Any Birdfans heading to the ghetto this weekend to watch the O's play the Nads? The last ime I was there - the bar scene in that part of the city was pretty slack. Anybody been there recently? Is there anywhere to grab a beer or two before heading inside the gates? Just trying to delay giving the Lerner's any more of my money. Thank God we left NY, that was brutal - GO O'S !!!!! Go O's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No regrets about beer policy says Chuckas

Infield attendance is "down, significantly down," Maryland Jockey Club President Tom Chuckas acknowledeged in an interview this afternoon shortly after taking Gov. Martin O'Malley on a tour of the horse stables.

He said he expected the downturn and doesn't regret his decision to ban bring-your-own-alcohol from the Preakness. It's a big "break from tradition," he said, and will likely take two or three years to return to normal attendance. 

"It was time for a change," saidi Chuckas, who's been working since 3 a.m. "We tried to upgrade the experience for our guests."

O'Malley, wearing a jockey tie, backed up Chuckas' prediction that the crowds would return and vowed to do what he could to keep the Preakness in Maryland.

As IF, the crowds aren't coming back until BYOB comes back. The Preakness is DEAD.

The Washington Post published it's special BASEBALL 09 section today and this is all they had to say about the Baltimore Orioles:

"The Baltimore Orioles are deep in young, talented position players but thin in starting pitching. They'll be looking to make a leap forward this year to position themselves for a Rays-like run in 2010 or 2011, when a bevy of outstanding pitching prospects comes of age."

Two freaking sentences, in the whole section - two , that's it, WTF!!!!

I know nobody cares and newspapers are already dead.......I cancelled my subscription today so I won't be subjected to this crap anymore.

Signed,

Hanging From A Shower Rod in the Motel 6.

By Chris Needham - WRC- Channel 4 - Washington DC

The Nats signed 36-year-old scrub pitcher Julian Tavarez to a minor-league deal over the weekend, no doubt buoying their World Series hopes. No team appreciated poor Julian or his greatness, and he ended up settling for a deal he initially refused early in the off-season.

 When no other team was willing to give him even that much, the E.T. look-a-like found a funny way to show his appreciation. "Why did I sign with the Nationals? When you go to a club at 4 in the morning, and you're just waiting, waiting, a 600-pounder looks like J. Lo. And to me this is Jennifer Lopez right here. It's 4 in the morning. Too much to drink. So, Nationals: Jennifer Lopez to me."

The Nats keep stockpiling talent at the pitching position.......

Baltimore Orioles Opening Day Six-Packs include the following:

• Opening Day -- Monday, April 6 season opener vs. the Yankees.
• One Additional Prime Game -- Select one more Prime Game of your choice throughout the 2009 season. Prime Games include all games against the Yankees or Red Sox.
• Four Additional Games -- Then select four other games of your choice from the rest of the Orioles' 2009 regular-season schedule.

Please note: You must buy the same number of seats for each game.
Your actual seat will be different for each game, as determined during the purchase process.

The deals at the park just keep getting richer..... this is the deal they should have been offering at Christmas time.

The Washington Post - FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 6 -- At certain moments, Daniel Cabrera looked great pitching against his former team. Other times, Cabrera didn't. Six feet nine inches of unrealized potential and enormous promise, Cabrera offered his usual tantalizing and maddening mix Friday during the Washington Nationals' 6-2 spring training loss to the Baltimore Orioles."It feels weird to play for so long for one team, and now you're on the other side," Cabrera said. "I was a little wild in the first inning, but I feel good."

Tell me that doesn't sum up Daniel's time with the O's.......

Cabrera's performance in his second start showed why Nationals Manager Manny Acta already has him slotted in the starting rotation even while urging pitching coach Randy St. Claire to fix his delivery. The Nationals don't believe Cabrera's infamous struggles (he had a 5.25 ERA last year) have a thing to do with his head. They have found physical flaws.

Seems like I've heard this story before........

This is from a sports editor at the Washington Post.....

Yes, sadly, we have dropped our Orioles coverage. It's not a decision any of us are happy about but our travel and space budgets have been cut substantially. The baseball pages will become one page this year, as well. As the baseball editor, believe me, I didn't want this to happen.

We will continue to run separate Orioles game stories during the regular season and will probably use the Baltimore Sun's stories; we have a sharing agreement with them for certain coverage. Tom Boswell will write columns on the Orioles as he's done in the past; we will probably cover some of their games ourselves and if they are in contention at the end of the season, we'll definitely do so. But we no longer have a dedicated Orioles reporter. We also have dropped virtually all of our horse racing coverage and you will see other changes in our coverage as well during the year as cutbacks continue.

Tracee

....................................
Tracee Hamilton
Deputy Sports Editor
202.334.5003 (office)
202.334.7685 (fax)