did little to make me think that I was wrong to post what I did. However, if the evidence pointed to Griffey maybe being done a day ago, now the case is a little less convincing, so that's a step in the right direction. This was a big game that Griffey's stat line badly needed.

Russell Branyan doesn't always hit really long home runs, but he does always hit really high home runs. Tonight he put a perfect Branyan swing on a 3-2 slider from Walker and launched it about 10 or 15 rows back into right. I'm beginning to understand how he's able to so consistently post such extreme GB/FB ratios. He swings the bat like he's trying to hit an invisible person in front of him flush in the nutsack. There's just something so refreshing about the one guy in this lineup hitting home runs that don't make you wonder. When Branyan hits one, the only question is whether the outfielder will even bother running.

When we came into the season, one of my concerns about the offense was that having supposed platoon bats like Branyan and Griffey in the middle would leave us vulnerable to lefty relievers. Those two have responded by slugging .588 against lefties over 85 at bats. Our three best offensive performances against lefties so far have come from our three regular left-handed hitters. This is the weirdest sport.

I could use this space to talk to you about how Sean White isn't the least bit deserving of his shiny ERA, but instead of that, I'm going to point you to the fact that, over his last seven appearances, he's managed to throw 67% strikes while still generating a good number of grounders. That's good, and the 1-1 changeup he threw to Adam Jones today was absolutely wicked. So while Sean White's true talent level is going to catch up with him one of these days, my hope is that his true talent is a little better than his numbers. Truth be told, while his K/BB is currently under 1, it really doesn't have to get a whole lot better in order for him to be a useful reliever. The stuff is there for him to run lines like a poor man's Brad Ziegler.

In case you're wondering, today was the fourth consecutive day that Ichiro extended his hit streak in his first at bat. He's now set a new club record of 26 games. Yay, Ichiro. I wonder if Beltre's hit in 26 games all season.

Jamie Walker looks like the sort of guy who lives with eight or nine children. I just can't decide if he looks like he's supposed to.

Going for the series win tomorrow with Jason Vargas against Brad Bergesen, who appears to be a righty that lives off a high-80s sinkoh no

O's 2, Mariners 8: Time for Jamie Walker to retire.

Stacey — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:20:01 -0000

It's 1:15 in the a.m. My laptop battery is almost dead. I do not have the time nor the inclination to write up a proper recap. The O's got Bedarded tonight, but it doesn't even matter because they also go Walker'd.

Here's a recap pic:

Here is the Yahoo! recap if you want the gory details.

Poll

Who is tonight's Most Birdland Player (MBP)? (No, you can't vote for Erik Bedard)

Felix Pie (pinch hit double and run, confirmation that he's still alive)

88 votes

Adam Jones (responsible for one third of the Orioles hit total)

86 votes

Matt Wieters (first career walk!)

37 votes

No One.

112 votes

323 votes | Poll has closed

Orioles 5, Nationals 8: Jamie Walker and Chris Ray Smell

Stacey — Mon, 25 May 2009 01:45:49 -0000

Poll

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

Brian Roberts (1-4, BB, 2 R)

3 votes

Adam Jones (1-4, 2 run HR)

69 votes

Nick Markakis (1-5, 3B, 2 RBI)

6 votes

Brad Bergesen (Single in first ML at bat)

40 votes

No one

31 votes

149 votes | Poll has closed

SHAKE N BAKE!!! SHAKE N BAKE!! Adam Dunn's Grand Slam Beats Baltimore. Nationals 8 Orioles 5.

Ed Chigliak — Sun, 24 May 2009 20:36:36 -0000

More photos » by Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP

7 months ago: Washington Nationals left fielder Adam Dunn (44) is greeted at home by teammates Ryan Zimmerman (11) and Josh Willingham (16) after hitting a two-run home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 24, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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HEADLINE:

SHAKE N BAKE!! SHAKE N BAKE!!!

Adam Dunn takes Orioles' reliever Jamie Walker deep to left and GONE for a Grand Slam in the seventh that wins it for Washington. Nationals avoid the sweep and head to NY with a win...

The Big Donkey's Back!! And Back!!!

After Adam Dunn homered for the 13th time this season in the sixth inning this afternoon to put Washington up 4-3 over Baltimore, DC starter Shairon Martis went back out on the mound and gave up a two-run blast to Adam Jones to give the Orioles back a 5-4 lead. Martis was replaced by Nationals' lefty Ron Vill0.00ne, who walked two but got through the rest of the inning without further damage.

The Orioles' right-handed reliever Chris Ray gave up back to back singles to start the eighth, and a sac bunt by DC shortstop Cristian Guzman put runners on second and third and gave Baltimore an opportunity to walk Ryan Zimmerman and set up a Lefty vs Lefty matchup between O's lefty Jamie Walker and the Big Walky himself, Adam Dunn, who steps to the plate with the bases loaded...

...Dunn had never faced Walker before, but he brought a .273 AVG with the bases loaded into the at bat, and he raised that average a bit with a long fly ball to left and GONE!! Adam Du--SHAKE N BAKE!! SHAKE N BAKE!! Grand slam to left on a 2-2 pitch low and inside from Walker and out to the opposite field. Adam Dunn gets it don...Well Don...Adam Dunn does it!! Dunn ends the day 2 for 4 with 2 HR's and 6 RBI's, Dunn's AVG is back up to .284, and all of DC is happy that the Nationals managed to win the 2nd of 11 on the homestand.

Smarty Still Undefeated...

Shairon Martis didn't earn his sixth win, but he avoided his first loss thanks to Adam Dunn, who made up for the two-run blast Martis surrendered in the seventh with the go-ahead grand slam in the home half of the inning. Martis threw 89 pitches, 52 for strikes, walked 2, K'd 2 and allowed 5 ER on 7 hits in 6.0 IP. After retiring the O's in order in the first, Martis let runners on in each of the next four innings, giving up a double in the second, a two-run triple in the third, a double and a walk in the fourth and a one-out RBI single in the fifth, before he finally retired the Orioles in order again in the sixth. In the seventh, Martis surrendered a leadoff single to Brian Roberts and the two-run blast to Adam Jones before he was lifted from his 9th start in line for a loss...

HANNY SAVES!!!

After Dunn's big blast in the Nationals' seventh put DC ahead 8-5, left-hander Joe Beimel came on in the eighth to face the 8th, 9th and 1st O's batters, retiring them quickly and in order to set the stage for the return of "Wild" Joel Hanrahan, who took the mound after Washington failed to score in the eighth, and put the Orioles down as quickly as they could step up, 1-2-3 on a steady diet of heaters, Adam Jones K's, Nick Markakis K's, Aubey Huff grounds to second, Anderson Hernadez throws to first baseman Ronnie Belliard, Nationals win. 8-5 final.

Nationals win, 8-5 final.

Miss The Game? The DC Faithful Were Watching.

For The Completists, Full Game Report After The Jump...

Nationals now 13-30.

Baltimore Orioles at Washington Nationals. Game 43 of 162.

Brian Roberts takes a swing at Shairon Martis’ first pitch and barely connects flying out to Josh Willingham in left. Willie Harris catches the second out from Adam Jones in center. Austin Kearns gets a good jump on Nick Markakis’ fly, Kearns tracks it to the out-of-town scoreboard in right and leaps into the wall, crashing as he makes the catch...Willie Harris leads off with a double into right. Cristian “Two-Spot” Guzman moves Harris to third with a groundout to second. Ryan Zimmerman lines out, Adam Dunn grounds sharply to first, Willie Harris stranded at third, O's righty Brad Bergesen through one...

Aubrey Huff doubles over Austin Kearns’ head in right. Adam Dunn makes his way into foul territory off first to catch Ty Wigginton’s pop up. Huff tags and takes third. Shairon Martis gets a called strike three on Nolan Reimold for out No. 2. O’s catcher Chad Moeller grounds to Guzman at short to Dunn at first...Josh Willingham singles off Bergesen to start the DC second. Ronnie Belliard chases a two-strike slider off the outside edge. Austin Kearns grounds to Robert Andino at short, to Brian Roberts to Aubrey Huff, double play to end the inning.

Robert Andino flies out to Willie Harris. Brad Bergesen singles by Martis on the mound and into center. Brian Roberts works a one-out walk. Adam Jones pops out to short right for the second out. Martis goes 3-0 with Markakis up. Markakis shoots a line drive to left center, Willingham and Willie Harris converge, Harris leaps, but can’t come up with it, two runs score, Markakis in at third, 2-0 O’s. Ronnie Belliard’s back on the grass at second to field Aubrey Huff’s grounder and end the top of the frame...Wil Nieves grounds off Bergesen’s glove to Wigginton, to first, "You're Out!!" Shairon Martis grounds out. Willie Harris squares to bunt and gets plunked. Bergesen gets Guzman swinging to end the third.

Ty Wigginton pops the first pitch of the fourth out to left. Nolan Reimold pops out to the infield. Chad Moeller rips into a full-count fastball for what should be a flyout, WIllingham misjudges it and drops it as he crashes face-first into the wall. Robert Andino gets the intentionals. Brad Bergesen grounds up the middle, Guzman fields and throws, off the mark, safe at first. Bases loaded for Brian Roberts. Fly ball to left, Willingham has this one...2-0 O’s middle of four...Ryan Zimmerman sends Adam Jones back to the track in center with a long fly out. Adam Dunn pops out over short. Josh Willingham rips into a fastball that Adam Jones catches in center to end the fourth.

Adam Jones takes a full-count change on the arm. With Markakis up, Adam Jones steals second (he was out). Markakis grounds to first, Jones to third. Aubrey Huff rips a one-out single through second, Jones scores. 3-0 O’s. Ty Wigginton pops out. Nolan Reimold pops out to Guzman at short...Ronnie Belliard starts the DC fifth with a flyout to Adam Jones. Austin Kearns finds room down the line to sneak in a double. Wil Nieves lines over first and into the stands jutting out near right, Kearns scores from second, 3-1 Baltimore. Shairon Martis slices a double to center to score Nieves, who beat the throw home! 3-2 O’s. Cristian Guzman chops a grounder to second to end the fifth.

Chad Moeller grounds the first pitch of the sixth to Ryan Zimmerman, who throws a short hopper to first that Dunn handles. Shairon Martis gets Robert Andino and Zimmerman makes another short throw on a grounder from Bergesen, but Dunn gets that too...Ryan Zimmerman lifts the first pitch of the DC sixth to left for a leadoff single in front of Dunn. Adam Du...SHAKE N BAKE!! SHAKE N BAKE!! Two-run HR to deep center and GONE!! 4-3 DC. Josh Willingham pushes the first out to Andino at short. Ronnie Belliard grounds to short. Austin Kearns drops a single in short center to keep the inning alive. Bergesen out for Chris Ray. Wil Nieves chops back to the mound to end the sixth, with DC up 4-3.

Brian Roberts goes back up the middle with a hard hit grounder to start the seventh. 84 mph 0-1 slider, to Adam Jones, line drive to left, and Adam Jones takes the lead right back. Two-run HR, 5-4 Orioles. Ron Vill0.00ne replaces Shairon Martis. Nick Markakis pops out to Zimmerman at third. Vill0.00ne walks Aubrey Huff. Ty Wigginton flies out unproductively to right. Vill0.00ne walks Reimold. Willie Harris runs down a line drive to center from Chad Moeller. 5-4 O’s after seven and a half...Anderson “Elvis” Hernandez starts the DC seventh with a liner by second. Willie Harris shoots a dribbler through the infield and into right. Two on for Guzman. The Guzzz gets down a sweet sac bunt and almost beats the throw to first. Ryan Zimmerman gets the intentionals, and Jamie Walker’s coming out to face Dunn. Adam Du--SHAKE N BAKE!! SHAKE N BAKE!! Grand Slam to left!! 8-5 Nationals. Willingham lines to left, Ronnie Belliard grounds to short, 8-5 DC after seven.

Joe Beimel gets a fly ball to right, it’s going foul, it curves back in, Austin Kearns overruns it, but reaches back for the grab as he crashes into stands. Beimel confuses Felix Pie with a two-strike curve. Anderson Hernandez in at second base, leaps to his left to rob Brian Roberts...Austin Kearns leads off the DC eighth against Mark Hendrickson, Kearns K’s swinging over a two-strike curve. Wil Nieves singles to center. Anderson Hernandez K’s swinging. Willie Harris grounds out to first...Here comes Hanny...!!!

Adam Jones fouls off a two-strike slider and then gets 96mph up in his grill, swinging K!! Nick Markakis swings through a 95 mph two-strike fastball down the middle. Aubrey Huff grounds to second, Anderson Hernandez throws to first, Nationals win!! 8-5 final.

Nationals now 13-30.

Koji and J Dubya: The greatest buddy cops ever

SC — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:08:03 -0000

Our own zknower made this graphic in one of the post-game threads (well, no, he posted it there -- he made it elsewhere) and I thought it surely deserved a day-off front pager.

In a way it's actually kind of predictable that Koji would be taken under the wings of Walker and ZAUN. I remember when Chan Ho Park came to the U.S. and he had that cowboy get-up. Koji learning the ways of Americana from J Dubya doesn't surprise me in the least.

I also want to note that after we gave him some hell last year, Jamie is pitching well so far this season. I'd like to return to loving Walker, so here's hoping he keeps it up.

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

Orioles 10, Rangers 9: Messing with Texas not as bad as reported

SC — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 03:35:01 -0000

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

8 months ago: Wearing a new team jersey, Baltimore Orioles Nick Markakis (21) comes over to sign autographs for fans before the baseball game against the Texas Ranger in Arlington, Texas, Monday, April 13, 2009. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

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George Sherrill almost never makes it easy, but after a tightrope act in the ninth inning, Sherrill and the O's held on to their 10-9 lead in Arlington to improve to 5-2 on the season.

The Good

Aubrey Huff was 4-for-5 with three steaks. Nick Markakis went 2-for-5 with a walk, two RBIs, three runs scored, and a potential game-saving catch in the bottom of the ninth inning on a rocket to the wall hit by Michael Young, after Ian Kinsler had led off the inning with a double. Walker, Johnson and Sherrill combined to close out the final two innings with no runs allowed, though Sherrill as always made it interesting. Felix Pie was 3-for-4 with a homer. The new road uniforms looked great.

The Bad

Koji Uehara was roughed up pretty good: 5 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, 3 K. On the plus side, that beats Chien-Ming Wang (1 IP, 8 ER) tonight, and the fact that the Yankees are paying $200 million for their team and Nick Swisher pitched tonight.

The Ugly

Nothing out of the ordinary, though watching the team do everything but flat-out squander a 10-4 lead was pretty tough.

We'll do it all again tomorrow.

Poll

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

Nick Markakis (2-for-5, BB, 3 R, 2 RBI, big ninth inning catch)

160 votes

Aubrey Huff (4-for-5, 3 RBI)

99 votes

Brian Roberts (3-for-5, RBI, 2 R, BB, "web gem")

22 votes

Felix Pie (3-for-4, HR, RBI, 2 R)

51 votes

332 votes | Poll has closed