The other day I was reading an article about the Chicago White Sox recent loss to the Baltimore Orioles when I was dumbfounded by what I read. According to the Yahoo Sports article:

“The White Sox loaded the bases with two outs in the 14th after Orioles manager Dave Trembley ordered an intentional walk to pinch-hitter Ken Griffey Jr., even though it put the potential winning run in scoring position.

“The guy’s going into the Hall of Fame,” Trembley reasoned.”

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Dave Trembley intentionally walked Ken Griffey Jr. (who is currently hitting .246, 16 HR, 60 RBI) in order to pitch to Jermaine Dye (.296, 31HR, 81RBI) with bases loaded. Ignore the fact that the move paid off this time, and Dye popped out, also ignore the situational statistics, never mind that by walking Griffey it setup a force out at every base, and forget the fact that the Orioles ended up winning the game.

There are probably hundreds of different ways that Dave Trembley could have justified his decision. Yet, what was his rationale? “The guy’s going into the Hall of Fame”

I’m beginning to understand why the Orioles haven’t been to the post-season since 1997. If the Orioles manager is going to intentionally walk players who are past their prime because they are potential hall of famers, then there’s going to continue to be a LONG playoff drought in Baltimore. Well..there’s always the Ravens I guess.

There hasn’t been much to write about in regards to Orioles baseball over the past few seasons.  The induction of Cal Ripken to the Baseball Hall of Fame was arguably the most significant moment in the last handful of seasons while the team has battled negative press with clowns like Sidney Ponson and Rafael Palmeiro.  Just four games under .500, the Orioles aren’t having a terrible season.  The problem they face is their location; residing in the AL East assures the Orioles won’t have a chance at a playoff berth unless they can battle with the big market Yankees and Red Sox and, this year, the Tampa Bay Rays.  All things considered, management is spicing things up a bit in the upcoming series versus the Red Sox.

Camden Yards was the first of the modern baseball stadiums.  It’s unique open design paved the way for most of the new stadiums we see today, focusing on a fan friendly atmosphere instead of seating capacity.  In 16 years, the Orioles have surged to an attendance of nearly 50 million fans going through the turnstiles (I’ll lay claim to one of those in 1996 against Kent Hrbek and the mighty Twins), needing around 43,000 to eclipse the mark.  They’ll celebrate it by giving the 50th million fan to walk through the turnstiles a huge prize.  How would you like to walk into a baseball stadium and be hit with a check for $50,000, a commemorative jersey, and two season tickets for five years?  Well, someone is going to get that on Monday at Camden.

Part of me likes the idea and part of me thinks this is a cheesy celebration.  It feels too much like a gameshow I’ve seen way too many times.  It won’t be a precise process, they’ll have to estimate who the person will be.  At the same time, drawing 43,000 will be somewhat tough because it’s a near sell out.  Can you imagine awarding the 50 millionth fan gig to a guy who stumbles in during the 3rd inning and came to the game on a whim because he didn’t realize they were in town until the broadcast had started?  I’m struggling to see where the excitement and celebration would be in that.

Hosts: Sonny and Ryan. In our final Major League Baseball preview podcast, Sonny and I assess one of the league’s toughest divisions, the AL East. Can the Boston Red Sox continue their dominance with another World Series berth? Or will Joe Girardi close out Yankee Stadium in style with championship #27? Also, how will the up-and-coming Tampa Bay Rays fare? Because this is the last preview, Sonny and I also sound off on our World Series predictions.

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Birds Flying South for Season. The Orioles finished the 2007 season on a rough note, firing their manager and falling into a tailspin that included full fielding practice before games and an eventual fourth place finish in the difficult AL East. Manager Dave Trembley has a fresh slate this season and, after dumping arguably the two most popular names on the Orioles in Miguel Tejada and Erik Bedard, the O’s are looking to improve on last season’s mistakes in 2008.

Bats. Losing Miguel Tejada to the Astros will have an impact on this team offensively, though possibly for the better. Tejada was steady at shortstop and had an unbelievable consecutive games played streak going until breaking his hand in August. With Tejada and the newly revealed steroid controversy out of the locker room, the Orioles can move towards the future with two potentially great talents in Freddy Bynum and Luis Hernandez. The anchor of this offense, however, is going to be right fielder Nick Markakis, the proclaimed savior of the Orioles. Markakis had an outstanding season last year in just his second season in the majors, hitting .300 and driving in over 100 runs. Markakis has the potential to be a fantastic all around player and we should see him progress during his third season in the majors. In center, newly acquired talent Adam Jones will be given a shot to win the starting job over incumbent and piece of shit Jay Payton. Jones was the top prospect in the Mariners organization and came over in the Bedard deal, a trade that has excellent outlook for the Orioles. Melvin Mora, Ramon Hernandez, the fun loving Kevin Millar, and Brian Roberts round out the veterans on this team. It’s uncertain whether or not Roberts could still be dealt to the Chicago Cubs, though in all likelihood he’ll stay in Baltimore. It is my belief that Millar, who for some unknown reason read the Red Sox lineup on a Fox broadcast during the World Series, has his mind elsewhere. He’d rather be in Beantown throwing back shots of Jack with ‘Tek and the rest of his boys. Read the rest of this entry »

Entering yesterday’s game against the San Diego Padres, Miguel Tejada had played in 1,151 consecutive games. That’s the longest current streak in baseball and is the fifth longest streak all time. That streak was extended yesterday by a bush league decision by Tejada and the Orioles.

Tejada was injured on Wednesday when he was hit by a pitch thrown by Padres reliever Doug Brocail. The pitch caught Tejada on the wrist and caused what is preliminarily thought to be a wrist fracture, an injury that could sideline him for quite some time. Despite this apparent injury, Tejada played on, in Thursdays game, extending his streak to 1,152. But it isn’t as if Tejada played the full game. He started the game and was second in the lineup facing David Wells. After his first at bat, in which he grounded into a fielders choice, he was replaced by a pinch runner in Chris Gomez.

I understand that Tejada is hurt so it’s not a good idea to play him, but I don’t think its a good idea to pull a stunt like this. If the guy is hurt then bench him or put him on the disabled list. Don’t extend his consecutive games played streak by throwing him in for a token at bat in the first inning and then pulling him before he can really get into the game. You would think that the Orioles, the team which Cal Ripken played for, would have more respect for the iron-man streak, but evidently that isn’t the case.

With the firing of Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo and on the tails of losing 8 straight games, all at home, Kevin Millar is calling for a players only meeting.? The Orioles, who are currently set to play a three game series in San Diego versus the first place Padres, are in desperate need of change after hitting a skid that has put them into last place in the AL East and cost their manager his job.

I’ve always thought players only meetings were overrated.? Are these guys not inspired enough already and for whatever reason need to be bitched at by their teammates?? And note to Millar, this isn’t Boston so cowboy down you douchebag.? The Orioles aren’t motivated like the Red Sox are.? So lets not get all giddy and start taking shots of Jack Daniels before the game.? And if you think you’re gonna inspire a team, maybe you should inspire your bat first.? That .243 average and 22 RBI’s isn’t getting anyone excited.

Because we have an all-knowing crystal ball here at Sportable, we saw this coming.? Despite a somewhat respectable offense, their bullpen should be taken out back and simultaneously beaten with blunt objects.? You’d figure that after 100 years of this game existing, the secret of a great bullpen equalling success wouldn’t be such a hard concept to gather.? Then again, this is the Orioles.? This is Peter Angelos’ team.? This is a team that hasn’t produced a homegrown star since Cal Ripken.? This team sucks, and a players only meeting isn’t going to help that.