SB Nation User Blog: zknower

Gameday Thread: O's (35-43) @ LAAACCSUSAWH* (42-34)

zknower — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:17:58 -0000

More photos » by John Froschauer - AP

I will be at this game with birdman. Representin' in my new Adam Jones, son! road jersey.

If there's nothing else in this story, it means none of the other mods has been by since I posted this.

EDIT from duck: OK, I'l say this. ZK,I hope you enjoy this game. I do. But it's garbage that it's on the schedule NOW. We played 3,000 miles away just 30 hours ago, and while the precious Red Sox are enjoying a day off, at home no less, the O's had to schlep across continent for yet another West Coast trip. Those precious Red Sox? Yeah, they're done with the West Coast. Done. As in they travel no further west than Texas for the rest of the year. Yeah, that's fair. And don't get me started on the umps. Back to ZK.

Alright, not quite yet. Jeremy Guthrie's last two starts have been wins, although his performance against the Nationals wasn't exactly awe-inspiring, with only 5.0 IP and 3 runs allowed. The start before that against the Phillies, where he went 7.0 IP and allowed just 1 run, is the Guthrie we hope to see tonight. OK, NOW back to ZK.

Our last west coast trip this year.

GO O's!!!

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jeremy Guthrie	6-7	18	16	1	0	0	0	91.2	99	58	52	17	28	57	5.11	1.39

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - John Lackey	2-3	9	9	0	0	0	0	53.1	66	33	30	6	15	42	5.06	1.52

Lineup

Baltimore Orioles @ Los Angeles Angels

07/02/09 10:05 PM EDT

Baltimore Orioles	Los Angeles Angels
Brian Roberts - 2B	Chone Figgins - 3B
Adam Jones - CF	Bobby Abreu - RF
Nick Markakis - RF	Torii Hunter - CF
Aubrey Huff - 1B	Vladimir Guerrero - DH
Nolan Reimold - LF	Juan Rivera - LF
Luke Scott - DH	Kendry Morales - 1B
Ty Wigginton - 3B	Maicer Izturis - 2B
Matt Wieters - C	Mike Napoli - C
Robert Andino - SS	Erick Aybar - SS

Red Sox vs Orioles coverage | Halos Heaven

* Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim County, California State, United States of America, Western Hemisphere

Gameday Thread: Red Sox (46-29) @ Orioles (34-41)

zknower — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:44:13 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

Let's hope these guys have something to cheer about.

Browse more photos »

The first half of the season begins to wind down as the Orioles close the book on interleague play (which was overall VERY good to them). Four series remain against decent -to-good teams: the PHN Red Sox at home, the Angels and Mariners on the road, and then the Blue Jays back at home before the All-Star break.

It all starts tonight as Jon Lester brings his 7-0 record against the Birds to OPACY. Yet Lester has been quite fallible this season, and this is a different Birds team than past ones he's faced. If our offense wakes up and scores early, this game may not be a complete write-off.

Off course the other half of that equation is Jason Berken, who looked great in his debut, and who has been figured out by hitters ever since. Don't be surprised to see the bullpen get a workout tonight.

Go O's!

UPDATE: Bonus!! I was interviewed by NESN.com blogger Neil Keefe about this series. You can see my off-the-cuff answers here. In the post, he describes CC as my blog, but as everyone here knows, this is SC's blog and the rest of us are just livin' in it.

The Red Sox on SBN: Over the Monster

Lineup

Boston Red Sox @ Baltimore Orioles

06/29/09 7:05 PM EDT

Boston Red Sox	Baltimore Orioles
J.D. Drew - RF	Brian Roberts - 2B
Dustin Pedroia - 2B	Adam Jones - CF
Kevin Youkilis - 3B	Nick Markakis - RF
Jason Bay - LF	Aubrey Huff - DH
David Ortiz - DH	Nolan Reimold - LF
Mark Kotsay - 1B	Ty Wigginton - 1B
Jacoby Ellsbury - CF	Melvin Mora - 3B
Jason Varitek - C	Matt Wieters - C
Nick Green - SS	Robert Andino - SS

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jon Lester	6-6	15	15	2	0	0	0	92.1	95	48	48	13	30	106	4.68	1.35

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jason Berken	1-4	6	6	0	0	0	0	31.1	37	23	22	2	12	19	6.32	1.56

Get to know: Orioles' Wieters takes hype in stride - USATODAY.com

zknower — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:44:45 -0000

Get to know: Orioles' Wieters takes hype in stride - USATODAY.com

Matt Wieters likes Nickelback and Bull Durham, and plans to take a look at mattweitersfacts.com.

Gameday Thread: Nationals (21-51) @ Os (34-40)

zknower — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 06:44:11 -0000

More photos » by Ted S. Warren - AP

about 1 month ago: Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher David Hernandez throws in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners during a baseball game in Seattle, Tuesday, June 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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The Beltway Gladys Noon Spellman Parkway Series, Game Three.

SWEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Thank you, Nats, for helping us to forget our lameness at the hands of the Fish, after our AWESOMENESS in Philly.

A win today would mean the Orioles have swept two out of their last three series. Yeah, it's just a statistic, but it sounds impressive, doesn't it? If you just forget those three widdle games in the middle.

A win would also put us back within 5 games of .500 ball. With a difficult week coming up (three vs Boston at home, then four against TLAAACCSUSAWH on the road, whence yours truly will be at two of the four games), it would be nice to have some momentum to carry into July.

Lannan has been dealin' for the Nats lately. He's 2-0 with a 1.82 ERA in his last 4 starts. His most recent game was against Boston, in which he threw 109 pitches. Hint to Adam Jones: let some pitches go by and tire this guy out.

Koji's trip to the DL means another opportunity for David Hernandez, whose ML debut occured the first time Uehara was injured. Hernandez has been kind of meh in the show, but he's fared much better at Norfolk, with a better-than 4-1 K/BB rate, and a sensational WHIP of 1.05. Normally I'd say these stats don't count because this is The Show, but then I reconsider and remember that the Nats are basically a AAA team.

Oh, yes, thank you, I've JINXED IT NOW, the Orioles will lose because I was arrogant in a blog post.

Go O's!

Federal Baseball

Lineup

Washington Nationals @ Baltimore Orioles

06/28/09 1:35 PM EDT

Washington Nationals	Baltimore Orioles
Willie Harris - CF	Adam Jones - CF
Cristian Guzman - SS	Ty Wigginton - 2B
Nick Johnson - 1B	Nick Markakis - RF
Ryan Zimmerman - 3B	Aubrey Huff - 1B
Adam Dunn - DH	Nolan Reimold - LF
Josh Willingham - LF	Luke Scott - DH
Elijah Dukes - RF	Oscar Salazar - 3B
Anderson Hernandez - 2B	Matt Wieters - C
Wil Nieves - C	Robert Andino - SS

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - John Lannan	4-5	15	15	1	0	0	0	91.2	91	41	35	12	34	45	3.44	1.36

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - David Hernandez	1-1	3	2	0	0	0	0	13.2	19	6	6	0	5	9	3.95	1.76

GameThread: Nationals (21-50) @ Orioles (33-40)

zknower — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:12:29 -0000

We join you in progress. Jeremy Guthrie already stinks tonight. -- SC

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Shairon Martis	5-2	14	14	1	0	0	0	80.2	77	48	46	9	36	30	5.13	1.40

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jeremy Guthrie	5-7	16	15	1	0	0	0	86.2	94	55	49	17	25	55	5.09	1.37

Birds lose 11-3, get swept by Fish.

zknower — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:52:08 -0000

More photos » by Lynne Sladky - AP

8 days ago: Florida Marlins left fielder Chris Coghlan can't catch a double by Baltimore Orioles' Nick Markakis in the first inning during an interleague baseball game at Land Shark Stadium in Miami on Thursday, June 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

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I did not watch this game. Well, technically, I caught about two innings of it. And those two innings pretty much sucked.

So instead, I will link to the pre-authorized recap: Orioles vs Marlins recap

If you ACTUALLY WATCHED part of this game, feel free to put your vote in for MBP in the comments. I'm sure as hell not making a poll. Bring on the Nats!

Donald M. Fehr, the executive director of the baseball players union who for 26 years presided over...

zknower — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:45:30 -0000

Donald M. Fehr, the executive director of the baseball players union who for 26 years presided over the game’s boom in revenue and the bust of its recent steroids scandal, announced his retirement in a conference call with reporters Monday. Fehr said his retirement would take place no later than March 31, 2010.

Chief of Baseball Union Will Retire - NYTimes.com

Oriole Jersey help/questions

zknower — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:30:14 -0000

So I'm about to buy my first O's Jersey in about ten years. I figured it would be a piece of cake to go online and order a replica jersey of my man, Adam Jones. I was wrong.

First of all, I'd hoped to get a gray road jersey, but they don't seem to come with customization from the O's website. WTF? And even with the home jersey, if I order it, it will ship "in 7-10 business days", which seems a little long.... I mean, they must have a ton of Adam Jones jerseys lying around in all sizes.

Anyway, here are my questions:

1) Has anyone seen a version of the road "Baltimore" jersey with player name & number on the back?;

2) Are there stores around Camden Yards or the harbor that carry the replica jerseys pre-sewn, in stock, with players' names on them? And if so, can you tell me their names/locations, as I'd like to call arpound and see if I can get someone to ship me one off the rack.

The urgency is because I'm going to two of the Angels games the first week of July and I want to be sporting the new threads by then.

Bonus poll: I have only seen these jerseys in pictures; you who are in Smalltimore have probably actually seen them up close. If you think I should get a different jersey, I'd be curious which one. I can spend up to about a c-note, and whatever it is, I want it to be clear when I'm in an enemy stadium that I'm an Oriole fan.

Poll

Which jersey do you think is more stylin'?

MLB announces iPhone streaming of the Yankees, plus a few other teams (maybe, if they feel like it).

zknower — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:52:25 -0000

How classic.

(via iphonenews.desinformado.com)

In MLB's press release regarding games now streaming to an iPhone near you, the copy reads:

Adrian Gonzalez's power. Huston Street's saves. Curtis Granderson's range in the outfield. Matt Wieters' future behind the plate. David Wright fouling off pitches until he gets the one he wants. Matt Cain's control. Carl Crawford's wheels.

Matt Weiters' future behind the plate? It will be difficult to see, since there are no Orioles games scheduled to appear on MLB At Bat 2009 any time soon. From the same article, there are 26 games scheduled to appear in the next two weeks. And guess who appears the most? Yup, you're right.

Appearing 5 times:

The most storied franchise in the history of storied stories.

Appearing 4 times:

Braves, Mets, Dodgers

Appearing 3 times

Cubbies, Rockies

Appearing twice:

Rays, Angels, Phillies, Giants, White Sox, Cardinals, Mariners, Padres, Pirates

Appearing once:

A's, Rangers, D-backs, Red Sox, Twins, Reds, Astros, Brewers, Marlins, Blue Jays, Indians

I guess it will be hard for Detroit fans to see "Curtis Granderson's range in the outfield as well." Other also-rans include KC, Washington, and.....yup, that's everyone.

In advance of making every game available within the app, which is expected to happen in the short term, the MLB.com editorial staff will be choosing two games per day and will do so to ensure that fans of all 30 clubs can see their favorite teams via this portable viewing experience.

Oopsies. I guess the MLB.com editorial staff is kind of stupid. Maybe they can't count to 30.
26 matchups, involving 52 opportunities to slot a team in. 30 teams in the majors. Yet somehow, in the first two weeks of the service, they were unable to include every one of them. "Oh, we were gonna get to you guys later on in July." Right. Can't say as this bodes too well for the future. One can only hope they decide to throw us a bone or two before the full roll-out.

Orioles show the Defending Champs no respect.

zknower — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 05:36:05 -0000

More photos » by H. RUMPH JR - AP

14 days ago: Baltimore Orioles' Rich J. Hill, left, celebrates with first base coach John Shelby (38) after hitting a one-run single against the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning of a baseball game Friday, June 19, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr)

Browse more photos »

I only caught bits of this game, but the bits I caught were fun. In essence, here are the details:

First of all, kudos to Rich Hill, who turned in a gem of a game. Once or twice he let some guys get on, but he invariably came back to get outs without too much damage.

Former Oriole draftee Jayson Werth fulfilled a lifelong ambition to "get back at those bastards for trading me." Ahh, who are we kidding, we're probably just a blip on his radar. Anyway, Werth doubled in two runs in the first inning and after that Hill, Jim Johnson, and George Sherrill combined to keep the crooked numbers off the Phillies board for the rest of the night.

The Orioles took the lead for good in the top of the second, by stringing together a Melvin Mora HBP, a Nolan Reimold double, a 2 RBI double by The Son of God Matt Wieters, and an RBI single by Hill, helping his own cause.

Much of the rest of the game was, if not a pitcher's duel, uneventful, as both Hill and the hilariously named Antonio Bastardo traded empty frames for a few innings. Huff 'n' Stuff doubled home MarKICKASS in the 6th after the latter had singled to make it 4-2. Reimold proved that the pressure doesn't get to him in the 7 spot by homering in the 9th, and Nicky followed by doubling in two more runs just to tell the Phillies where they can stick it.

The Phillies are now 13-20 at home, whereas the O's have won three straight and can make it 4 for 4 in interleague series by winning either of the next two games.

Last notes:

Adam Jones really looks awful at the plate. Maybe he needs a little rest.
Every starter had a hit except, um, the entire left side of the infield. Even Oscar Salazar got in on the fun.
Wieters fell into the Orioles' dugout chasing a pop foul in the eighth. He made the catch, and everyone in the Orioles' front office suffered a near heart-attack.

Poll

Who was MBP for our manhandling of the Phillies on June 19?

Rich Hill (6.2IP, 5H, 2ER, 4BB, 5K, singled in a run)

182 votes

Nolan Reimold (2 for 4, 2 R, 1 RBI, dinger)

51 votes

Nick Markickass (2 for 4, BB, 1 R, 2 RBI)

13 votes

Matt Wieters (1 for 4, 1 R, 2 RBI, dugout diving catch)

20 votes

266 votes | Poll has closed

SB Nation User Blog: zknower

Gameday Thread: O's (35-43) @ LAAACCSUSAWH* (42-34)

Lineup

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Gameday Thread: Red Sox (46-29) @ Orioles (34-41)

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Get to know: Orioles' Wieters takes hype in stride - USATODAY.com

Get to know: Orioles' Wieters takes hype in stride - USATODAY.com

Gameday Thread: Nationals (21-51) @ Os (34-40)

Lineup

GameThread: Nationals (21-50) @ Orioles (33-40)

GAMETHREAD SPONSOR

Birds lose 11-3, get swept by Fish.

Donald M. Fehr, the executive director of the baseball players union who for 26 years presided over...

Oriole Jersey help/questions

Which jersey do you think is more stylin'?

MLB announces iPhone streaming of the Yankees, plus a few other teams (maybe, if they feel like it).

Orioles show the Defending Champs no respect.

Who was MBP for our manhandling of the Phillies on June 19?

Rich Hill (6.2IP, 5H, 2ER, 4BB, 5K, singled in a run)

Nolan Reimold (2 for 4, 2 R, 1 RBI, dinger)

Nick Markickass (2 for 4, BB, 1 R, 2 RBI)

Matt Wieters (1 for 4, 1 R, 2 RBI, dugout diving catch)