SB Nation User Blog: BSmitty

Better Than Expected

BSmitty — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:46:04 -0000

The Birds of Baltimore aren’t the flashiest baseball team, but they’re quietly poised to compile their best record in 10 years.

From http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/better-than-expected

Not long ago, in this space, I speculated hastily that the Tampa Bay Rays would fade down the stretch and the surprise story of the 2008 MLB season would revolve around the Baltimore Orioles. That probably won’t happen, as it turns out, but it’s still curious to me why the O’s, almost unanimously picked in April to win maybe 70 games, haven’t attracted more national attention from the sports communications industry. It’s not as though the team hasn’t far surpassed expectations—as of July 22 they’re hovering around the .500 mark—and surely reporters, television gabbers and bloggers have the time and space to write and talk about more than just Scott Kazmir, Billy Beane’s 18th dismantling of the A’s, Jason Giambi’s hideous mustache, the blackballing of Barry Bonds, Josh Hamilton’s embrace of the Lord, and Manny Ramirez’s disgraceful scuffle with a sexagenarian Red Sox traveling secretary over an allotment of free tickets.

Although I’m a Bosox fan, I live in Baltimore, work with a few guys who favor the O’s and attend a lot of games at Camden Yards, and this is, in fact, a pretty interesting turnaround in what was expected to be a complete rebuilding season directed by the franchise’s impressive president Andy MacPhail. This might be off the mark, but I think the reason not many commentators give the O’s their deserved due is because it’s a team devoid of characters. The players don’t brawl, gaze at their home runs, fist-pump when completing a save or, with the exception of the goofy Kevin Millar, give colorful quotes after games.

Their manager, Dave Trembley, who toiled in the minor leagues, grinding it out for years, is stolid, earnest and…dull. He’s no Ozzie Guillen and doesn’t pretend to be. After a loss to the Tigers last Thursday night, one in which the O’s made three base-running blunders, Trembley unloaded in his standard post-game interview, slamming some unnamed reporters who “joked around” outside his office after the game. Saying that other managers like Jim Leyland or Tony LaRussa wouldn’t tolerate such behavior and would let loose with an expletive-ridden rant, he stated his feelings without such embellishments. “I hear everything, and I live and die with everything here. Not for Dave Trembley, but for the Baltimore Orioles. And if you think that’s a bunch of poppycock and this and that, people don’t know who I am.” Not exactly the dirt-kicking Earl Weaver, but Trembley’s the best manager this team’s had in years.

See the rest at http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/better-than-expected

The NL Needs the DH

BSmitty — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:21:05 -0000

A number of current MLB controversies have made it clear that the game is moving forward into a new era. One fan tries to find the best balance between past and present.

From http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

Baseball is an exhilarating yet frustrating mess of contradictions, and this fan is caught in the trap—like millions of other men and women (save George Will, whose pompous moral certitude about the sport is immutable)—of trying to reconcile “purist” instincts with the undeniable improvements in the game over the past several decades. Last weekend, for example, while watching a slew of inter-league contests via the MLB “Extra Innings” package (which, regardless of varying prices depending on your locale and cable provider, costs less for an entire season of televised games than one day at a stadium for a family of four), I finally switched gears and figured it was time for the National League to acquiesce and adopt the still-controversial designated hitter rule.

Heresy, I guess, but what the hell; if you’re a Milwaukee Brewers’ devotee, wouldn’t it be delightful to see the world’s tubbiest vegetarian, Prince Fielder, in the dugout, contemplating his next plate appearance, instead of anchored at first base? One league’s dominance over the other usually runs in cycles, but the N.L. seems mired in a slump that’s likely to run longer than the Great Depression, and this was evident once again over the weekend. Sure, the strategy required of an N.L. manager is more intricate than A.L. counterparts with double-switches and more sacrifice bunts, but the two leagues might be more competitive if older free agents (or crummy fielders) could extend their careers as a DH.

That said, and here’s one of those curveballs, I can’t stand inter-league play, even though it pumps up attendance and allows fans to see star players who were once a mystery aside from the All-Star game (which, of course, has devolved into a meaningless exhibition game instead of a proud showcase) or the World Series. My 13-year-old son, with whom I have the pleasure of sitting next to in our matching easy chairs in the homestead’s television room, adamantly disagrees, but I chalk that up to his participation in a fantasy league with a bunch of school buddies. I just don’t like the disruption of the season’s rhythm, the fake “rivalries” cooked up by MLB schedule makers—sure, the Cubs and White Sox make sense, but the Rockies and Tigers?—for the sake of novelty and profit.

See the rest at http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

The NL Needs the DH

BSmitty — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:18:18 -0000

A number of current MLB controversies have made it clear that the game is moving forward into a new era. One fan tries to find the best balance between past and present.

From http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

See the rest at http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

The NL Needs the DH

BSmitty — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:12:55 -0000

A number of current MLB controversies have made it clear that the game is moving forward into a new era. One fan tries to find the best balance between past and present.

From http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

See the rest at http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

The NL Needs the DH

BSmitty — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:55:53 -0000

A number of current MLB controversies have made it clear that the game is moving forward into a new era. One fan tries to find the best balance between past and present.

From http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

See the rest at http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

The NL Needs the DH

BSmitty — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:52:46 -0000

A number of current MLB controversies have made it clear that the game is moving forward into a new era. One fan tries to find the best balance between past and present.

From http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

See the rest at http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

The NL Needs the DH

BSmitty — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:40:49 -0000

A number of current MLB controversies have made it clear that the game is moving forward into a new era. One fan tries to find the best balance between past and present.

From http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

See the rest at http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

The NL Needs the DH

BSmitty — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:33:37 -0000

A number of current MLB controversies have made it clear that the game is moving forward into a new era. One fan tries to find the best balance between past and present.

From http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

See the rest at http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

The NL Needs the DH

BSmitty — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:30:40 -0000

A number of current MLB controversies have made it clear that the game is moving forward into a new era. One fan tries to find the best balance between past and present.

From http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

See the rest at http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

The NL Needs the DH

BSmitty — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:23:53 -0000

A number of current MLB controversies have made it clear that the game is moving forward into a new era. One fan tries to find the best balance between past and present.

From http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

See the rest at http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh