SB Nation User Blog: Stacey

Nolan Reimold was named the American League's Rookie of the Month for June on Friday in recognition...

Stacey — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:46:45 -0000

Nolan Reimold was named the American League's Rookie of the Month for June on Friday in recognition for his stellar play. Reimold, Baltimore's left fielder, batted .320 in 26 games during June and led all AL rookies with four home runs. He also drove in nine runs and scored 13 during the month.

Other rookies that received consideration for the Rookie of the Month Award were Baltimore right-hander Brad Bergesen and left-handed pitcher Ricky Romero of the Toronto Blue Jays.

MLB.com - Nolan Reimold named AL Rookie of the month

Angels 5, Orioles 2: At least it took less than three hours

Stacey — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:42:28 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

1 day ago: Los Angeles Angels' Bobby Abreu, right, hits a solo home run as Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters and home plate umpire Bill Hohn look on during the fourth inning of their Major League Baseball game, Thursday, July 2, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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Jeremy Guthrie turned in another poor outing tonight, causing me to officially lose my faith. This entire season I've honestly believed that Guthrie would turn it around. Every start of his I think to myself, "This is the one where he'll turn it around." But he hasn't. Sadly, I now think that he won't.

Jeremy Guthrie isn't an awful starter. If you take out the game where he went only 2/3 of an inning, he's averaging over 6 innings a game. He doesn't walk a lot of batters, he rarely gets blown out. There is a place on many major league teams for a pitcher like Guthrie in the rotation. The problem is that he hasn't been to the Orioles what he was the last two years, and he isn't the pitcher that the Orioles need him to be.

Guthrie came into tonight's game in 2nd place in the majors in home runs allowed. Not happy in 2nd place, he gave up two home runs to Bobby Abreu to regain the lead. Of the 5 runs the Angels scored, Abreu knocked in 4 of them. Guthrie settled down after the 4-run 5th and pitched two more scoreless, so at least he saved the bullpen for tomorrow and the rest of the series. Chris Ray pitched a scoreless 8th inning thanks to good defense behind him. He gave up two singles to start the inning, but Aubrey Huff made a nice pick to start a double play and Nolan Reimold made a great diving catch in left to strand a runner at third.

Though Guthrie was ineffective again, it's not as though the offense did their job either. The 2009 version of John Lackey hasn't been as good as in years past, but you wouldn't know it the way the Orioles batted against him tonight. They managed just two runs. The first came off the bat of Matt Wieters, who knocked in Nolan Reimold. Reimold had reached on a single and stolen second base to get into scoring position. The second run scored on Luke Scott's 16th home run on the year. Luke was discouraged about becoming the team's DH this year, but he is flourishing in the role so far. All told the O's managed only 4 hits off of Lackey, who pitched 8 innings.

David Hernandez makes his fourth career start tomorrow vs. Ervin Santana. In his three starts so far, Hernandez has had one good start, one bad start, and one so-so start. The rotation spot is his for the next few months with Koji on the disabled list. Game time is 10:05 eastern time.

Poll

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

Bad Umpires? Game 2

Stacey — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:13:40 -0000

Game 2 of the Orioles-Red Sox Series featured more complaints about the Umps. But how bad was it? Game 1 showed inconsistency for sure, and Game 2 shows even more of the same.

First up, the Red Sox. They sent 47 men to the plate in this game, and by my calculations they had 4 blatant miscalls and 5 borderline calls. That's only 19% of their batters, which is a huge drop from game 1 on Monday.

David Ortiz takes the 4th pitch for a called strike in the first inning.

In the third, Jason Bay takes the first pitch for a called strike.

Dustin Pedroia takes a pitch inside for a called strike one. You'll notice a lot of pitches in that area of the plate being called for strikes in this game.

Pedroia again, this time in the 9th inning, taking the first pitch for an inside strike.

To see some additional questionable calls to the Red Sox batters, click here.

The Orioles had a bit more questionable calls than the Red Sox did in this game. I counted 12 obvious miscalls and one borderline miscall to Melvin Mora. They sent 40 batters to the plate in the game, making for mistakes on about 32% of the batters.

Here's Luke Scott in the 2nd inning, taking the fifth pitch for a called strike.

Felix Pie takes the first pitch for a called strike. I suppose this one could be considered somewhat borderline actually.

Matt Wieters gets a bad outside called strike on the 2nd pitch.

Brian Roberts gets totally screwed in the sixth inning as pitches 3 and 5 are both called strikes.

Felix Pie takes the 2nd pitch for a strike, also in the 6th inning.

The last mistake of the 6th inning. After the 2nd pitch is called a strike, Nick Markakis chases the third out of the zone for the K.

On to the 7th inning and Aubrey Huff. The 2nd pitch is called a strike, so when the fourth pitch went to the same place Aubrey went after it.

Luke Scott takes the 2nd pitch for a ball despite its location, but doesn't get as lucky on the third pitch, a called strike well outside.

Felix Pie in the 8th inning. He swung at the 2nd pitch but managed to hold back on the third. Didn't matter since it was called a strike anyway.

Nolan Reimold gets a lucky ball called in the 8th inning.

Oscar Salazar takes the first pitch for a strike.

For the fourth mistake in the 8th inning, Matt Wieters takes the first pitch for a called strike. Is that why he chased pitches 3 and 4?

And here's the borderline call for Melvin Mora in the 2nd inning, a pitch called in Melvin's favor.

Pretty awful. A lot of those pitches were called incorrectly near the same part of the plate which I guess is why you saw other swinging pitches in that zone as the batters tried to get to them.

I'll tackle game 3 later on today probably.

So how bad were the umpires? Game 1

Stacey — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:56:53 -0000

One of the major themes of the Red Sox series was unhappiness with the umpires, so I decided to do a little investigation via MLB's Game Day. Obviously it's not a science with them; they are only as good as whoever is entering the data. But it certainly interesting to take a look at.

I first took a look at game 1, which the Red Sox won 4-0. In the game the Red Sox sent 39 men to the plate in the game, and by my count they had 5 batters who received borderline calls and 10 batters who had pitches that were blatently called incorrectly. That's 38% of Red Sox batters who potentially had incorrect calls against them. You be the judge.

(note: if there is a strike out of the zone that I don't mention, the batter swung)

This is Mark Kotsay in the 2nd inning. After pitch two was called a strike he probably felt he had to swing at the third pitch.

Kotsay again in the 3rd inning. After getting a ball called on the second pitch, the third was called a strike despite being even further outside.

Check out ball one on Kevin Youkilis in the 3rd. Looks pretty good, especially compared to pitches four and five, both of which were called strikes.

Jason Varitek takes a pitch right down the middle of the plate for ball 1 in the 4th inning.

This one is my favorite. Dustin Pedroia walks on 4 pitches in the 6th inning.

The third pitch to David Ortiz in the 7th looks pretty good to me.

Maybe the third pitch to Jacoby Ellsbury in the 8th inning could be considered borderline, but all the same.

Also in the 8th inning, Jason Varitek takes a ridiculous called strike one.

Strike one to Nick Green in the 8th inning is high and tight, but maybe the umpire realized because he made up for it by calling the second pitch a ball.

Finally, in the 9th inning David Ortiz gets the call of ball 1 despite the location of the pitch.

So that's ten calls to Red Sox batters. 6 of them got pitches in the strike zone called balls. 3 of them got pitches called strikes when out of the zone, and Nick Green got one of each. To take a look at some other calls to Red Sox batters click here.

Now, the Orioles. In this game I counted six O's batters that were clearly had pitches called incorrectly, and eight that could be considered borderline. That's 14 out of 35 plate appearances (40%).

In the first inning, Brian Roberts gets the call on the third pitch despite its location.

Nick Markakis also catches a break with the fourth pitch here in the 4th inning.

In the 4th inning, Aubrey Huff takes pitches 2 and 3 for ridiculous strikes before chasing a ball for the K.

Here in the 4th inning Nolan Reimold gets a charitable call on pitch 2.

Adam Jones gets the Pedroia treatment in the 8th inning.

Aubrey Huff just can't get a break as the 2nd pitch is absurdly called a strike.

So that's six batters with questionable calls for the O's. 4 went the O's way while Aubrey Huff got screwed. To look at some more click here.

So overall the umpiring for the first game was inconsistent but didn't really appear to favor either team. At least, not from what I could tell from my crack Game Day investigation. While doing this I started to wonder what the across the board percentage is for pitches called correctly. If you go by number of batters in this game, the umpires got a call wrong on about 40% of them, which seems pretty high. But I'd imagine if you went by the number of pitches thrown, the number wouldn't seem that bad. What is considered a normal margin of error?

Next up, Game 2! It's uglier than this one.

Red Sox 6, Orioles 5: A taste of our own medicine

Stacey — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:18:46 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

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Normally when a team loses you can find a number of places to put the blame. An error, a wild pitch, a base running mistake, a home run following a walk, each contributing a little something. A lot of losses are team efforts, just like wins. This one was not. This loss is placed squarely on the shoulders of Jim Johnson and George Sherrill. Two of the Orioles most reliable relievers were completely ineffective today. They blew a four run lead, ruined a gem by Brad Bergesen, and wasted a rare ineffective outing by Josh Beckett.

As Orioles fans we are used to losses, but the ones like this sting a little bit more. The Orioles were building some momentum and on the verge of taking a series from the best team in baseball before heading off to a tough west coast road trip. What a letdown.

Poll

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

Brad Bergesen (8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K)

301 votes

Nick Markakis (1-5, 2 RBI)

3 votes

Luke Scott (1-3, HR, BB)

1 votes

Ty Wigginton (1-4, HR)

2 votes

307 votes | Poll has closed

Orioles 11, Red Sox 10: Greatest Comeback in Franchise History (you can look it up).

Stacey — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:57:45 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

Baltimore Orioles' Brian Roberts (1) slides home to score the go-ahead run on a Nick Markakis double during the eighth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 30, 2009, in Baltimore. The Orioles won 11-10. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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You want to hear something funny? In the 2nd inning of this game, with the Orioles down 4-0, I had myself convinced that John Smoltz was going to throw a no hitter. I really believed it. I had visions of John Kruk warbling on about John Smoltz's huge comeback as a Red Sox and the Orioles looking the way we all expect them to look in situations such as these. Well, Robert Andino ensured that the O's wouldn't be no hit with a single in the third, and Felix Pie ensure they wouldn't be shut out with an RBI triple. It was of little consolation, however, since Rich Hill was just awful tonight. Absolutely putrid. A Kevin Youkilis home run in the first, a Dustin Pedroia two run double in the 2nd, and let's not even talk about the 4th inning, when the Red Sox scored 5 runs to go ahead 9-1.

I was just about to turn off this sorry excuse for a baseball game and get to the laundry I've been neglecting when the rains came and washed away the stink of the Orioles. After over an hour of rain, the game recommenced, and our lives were changed. Justin Masterson replaced John Smoltz and at first, it looked like more of the same. He retired the first six batters he faced until the 8th inning.

And that's when something magic happened.

Aubrey Huff led off with a single. Simple enough. At that point the O's were down 10-1 and I was barely even paying attention to the game. Follow that with a single by Nolan Reimold and an Luke Scott double off the scoreboard (three feet to the left and it would have been a HR) and suddenly it was 10-2. I yawned. Oscar Salazar stepped up to the plate, pinch hitting for Melvin Mora. Oscar hasn't gotten many chances since being called up, but he made the most of it by absolutely crushing the baseball to left field. It landed in the back of the left field seats and the O's were down 10-5, and they weren't done. With two outs and Robert Andino at 2nd, Felix Pie singled in the 6th run. Nick Markakis followed with a single of his own and with runners on first and third, Aubrey Huff lined a ball towards second. I thought it would be a base hit, but Pedroia timed his leap perfectly and stabbed it out of the air.

The Orioles had made the score respectable and were back in the game, but five more runs in two innings against the best bullpen in baseball seemed like a steep order. Do you know what the Orioles offense said to that? They said, "Pshaw, we don't even need two innings. We'll do it in one."

Leading off the 8th was Nolan Reimold, who started things off with a single. The scoreboard again proved to be Luke Scott's nemesis. This time he launched what I thought for sure was a home run, but it hit off the top of the scoreboard and bounced back into play for a double, putting runners and 2nd and 3rd. Probably all for the best, since home runs are known to kill rallies. Oscar Salazar followed his monster home run up with a "single" to the catcher. Actually it was the catcher picking up the ball and just standing there. Who knows why. Who cares why? The bases were loaded with zero outs for young Matt Wieters, who served a soft single into left field to score Nolan Reimold. Ty Wigginton, pinch hitting for Robert Andino, sent a ball to deep right. I thought for a moment it might get out, but instead it was caught on the warning track. Luke Scott raced home with the 8th run of the night. Brian Roberts, in an 0-18 funk, lined a single past a diving Youkilis at third to score Salazar, and just like that the Orioles were down by only one run.

Terry Francona had seen enough and brought in Jonathan Papelbon to attempt a 5 out save. Papelbon struck out Felix Pie for the second out, but he wouldn't be so lucky with Nick Markakis. With Jeremy Guthrie on 2nd (running for Wieters) and Brian Roberts on first, Nick hit a shot into the gap. Guts and Brian raced around the bases to score the tying and go ahead runs.

And then my head exploded. The Orioles had gone from a 10-1 deficit to take the lead 11-10. It was the greatest comeback in team history as well as the greatest comeback of any last place team against a first place team in the history of the MLB (thanks to 2632 for the fun facts). Those comeback facts, of course, would only matter if the O's could hold on to win.

Enter George Sherrill, who has been great this year, but had never pitched in a game that had unfolded quite like this. He was set to face three right handed batters, and chose this night to make things interesting in old school Georgie style. Number 9 hitter Jeff Bailey, just called up to replace injured Mike Lowell on the roster, led off with a single. Julio Lugo struck out and Dustin Pedroia flew out to right, and only Kevin Youkilis stood between the Orioles and victory. Sherrill quickly got two strikes and what Oriole fans remained at Camden Yards after a 9 run deficit and an hour plus rain day rose to their feet...just in time for Sherrill to plunk Youk on the elbow. UGH. That moved the tying run to second base for Jason Bay, who struck out. O'S WIN! O'S WIN! Never a doubt, Georgie. Never a doubt.

What an amazing, exhilarating, roller coaster of a game. It featured everything that is right about the Orioles and everything that is wrong with the Orioles, all in one game. It was magic magic magic magic...Orioles Magic.

Random Notes:

Adam Jones had to leave the game after crashing into the wall trying to rob Kevin Youkilis of a home run in the 1st inning. He actually caught the ball but the impact knocked his glove into the bullpen. According to Dave Trembley, he hit his face against the wall and was suffering from a headache, so they removed him for precautionary reasons. He is currently day-to-day.
It's easy to gloss over because of the win, but the umpiring in this game has been some of the worst I've ever seen. The strike zone has been all over the place the last two games, and the frustration by the Orioles was evident. Dave Trembley spent much of the game jawing at the umpire, who also got words of frustration from Brian Roberts, Aubrey Huff, Nick Markakis, Felix Pie, and maybe others. It's a shame that the umpires aren't held to a higher standard of accountability. Everyone noticed how awful the umpires have been. Dave Johnson, Jim Palmer, the NESN announcers, me.
I think this game makes up for the Mother's Day Massacre from a few years ago. Of course, if you're a Red Sox fan, that game is called the Mother's Day Miracle. The NESN announcers declared this game the Camden Yards Comeback, but you Red Sox fans out there can think of it as the Camden Yards Collapse.

See some great game related pictures below the jump.

Awesome. via www.fangraphs.com

Courtesy of SidewinderX

dkdc's view on the way home from work.

Poll

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

Felix Pie (2-4, 2 RBI, Triple, gunned down a runner at home to end the 8th inning)

65 votes

Nick Markakis (2-5, RBI double to knock in the tying and go ahead runs)

67 votes

Nolan Reimold (3-5, 2 runs, generally awesome)

9 votes

Luke Scott (2-4, 2 doubles, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 1 BB, a tshirt that says "God is like coke...He's the real thing")

24 votes

Oscar Salazar (2-2, pinch hit 3 run HR, 3 RBI, 2 R)

117 votes

Matt Wieters (2-4, 1 RBI)

2 votes

Brian Roberts (1-5, clutch RBI single, scored winning run)

3 votes

Mark Hendrickson (3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 K)

4 votes

George Sherrill (Never a doubt)

14 votes

305 votes | Poll has closed

O's losing 9-1 in the fifth as the rain delay ends. Anyone still paying attention come on in!

Stacey — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:50:33 -0000

O's losing 9-1 in the fifth as the rain delay ends. Anyone still paying attention come on in!

OVERFLOW THREAD for Red Sox @ O's on 30 June 09.

Here we go again: The misery of an O's fan when the Red Sox are in town.

Stacey — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:12:48 -0000

Red Sox fans celebrate Manny Ramirez's 500th home run at Camden Yards in 2008.

View full size photo uploaded June 30, 2009

Ok, so this isn't going to be a profound post with any kind of new way of thinking or information you've never read. It's more about getting something off my chest and articulating a feeling that I think many of us have.

I went to the baseball game last night and, well, it wasn't fun. It's not the losing. Obviously losing is never fun but I've been to more Orioles losses than wins in my life and I keep going back, so that's not it. It's the Red Sox fans. Just being at the game puts me on edge. Honestly I wouldn't have even gone to the game of my own volition, but it was the birthday of a friend and that's what he wanted to do.

This isn't about hating the Red Sox or their fans. It's just about the experience of being there, and it just makes me angry. It makes baseball not fun because that's not how baseball is supposed to be, not at your home park. Here are the things that I know logically:

The Red Sox fans bought their tickets fair and square and have every right to be there. They didn't get their tickets through nefarious deeds, they simply called the box office. They are not buying tickets that would otherwise go to O's fans. They are buying tickets that would otherwise be empty seats.
The Red Sox fans are not going away. Perhaps if the team goes on a multi-year slide it will thin out some, but not totally (and besides, if you pay any attention to the Red Sox and how they operate, you know that won't be happening any time soon).
The only way to shut up the Red Sox fans and force them out of our park is to win. That's it. We can wax on about taking back the yard and holding down the fort and whatever other way we choose to romaticize the plight of O's fan vs. Red Sox fan, but there is nothing that we can do. It's up to the team to get better. Why would a casual fan be at all interested in attending a game that a) the Orioles will probably lose, b) will feature a ridiculous amount of out of town fans, and c) costs more than any other game?

Logically, when I look at the facts, I understand why it happens. It's the perfect storm. Oriole Park is a beautiful place to see a game, the location is convenient for Red Sox fans, it costs a paycheck to buy a ticket at Fenway Park, the Orioles are bad, the Red Sox are good, Baltimore is a fun city to visit. But it still just upsets me so much to even be around it. When the Red Sox are in town on a weekend and my friends and I go to happy hour or out for the evening, I try to pick neighborhoods they don't really know about just so I don't have to see their fans.

I don't even hate the Red Sox, not really. Obviously as a fellow team in the AL East I want them to lose all the time, but it's not a case of just hating the players the way I have other teams in the past. There are actually a number of guys on the team that individually I really enjoy. I mentioned Jon Lester in the game recap, but I also enjoy Kevin Youkilis. It makes me want to vomit hearing all of the Red Sox fans yelling "Yoooooouk" at Camden Yards, but if he were an Oriole his weird body tics and crazy serial killer look would endear him to a lot of us. Plus the dude can just play.

This isn't about the behavior of the out of town fans. Well, maybe a little bit it is. I've seen the Orioles play in a number of away parks, and I cheer for them like crazy. In theory I don't have a problem with that. But when it's multiplied by five thousand, it's hard to take. That's why it's miserable. But the way I feel about these games isn't about the behavior of individual fans. There are plenty of obnoxious, inappropriate Red Sox fans. There are also plenty of obnoxious, inappropriate Orioles fans. The biggest dummy in my section last night was a guy wearing a t-shirt of Calvin peeing on the Red Sox (always a classy choice) and a coral necklace. No, it's more about the entire atmosphere. I don't WANT them to be there. I WANT the Orioles fans to be there. But I don't really want to be one of the few O's fans that actually shows up. If that sounds like I'm admitting defeat, well, I guess I am. It makes me feel miserable and helpless. It makes me sad. It makes me jealous. Why would I do that to myself?

The Underrated Brad Bergesen | FanGraphs.com

Stacey — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:09:24 -0000

The Underrated Brad Bergesen | FanGraphs.com

Praise for Bergesen with comparison to Roy Halladay.

Red Sox 4, Orioles 0: Like you're surprised?

Stacey — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:23:27 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

He didn't catch the ball, but look how hard he's trying. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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I just got home from tonight's game, my first loss of the year. 7-1 is a pretty impressive record but I'm still bummed to have my streak broken.

Here's a secret: Jon Lester is one of my favorite current players. I just enjoy watching him pitch. He's had a few troubles this year, but don't be fooled: he's very good. For obvious reasons I don't often publicize my enjoyment of him, but when I saw he was the pitcher tonight I had a feeling I'd be seeing my first O's loss of the year. He continued his dominance of the Orioles and now his career record against the team is 8-0. Over 7 innings, Lester gave up 5 hits and 0 walks while striking out 8. He started getting hit hard a bit in the 6th and 7th, when Aubrey Huff, Ty Wigginton, and Melvin Mora each lined out to the outfield. All three balls were hit hard and on the nose, but held up just long enough to be caught. The O's made some additional noise in the 9th inning, getting runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs until Jonathan Papelbon came in and retired Matt Wieters to end the game.

For the O's, Jason Berken didn't have a great night. After giving up a lead off triple to JD Drew (did anyone else wonder why Adam Jones was playing so shallow?) and an RBI single to Dustin Pedroia, he was able to get out of the inning via a double play. He managed to get through the 2nd and 3rd innings without allowing any runs, but he wasn't sharp by any means. The 2nd inning featured two singles, a stolen base, and a HBP, but somehow the Red Sox didn't score. The 3rd inning included two walks, a stolen base, and a balk, and yet zero runs. Berken wouldn't be as lucky in the 4th. He plunked the leadoff batter, Jacoby Ellsbury, who immediately stole second and scored on Jason Varitek's single. Varitek then scored on a home run by JD Drew. That's all Berken would allow thanks to an amazing play by Adam Jones to steal a home run from Kevin Youkilis and end the inning.

With Berken out after 5, Brian Bass took over. He started off looking a bit shaky, allowing a single and a walk, but ultimately pitched 3 innings allowing just one more hit. Chris Ray pitched the 9th and looked pretty good despite a Youkilis double.

The O's will do it all again tomorrow as Rich Hill faces off against John Smoltz. Smoltz has pitched just one game this year, giving up 7 runs in 5 innings to the Washington Nationals. Hill is coming off a horrible game against the Marlins, giving up 6 ER in 4.1 innings. The O's are 0-5 against the Red Sox this year.

Poll

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

Brian Bass (3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 ER)

47 votes

Adam Jones (web gem)

90 votes

No One

85 votes

222 votes | Poll has closed