Here is further proof (as if any were needed) that the Baltimore Orioles are totally clueless. Here is the text of the email the Orioles sent me today:

    BUY YOUR ORIOLES TICKETS NOW

Starter Jeremy Guthrie pitched a gem on Sunday, allowing only one unearned run on three hits and two walks in 8 1/3 innings, but wound up with a no-decision against the Red Sox. The offense had its most productive game of the weekend Friday night when outfielder Nick Markakis and third baseman Melvin Mora each recorded four hits.

Be sure to come out to Oriole Park when the O's come back home next week to take on the Blue Jays and the A's.

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Kudos to Cal Ripken for cancelling his appearance on Don Imus' radio program in the wake of Imus' racist comments about the Rutgers Women's basketball team.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/sports/20070409-123001-1675r.htm

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For those of you living under a rock, Cal Ripken the pride of Aberdeen was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with the third highest vote percentage ever today (98.5%).

Despite the sorry state of our beloved franchise, today is a day to be proud to be an Oriole fan. Congrats to Cal for earning baseball's ultimate recognition. It is an honor you richly deserve.

See also: CamdenChat.com's 40 Greatest Orioles of All-Time: No. 1

ALSO see also: SBN's Gaslamp Ball salutes the HOF-bound Tony Gywnn, and so do we.

Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn may surpass Tom Seaver's 98.84% mark on Hall of Fame Ballots, but neither will get in unanimously. At least one member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, Paul Ladewski, a columnist for the Daily Southtown in suburban Chicago, felt he did not have "enough information" to judge Ripken or Gwynn's candidacy.

The issue for Ladewski is steroids. While he suspects neither Ripken nor Gwynn of steroid use, he feels since he can't prove they didn't use steroids, he won't vote for either of them.

The Baltimore Sun has the following quotes from Ladewski:

"In an attempt to uphold the Hall of Fame standards established by their predecessors, I will not vote for anyone who played in the 1993-2004 period, which I consider to be the Steroids Era," Ladewski wrote in an e-mail to The Sun last month. "That includes Tony Gwynn, Mark McGwire and Cal Ripken Jr."

"It's not an anti-Cal Ripken vote or an anti-Tony Gwynn vote; it's a vote about not knowing enough, in my opinion, of the Steroids Era and performance-enhancing drugs to make the kind of decision that needs to be made," Ladewski said.

"From my dealings with Cal Ripken Jr. in the past, he was very pleasant, a good ambassador for the game, and his numbers speak for themselves," Ladewski said. "But I don't have enough information on the [steroids] subject to make a decision."

Before all you Baltimore homers get all upset about someone not voting for Cal, I would like to praise Ladewski's impeccable logic, and extend it to current Hall Of Famers who we lack enough information about to form a reliable judgment about their candidacy:

First up, since I cannot prove that Babe Ruth did not have an unfair advantage because he originally hailed from the planet Krypton and was hence unconstrained by our Earth physics, I do not believe we have enough information about him for inclusion in the Hall of Fame. Sorry Babe, maybe I'll vote for your reinstatement next year if I have more information.

Likewise, to this date no one has proven that Willie Mays didn't play with a magic baseball glove that he purchased with magic beans. I have no reason to suspect Mays of playing with a magic glove, but his continued silence on the subject speaks volumes. He should be out too.

Current vote leader Tom Seaver's numbers speak for themselves, but there were over 18,000 murders in New York City while he played for the New York Mets. In fact the murder rate more than doubled shortly after Seaver's tenure with the Mets began. This is probably just a coincidence, and I have no evidence that Tom Seaver is a serial killer, but until I can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Seaver did not commit each and every one of these murders, I don't think he belongs in the Hall of Fame. If we're going to keep Pete Rose out for gambling, then surely mass murder is serious enough to keep a player out of the Hall. We just don't have enough information about Seaver to make a judgment at this time. Should it later be proven Seaver was not responsible for all these murders, I would be willing to reconsider.

Poll

Do we have enough information about Ripken/Gwynn?

86%

Yes.

31 votes

2%

No.

1 votes

11%

I need more information to make a judgement.

4 votes

36 votes | Poll has closed

I was interested to see how Albert Belle would do in his first year of HOF eligibility. The results were not encouraging if you are Albert Belle. Belle got only 40 votes or 7.7% out of a needed 75%. He did get enough votes to make it to the next ballot however.

In short, it's never gonna happen. Personally, I think it's B.S. even though I do not like Albert Belle as a person (who does?). I do think his numbers justify a spot in the hall despite his injury-shortened career.

Looks like Will Clark isn't getting in anytime soon either, getting on only 4.4% of the ballots, not enough to get another shot. (Hardly a shocker).

BTW, congrats to Bruce Sutter.

Poll

Who deserved to get in, but didn't?

0%

Alan Trammell

0 votes

24%

Belle

6 votes

12%

Lee Smith

3 votes

8%

Rice

2 votes

4%

Jack Morris

1 votes

4%

Gossage

1 votes

4%

Tommy John

1 votes

24%

Dawson

6 votes

4%

Steve Garvey

1 votes

16%

Blyleven

4 votes

25 votes | Poll has closed

I had no idea that Camden Chat was this big, averaging 54,221 visits/day. Of course, I suspect that about 20,000 of that is merdon1332000 clicking the "refresh" button over and over to see if the Orioles front office finally traded Brian Roberts, but those are some pretty impressive numbers, making this the 20th most visited weblog overall, and the 4th most visited sports blog.

Congrats to SC, those are some nice numbers!

According to the Sun the O's have named Perlozzo their manager for next year. I am glad to see the Os making decisions in a timely manner. Hopefully the front office won't drag its feet in addressing other needs this off-season. Good luck Sam! Go O's!

Update: Contract length is three years, financial terms were not disclosed.

Poll

Was hiring Perlozzo the right move?

78%

Yes.

11 votes

7%

No.

1 votes

7%

Maybe.

1 votes

7%

Don't know.

1 votes

14 votes | Poll has closed

According to the The Baltimore Sun today, Pitching coach Ray Miller may not return next year due to health issues:

Pitching coach Ray Miller remains noncommittal about returning to the club in 2006.

Miller will undergo surgery after the season, a procedure that he's keeping private. He'll say only that it's "serious" and that he can't make any decisions about his professional future until it's completed.

He's also waiting to find out whether Perlozzo returns and if any changes are made in the front office. Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan won't be under contract after October.

"It would depend on who the manager is, and if they even want me," Miller said. "I don't even know who the GM is going to be."

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I heard some interesting steroid rumors on WEEI in Boston today. Apparently there are 12 more steroid suspension cases currently in the works, and at least 2 of those cases feature names bigger than Palmeiro's. Sorry, no link, I only heard this on the radio, and have no outside confirmation. It certainly seemed like the guys knew what they were talking about, and cited a source, but I can't remember his name. If there is any truth to this we will be hearing a lot more about it in the days to come.

Update: It looks like I passed along some bad information. My apologies, but thanks to all for the good discussion. In my defense, I did only pass it along as a rumor.

Poll

Will Palmeiro be the only "big fish" caught in the new steroid policy's net

0%

Others used in the past, but the game is basically clean now.

0 votes

13%

I still believe in the tooth fairy.

4 votes

24%

No, more big suspensions are coming.

7 votes

0%

Palmeiro is the only baseball star ever to use steroids.

0 votes

44%

Um, did you notice Jason Giambi weighs more than his Hummer now?

13 votes

6%

Others are using, but no one else will get caught.

2 votes

10%

I think it was the Viagra.

3 votes

29 votes | Poll has closed

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Today the Os announced that day game scheduled for Sunday 7/31 against the White Sox has been moved to 8:00 PM to accommodate ESPN. Thanks a lot guys. This game was one of their kids "dugout club" games, and I had planned to take my 3 year old son to the game. 8:00 PM is way too late for a three year old. Grrr.

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