What the heck is his ERA now, Pi? Like it's impossible?
Good gravy.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Quick TV Rant
NBC, WTF?!?!?
Law and Order LA was soooo good.
Just as things seemed to be turning around with Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe back...
Curses!!!!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
A note on Stover
We all know where we would be now, if it hadn't have been for Matt Stover.
The greatest defense ever might have been wasted (even more than it was).
We wouldn't have the same expectations we have now for the Ravens.
But we knew Stover was there. He didn't ever bend, let alone break.
Dare I say Stover was the greatest Raven ever?
Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and say it.
It's a claim that I believe can be honestly defended.
It's just a statement. But I think it needs to be made.
Is he the greatest?
The greatest defense ever might have been wasted (even more than it was).
We wouldn't have the same expectations we have now for the Ravens.
But we knew Stover was there. He didn't ever bend, let alone break.
Dare I say Stover was the greatest Raven ever?
Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and say it.
It's a claim that I believe can be honestly defended.
It's just a statement. But I think it needs to be made.
Is he the greatest?
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Kegasus
Curious how the Kegasus campaign is perceived in the national media.
Here's a report from the Wall Street Journal, citing improved ticket sales for the "post-bankrupt" race. The blog post also offers an example of opposition to the campaign, in this instance from Maryland Delagate Pat McDonough.
If it brings needed revenue to Pimlico, then I think it's a great idea, for the time being.
If Preakness is going to return to the glorious image a lot of us think it should have, the rebuilding has to start somewhere.!
Here's a report from the Wall Street Journal, citing improved ticket sales for the "post-bankrupt" race. The blog post also offers an example of opposition to the campaign, in this instance from Maryland Delagate Pat McDonough.
If it brings needed revenue to Pimlico, then I think it's a great idea, for the time being.
If Preakness is going to return to the glorious image a lot of us think it should have, the rebuilding has to start somewhere.!
OooooK... glad I didn't watch that one!
Wow, it has gotten ugly.
But the O's need to keep their eyes on the future. Just because they're getting beat up, doesn't mean they need to start panicking. In fact that's exactly what they don't need to do right now. That's why I like hearing Buck talk about the last few games. To me, his answers sound similar to what Trembley might have said in this type of situation. And this past week has had games that reminded me of the 30-3 loss to Texas (of course, on the night Trembley was given the full-time job), so I looked to see what Buck said.
"'...they're major league hitters who are capable of better, just like our guys are,' Orioles manager Buck Showalter said when asked whether the Nationals' offensive struggles entering the game made the lopsided result even more difficult to accept. 'I think it was probably a given they were going to hit better as the season progresses. It's just unfortunate it was against us tonight.'” [Source - BaltimoreSun.com 5/21/11]
Sounds to me like something Trembley would have said. Sounds to me like something most managers would have said. Saying things like this helps deflect the urge to start panicking. Losing, even getting whipped, or as some might say, "embarrassed" [BaltimoreSun.com 5/21/11] is part of baseball. So there's no need to treat it like anything else.
People say that a baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. Running a baseball team makes you have to look at an even bigger picture, a through line that goes beyond winning, beyond a single game, a single season.
I encourage fans to do the same.
Dwelling on the past makes it hard to move on. The best thing to do after losses like these are to just move on.
The O's have to keep their eyes on the most important goal.
To keep getting better.
But the O's need to keep their eyes on the future. Just because they're getting beat up, doesn't mean they need to start panicking. In fact that's exactly what they don't need to do right now. That's why I like hearing Buck talk about the last few games. To me, his answers sound similar to what Trembley might have said in this type of situation. And this past week has had games that reminded me of the 30-3 loss to Texas (of course, on the night Trembley was given the full-time job), so I looked to see what Buck said.
"'...they're major league hitters who are capable of better, just like our guys are,' Orioles manager Buck Showalter said when asked whether the Nationals' offensive struggles entering the game made the lopsided result even more difficult to accept. 'I think it was probably a given they were going to hit better as the season progresses. It's just unfortunate it was against us tonight.'” [Source - BaltimoreSun.com 5/21/11]
Sounds to me like something Trembley would have said. Sounds to me like something most managers would have said. Saying things like this helps deflect the urge to start panicking. Losing, even getting whipped, or as some might say, "embarrassed" [BaltimoreSun.com 5/21/11] is part of baseball. So there's no need to treat it like anything else.
People say that a baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. Running a baseball team makes you have to look at an even bigger picture, a through line that goes beyond winning, beyond a single game, a single season.
I encourage fans to do the same.
Dwelling on the past makes it hard to move on. The best thing to do after losses like these are to just move on.
The O's have to keep their eyes on the most important goal.
To keep getting better.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Orioles Fans: Get In, Sit Down, Shut Up and Hold On
Ok, I think we have reached the low point of the first 98 games of Buck Showalter's tenure. The combination of the collapse in Boston, the disastrous end Wednesday against the Yankees, the beat down last night, and the sudden rash of injuries makes for a sudden and intense flashback to the misery we went through pre-Buck.
My advice: don't hit the panic button.
Personally, I didn't think the Orioles would be a .500 team this year. I picked them to finish last in the AL East. But, to me it's obvious that this years team is improved, and that Buck is the manager we need.
At the end of the season, will we have improved dramatically in the standings as a lot of people predicted? I don't think so, at least not dramatically.
But, what I see in this team right now is more important than their current win/loss record.
I see momentum.
I don't mean the momentum of a 10 game winning streak, or the momentum of a sudden offensive outburst. I see an organisational momentum that starts with Andy MacPhail and Buck Showalter.
The progress that I see makes me believe that it can continue.
That is the important thing, to keep getting better.
Personally, I've noticed that the O's have gone through phases of winning and losing this season, and the past week has been the biggest negative swing this season.
Right now, I don't know if they will reach .500 again this season. But with Matusz coming back soon, it could happen.
In March, I wrote in my prediction for the 2011 season how important it is to remember the history of baseball when predicting your teams fortune for the new season. I used to talk about it by simply mentioning a date that took place now almost a century ago.
"1918."
It took the Red Sox eighty-six years to win a world series. The lesson here is not just to look at how long that was in baseball years, but to look at what happened outside of baseball.
Babe Ruth shut out the Cubs in Game 1 at Comiskey Park on September 5th of that year. Six days later, the Sox took the series four games to two.
Exactly two months later, on November 11, 1918, World War I ended.
One of the things I love most about baseball is its history. And I don't just love the history of the sport itself. I love how far back it reaches in our country's history.
The fact that countless Red Sox fans, White Sox fans, and hopefully soon Cubs fans and Indians fans won a series only after waiting for decades... generations...
To me, that is beautiful in a way, although I would never want to live my entire life without seeing my ball team win it all.
But that is the way baseball is. Much like its six-plus month season, baseball spans out into the cornfields of history, to borrow a metaphor. Baseball has been loved by generations of kids who grew up and then passed America's Pastime to their children.
So what this tells me, is that if the Orioles had to wait to win a World Series as long as the Red Sox did, we would be throwing our World Series Parade in 2069.
With that perspective, I wrote in my prediction, you can only be an optimist as a baseball fan if your team cheats, has no class (see New York Yankees), or if you simply choose to ignore the facts.
But I think that uncertainty, the fact that anything can happen, is one reason why baseball is so great. While there are miracles, unpredictable runs for the pennant, role players suddenly carrying a team in a post-season series, there are also disappointments and even disasters. Those happen more often than miracles.
However, those tough seasons, those pennant droughts, those "there's always next year" moments, build up our anticipation and intensify our desire to see our team win it all. And when that happens, it is much sweeter than Yankees fans can know. They eat caviar, smoke $100 cigars, and buy championships. They don't really know what it feels like to win. But that blog is for another day.
So my point is:
1) In the context of baseball history, we are a very lucky city.
2) We might want to temper our bitching and moaning. Take a step back and enjoy the game. The sport is called "baseball" not "WINNING".
3) Statistically speaking, the chances of wining a World Series are poor. The chances of going .500 are... 50/50? It takes time to be a great organization, especially in baseball, in my opinion. Proof of this is: Cubs, Indians, Red Sox, White Sox, etc.
To end this post, I want to go back to my original point:
Don't hit the panic button.
But I'm not saying that because I think we're going to go .500 this year, or next, or that we'll win it all sometime before 2069, when I turn 92.
Don't press it, because you might be pressing it over and over for a very long time.
Enjoy the game. Enjoy the sport.
Go out to Oriole Park, the most beautiful stadium in sports. Take your family. Go out on a hot summer day or a cool summer night.
Take it all in.
If you haven't watched Field of Dreams in a while, you might want to put it on.
Or Major League.
That's baseball. At least, that's what it is to me.
It's something to be enjoyed. It is an American sport.
A friend once said to me that baseball is American because it is played on a field that goes on and on forever. That it is played until someone wins. Time doesn't constrain the game.
Baseball is American because it is vast, like our freedom, like our history. It is about going out on a sunny summer day, to sip a cool drink, breathe in the fresh air, and enjoy watching a game that has been passed on through generations.
Passed on within our families.
Passed on throughout our history.
My advice: don't hit the panic button.
Personally, I didn't think the Orioles would be a .500 team this year. I picked them to finish last in the AL East. But, to me it's obvious that this years team is improved, and that Buck is the manager we need.
At the end of the season, will we have improved dramatically in the standings as a lot of people predicted? I don't think so, at least not dramatically.
But, what I see in this team right now is more important than their current win/loss record.
I see momentum.
I don't mean the momentum of a 10 game winning streak, or the momentum of a sudden offensive outburst. I see an organisational momentum that starts with Andy MacPhail and Buck Showalter.
The progress that I see makes me believe that it can continue.
That is the important thing, to keep getting better.
Personally, I've noticed that the O's have gone through phases of winning and losing this season, and the past week has been the biggest negative swing this season.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Right now, I don't know if they will reach .500 again this season. But with Matusz coming back soon, it could happen.
In March, I wrote in my prediction for the 2011 season how important it is to remember the history of baseball when predicting your teams fortune for the new season. I used to talk about it by simply mentioning a date that took place now almost a century ago.
"1918."
It took the Red Sox eighty-six years to win a world series. The lesson here is not just to look at how long that was in baseball years, but to look at what happened outside of baseball.
Babe Ruth shut out the Cubs in Game 1 at Comiskey Park on September 5th of that year. Six days later, the Sox took the series four games to two.
Exactly two months later, on November 11, 1918, World War I ended.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the things I love most about baseball is its history. And I don't just love the history of the sport itself. I love how far back it reaches in our country's history.
The fact that countless Red Sox fans, White Sox fans, and hopefully soon Cubs fans and Indians fans won a series only after waiting for decades... generations...
To me, that is beautiful in a way, although I would never want to live my entire life without seeing my ball team win it all.
But that is the way baseball is. Much like its six-plus month season, baseball spans out into the cornfields of history, to borrow a metaphor. Baseball has been loved by generations of kids who grew up and then passed America's Pastime to their children.
So what this tells me, is that if the Orioles had to wait to win a World Series as long as the Red Sox did, we would be throwing our World Series Parade in 2069.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With that perspective, I wrote in my prediction, you can only be an optimist as a baseball fan if your team cheats, has no class (see New York Yankees), or if you simply choose to ignore the facts.
But I think that uncertainty, the fact that anything can happen, is one reason why baseball is so great. While there are miracles, unpredictable runs for the pennant, role players suddenly carrying a team in a post-season series, there are also disappointments and even disasters. Those happen more often than miracles.
However, those tough seasons, those pennant droughts, those "there's always next year" moments, build up our anticipation and intensify our desire to see our team win it all. And when that happens, it is much sweeter than Yankees fans can know. They eat caviar, smoke $100 cigars, and buy championships. They don't really know what it feels like to win. But that blog is for another day.
So my point is:
1) In the context of baseball history, we are a very lucky city.
2) We might want to temper our bitching and moaning. Take a step back and enjoy the game. The sport is called "baseball" not "WINNING".
3) Statistically speaking, the chances of wining a World Series are poor. The chances of going .500 are... 50/50? It takes time to be a great organization, especially in baseball, in my opinion. Proof of this is: Cubs, Indians, Red Sox, White Sox, etc.
To end this post, I want to go back to my original point:
Don't hit the panic button.
But I'm not saying that because I think we're going to go .500 this year, or next, or that we'll win it all sometime before 2069, when I turn 92.
Don't press it, because you might be pressing it over and over for a very long time.
Enjoy the game. Enjoy the sport.
Go out to Oriole Park, the most beautiful stadium in sports. Take your family. Go out on a hot summer day or a cool summer night.
Take it all in.
If you haven't watched Field of Dreams in a while, you might want to put it on.
Or Major League.
That's baseball. At least, that's what it is to me.
It's something to be enjoyed. It is an American sport.
A friend once said to me that baseball is American because it is played on a field that goes on and on forever. That it is played until someone wins. Time doesn't constrain the game.
Baseball is American because it is vast, like our freedom, like our history. It is about going out on a sunny summer day, to sip a cool drink, breathe in the fresh air, and enjoy watching a game that has been passed on through generations.
Passed on within our families.
Passed on throughout our history.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
The Great Gonzo!!!!
Mike Gonzalez, it was just two days ago that I was thinking we should hold on to you because you were such a huge investment. I don't see how we can do that now.
Maryland accepted to "AAU"- Does Gary's recruiting record affect Maryland's recruiting future?
I wonder if the fact that Gary Williams ran such a clean program at Maryland will actually affect Mark Turgeon's AAU recruiting positively.
Was Gary a Coach K without the blue chip players? Gary never stooped to the level of a Calipari in order to get talent. And when Gary had the talent, he went to two final fours and won a championship.
What Gary always maintained was the most necessary aspect of an excellent program. It wasn't talent, or winning. It was integrity. That is the foundation of any successful organization, basketball or otherwise.
So now, Turgeon comes in with a commitment to bring in AAU talent. But instead of starting from scratch, he is head of a program that has one of the best reputations in the country. He doesn't need to build that.
So my question is, is Gary's legacy an asset to attracting blue chip talent now that he's gone?
When blue chip talent now gets the attention that Gary didn't give to AAU players, are they more attracted to Maryland than to a coach like Calipari because they know that they can play for a school with integrity? They don't have to play for "the mob" to win. They'll get to keep their Final Fours.
Would a prospect choose a clean program over a dirty one if they knew they had the chance to win at either? The chance to be drafted by an NBA team as easily at either?
Of course. Playing for a Calipari offers a hollow success. Calipari can't offer integrity. A prospect would be foolish to turn down the opportunity to play for a program that offers pride, not just trophies. When you can have it all, it's a no-brainer.
Was Gary a Coach K without the blue chip players? Gary never stooped to the level of a Calipari in order to get talent. And when Gary had the talent, he went to two final fours and won a championship.
What Gary always maintained was the most necessary aspect of an excellent program. It wasn't talent, or winning. It was integrity. That is the foundation of any successful organization, basketball or otherwise.
So now, Turgeon comes in with a commitment to bring in AAU talent. But instead of starting from scratch, he is head of a program that has one of the best reputations in the country. He doesn't need to build that.
So my question is, is Gary's legacy an asset to attracting blue chip talent now that he's gone?
When blue chip talent now gets the attention that Gary didn't give to AAU players, are they more attracted to Maryland than to a coach like Calipari because they know that they can play for a school with integrity? They don't have to play for "the mob" to win. They'll get to keep their Final Fours.
Would a prospect choose a clean program over a dirty one if they knew they had the chance to win at either? The chance to be drafted by an NBA team as easily at either?
Of course. Playing for a Calipari offers a hollow success. Calipari can't offer integrity. A prospect would be foolish to turn down the opportunity to play for a program that offers pride, not just trophies. When you can have it all, it's a no-brainer.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
My Bio
Born and raised in Baltimore, my earliest sports memory is Cal Ripken Jr. catching the final out of the 83 World Series.
I remember the Colts and I wish I could have lived the "legacy" and "community" that they were here in Baltimore.
Lucky to have met Artie Donovan, Frank Robinson and Cal. Sports for me is an escape.
We Are Ready For Some Football
As I sit looking at a story about Torrey Smith on BaltimoreSun.com, my thoughts return to a question regarding the NFL lockout that I imagine has crossed every fan's mind at one point:
"What the hell are these guys thinking?"
The NFL has been as perfect as you can get if you wanted to create a sports league. But it seems to me that Roger Goddell is hellbent on destroying it.
I agree with Derek Mason's statement. Goddell is a "joke."
But I'd like to take that a step further. He seems to me the prototypical idiot that believes that you can always "take things to the next level." It simply isn't true. In fact, it is the main reason that great things begin to die out. When you have a good thing, you should hold onto it. But, to put it metaphorically, Goddell insists that his "supermodel wife" needs a nip and a tuck.
I'm not surprised. But this is a lesson we can all learn, that there are limits to greatness, and that often the proper way to complete something great is to maintain it and keep it alive and kicking, not to keep overhauling it.
The same principle applies in the stock market, for instance. Or so I've heard. Emotion drives the market. The steady hand rules the day. Those who act irrationally, out of fear or exuberance, and ignore the facts, wind up paying the price.
I see that in Goddell. To me he seems to be leading the NFL to some imagined promised land, wherein he's actually leading it off of a ledge at the top of the mountain of success it has built for itself.
Monday, May 16, 2011
O No!
What happened? I fell asleep when the O's were up 6-2, thinking they couldn't possibly lose, but I knew it could happen. Wow. What a blow. Just when things were going well.
Lee is hurt, hopefully not for too long.
Tillman had back stiffness. Hopefully it is not a major problem.
Well, we'll see what happens! Oh man, this positive run just turned south quickly.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Great afternoon for the Orioles
At the moment, it's 5-0 O's and it's been a great day for a few reasons. Bergesen has been super-efficient, Markakis has been making basehits out of pitches out of the strikezone, and Reynolds crushed an opposite-field homer.
Jake Fox also went deep for a 2-RBI homer. This is also the first game the O's will win when Bergesen has started in like 8 tries.
Lee just drove in another!
Barring a bullpen meltdown, this will have been a terrific day for the O's and they will look to take the series tomorrow!
Friday, May 13, 2011
O's down 3-0, top of the 9th
I'm surprised that the O's are still not scoring with Guthrie on the hill. Aside from Scott, this is the offense! Don't know what else they can do. Reynolds lack of contribution seems to me to be the largest hole. Hopefully he can start hitting.
Guthrie's pitching...
Let's see if they can score some runs tonight! Hardy's back in the lineup so maybe he'll be the difference!
Zach Britton...
Omg. 9 innings, no runs, 3 hits, no walks...
Wow.
Now, this is his first time facing Seattle, but still, this young man is exciting!
Update! O's win in 12!
Wow.
Now, this is his first time facing Seattle, but still, this young man is exciting!
Update! O's win in 12!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
O's win again!
Didn't get to watch the game last night, but woke up to good news, as the Orioles beat Felix Hernandez and the Mariners 4-2. Kevin Gregg pitched a perfect ninth, Adam Jones went 4-4 and Chris Tillman made a quality start, pitching 6 innings and giving up only one run.
Quality win. A win is a win, but beating Hernandez and being in position to sweep the M's should lift the clubhouse mood a bit, I would think, especially after the O's seemed to have been struggling more lately than I have seen yet this season.
Hopefully BRob and Reynolds will start hitting again, especially Roberts, as he is so dangerous on the basepaths. Maybe he needs to look for more walks? He seems frustrated.
Series finale tonight with Britton starting for the O's. Weather should be good tonight, according to BaltimoreSun.com. 7:05 start.
Can't wait to kick back and enjoy the game!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
New coach at MD
I am very excited about the new men's basketball coach at the University of Maryland! He sounds like a great guy who will continue to run the type of quality program that Gary ran. Now, let's just kick back and watch some basketball!! In November, that is.
O's come back to beat M's
So glad the o's came back to win last night. They deserved a break, and they got one when Seattle got thrown out at the plate to end the top of the 12th. And even though Matt Wieters has a low BA right now, he has looked like a man, not a boy at the plate this year. He is hitting the ball with authority, which is very exciting to me. I think he could wind up being an offensive force and team leader we need.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)