To their credit, the Orioles are not making any excuses about their inability to mount a consistent offensive attack. They were beaten by a very hot pitcher on Friday night, but they also have made some not-so-hot pitchers look pretty good during the first five weeks of the season.

Manager Buck Showalter stopped short of saying that he was worried that the low run production might begin to get into the minds of the young pitchers, but he admitted to being concerned about the soft offense.

"I'm concerned that we are not playing up to our capability,'' he said. "I'm confident that will change, but we didn't put up much resistance tonight."

Third baseman Mark Reynolds also acknowledged the obvious.

"That's kind of the way baseball is,'' he said. "It's a streaky game. It seems like when everybody goes good, the whole team goes good and when somebody has an off night, everybody has an off night. We haven't got that mix where guys are picking other guys up."

Still, Reynolds said that the Orioles are still in a position to make some good things happen when they settle into a good offensive chemistry.

"We're one good week or two of playing good from being where we need to be,'' he said. "There's no panic. We've just got to keep plugging along and try to win every game we can."

Adam Jones agreed.

"It's hitting,'' he said. "It's not the easiest thing to do. You get a little frustrated, but that's how it is in baseball. You can't get too down on yourself."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Just baseball
        

It would be hard to fault the Orioles lineup for succumbing so easily to Tampa Bay Rays pitcher James Shields if Friday night's offensive shutdown was some kind of isolated incident, but it was another in a string of weak performances that have pushed the club three games under .500.

Shields came into the game with a 2.14 ERA and he's a quality starter, but this is the same lineup that let struggling Kyle Davies off the hook over and over again and looked bewitched by former O's (or name just about any other team) journeyman Bruce Chen.

Something appears to be systemically wrong with this offense. Not only do the Orioles struggle to score runs, they seem to make it amazingly easy for the opposing pitcher to prevent them from doing so. Maybe they'll break out on Saturday afternoon against Jeremy Hellickson (2-2, 4.31), but I'm not holding my breath.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon clearly was pleased with his five-inning performance for the Bowie Baysox on Thursday and said he's ready to pitch whenever the club needs him at the major league level.

"I feel great,'' he said. "I thought all of my pitches were good -- my slider, curve and splitter. My command of my pitches...I felt great with that. I'll just keep working hard to get ready as soon as they want me in Baltimore."

That probably won't be for awhile. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail was in attendance at Prince Georges Stadium and indicated that Simon was still a few weeks away from being available to the major league club.

Simon said he was not nervous when he took the mound for the first time in front of a significant crowd since the New Years shooting incident that led to his imprisonment. His legal situation remains unsettled, but he said that was not on his mind on Thursday.

"Not nervous,'' he said. I have played baseball all my life, so it's not any different...When I went out the first time, I threw the first pitch for a strike and I had command of every pitch I throw. When I pitch, I don't put a lot of things on my mind. I just want to play baseball. I try to put it behind me and do the best I can."

He said he is ready, but left the decision on when he pitches and whether he pitches as as starter or reliever in the hands of the Orioles.

"They make that decision,'' he said. "I'm going to do whatever they think is better for me. I'm ready to pitch. When they decide I'm ready, I'm ready."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (61)
Categories: Just baseball, Just baseball
        

Alfredo Simon has completed five innings and thrown 81 pitches, so it's probably fair to assume that he won't be coming back out for the sixth since he has reached his pitch count. He gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits. He struck out five and didn't' walk anyone, but did hit a batter and threw a couple of wild pitches.

He is expected to meet with the media after the game, but will address his legal situation only in a prepared statement. Club officials have said he will only answer questions about his performance and pitching status.

It's an unusual situation, since he has been allowed to pitch while he is on baseball's restricted list. He'll make some more minor league appearances, but the Orioles eventually will have to decide what to do with him. Since he hasn't been charged with a crime, the club could put him back on the roster and bring him back to the major leagues, pending some further development in the Dominican Republic.

He was throwing his fastball 95 mile per hour with some command, so -- under normal circumstances -- there might be a place for him on the Orioles pitching staff.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Just baseball, Just baseball
        

Riight-hander Alfredo Simon is getting ready to take the mound for the Bowie Baysox this morning at Prince Georges Stadium. The game was scheduled so early because of a special school kid promotion, not because the Baysox wanted to avoid a conflict with the Orioles' afternoon game, which starts on MASN at 2:05.

Simon is expected to throw 75-80 pitches and will talk to the media after the game, though the Orioles have already informed the reporters in attendance that he will read a statement about his legal situation in the Dominican Republic and will only answer questions about his on-field performance.

He has not been charged in the New Years shooting incident that left his cousin dead and led to his incarceration for two months. The case remains open and Simon's status with the Orioles remains uncertain.

There are plenty of Orioles front office types in attendance, including Andy MacPhail, director of player development John Stockstill and director of baseball operations Matt Klentak are in the stands behind home plate.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon, who has been embroiled in a legal morass since he was implicated in a shooting incident in the Dominican Republic, will make a start for the Bowie Baysox tomorrow in a rare 11:05 game at Prince Georges Stadium.

Not sure what the Orioles are going to do with Simon once he's ready to rejoin the 40-man roster, but I'm going to head down to Bowie with Dan Connolly tomorrow morning to check him out.

I'll have some updates on his performance here.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Let's start this off by saying that MLB.com columnist Terence Moore is an old friend of mine from my baseball beat writing days, and he's a good guy. But I'm going to have to call him out on his column yesterday about the validity of some of baseball's most hallowed records, in which he somehow reached the conclusion that Cal Ripken's record of playing in 2,632 consecutive games record was somehow less impressive than Lou Gehrig's 2,130.

Moore was trying to make the point that in the case of some records -- the example he started with was Lou Gehrig's all-time grand slam record, which is soon to be broken by Alex Rodriguez -- will always belong to the previous record holder because of both the circumstances and character attributes of the players involved.

He wouldn't have gotten my attention if he had simply said that Hank Aaron's 755 homers was more meaningful than Barry Bonds' 762. I'm with him on that. Aaron played in an era of pitching so great that they lowered the mound to make the game more competitive in the late 1960s. Aaron also didn't pump up his muscles with banned substances to make it easier to clear the fences.

Moore's main point was that Rodriguez may cruise by Gehrig on a certain page of the record book, but he will never replace Gehrig in the annals of baseball history. Where he went too far was when he ended his column by injecting Ripken into the discussion and made the case that Gehrig still deserves to be recognized as baseball's reigning iron man, because Cal didn't have the same level of overall accomplishment and personal charisma. Here's his rationale:

You may recall that Gehrig also earned his nickname as "The Iron Horse" by playing in a record 2,130 games before succumbing to a bizarre muscular disease that eventually was named in his honor. His record for that playing streak lasted 56 years until Cal Ripken Jr., kept going and going before snapping it in 1995. Nothing against Ripken Jr., but Gehrig remains the standard bearer for that record, too.

I shouldn't have to give Moore a history lesson, but the last thing Lou Gehrig had was "it." He was a quiet, serious guy whose image in the minds of most living baseball fans was formed by Gary Cooper's depiction of him in the movie "Pride of the Yankees." He didn't have an ounce of charisma, but he gained legendary status because of the horrible disease that ended his terrific baseball career and took his life...and the grace with which he handled that adversity.

Gehrig also gained iconic status because he played for the Murderer's Row Yankees, was one of the truly great offensive players in history and because he played in a city that was -- and still considers itself -- the center of the sports universe. I'm guessing that if Gehrig had spent his career in Detroit, he would not have had a movie made about him and we would not be having this conversation.

We can have a discussion about the legitimacy of ARod's likely grand slam record, because he admitted to taking steroids while he was pounding out some of those grand slams. The notion that Ripken's consecutive games streak is in the same category is simply ludicrous. Not only did Ripken break Gehrig's record playing a much more demanding position during the era of more demanding coast-to-coast travel, he broke it by 502 games!

Sorry, my friend, but you owe the Iron Man an apology.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (67)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Jason Berken battled through a tough ninth inning on Tuesday night, but ended up the loser after giving up a leadoff walk in the 10th. The Kansas City Royals, who are very tough to beat at home, took advantage with a single and a sacrifice fly to open the series with a hard-fought 6-5 victory.

No need for the Orioles to hang their heads after a tense, well-contested game, but they handed the bullpen another lead that lasted just one batter when Jeremy Accardo came on to give up an immediate game-tying home run to Jeff Francour in the bottom of the sixth. That was deflating, but it wasn't particularly surprising. The bullpen has allowed six home runs in the last seven games.

The loss dropped the Orioles two games under .500 after they opened the road trip with three straight victories to get back to sea level.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (92)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The first few innings of tonight's series opener in Kansas City basically bears out what I touched on in my column for tomorrow's print edition, which you can read right here.

The Orioles looked toothless during the first three innings and Brad Bergesen blinked hard in a three-run Royals second, but the Orioles charged back in the fourth to tie the game on Luke Scott's three-run homer off Royals pitcher Jeff Francis.

I'm cautiously optimistic, but this offensive team is tough to figure sometimes.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
Categories: Just baseball
        

What is it about the Orioles that makes them so willing to help a struggling pitcher snap out of a funk. Jeff Francis is coming off a couple of difficult starts, so -- of course -- he has cruised through the first three innings, even though he clearly is struggling with his command.

He has gone to full counts with several hitters, but the O's just seem befuddled by his offspeed stuff, even though he is not a big velocity guy.

Meanwhile, Brad Bergesen looked great in the first inning, then dug himself a hole by walking Billy Butler on four pitches to open the second. He was actually fortunate to get out of the inning with only three runs across.

Instant update: Butler just hit a sharp grounder that nicked Bergesen. Lest anyone forget, he was the guy who drilled Bergesen in the shin in 2009 and cut short Brad's impressive rookie season.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Just baseball
        

This is just a piggyback on my last item, because Saturday night's game between the Orioles and White Sox was just as strange as the series opener. I've been wracking my memory and I can't remember seeing a total of three instances where a player reached base on a third-strike passed ball or wild pitch in the five years leading up to this series.

It has now happened -- in favor of the O's -- three times in two games. I'm probably exaggerating the rarity of that, but you really don't see that happen very often at the major league level.

And it's not a total fluke, because Buck Showalter has the O's playing at a pitch where they are able to take advantage. How many times in the past few years have you seen a ball get away from the catcher on a third strike and an Orioles hitter automatically starts walking back to the dugout.

The times they are a changin'.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (136)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Maybe I'm fooling myself, but I think I saw a karmic shift last night when the Orioles were winning the opener of their four-game weekend wraparound series against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

Think about it. If I had told you that somebody scored two quick runs after a player reached base on a third-strike wild pitch with two outs, and that same team added five more runs after a dependable shortstop double-clutched a two-out ground ball an inning later, you're probably conditioned to think that the team on the wrong end of that bad fortune would be the Orioles. But that's how the White Sox self-destructed on Friday night.

Meanwhile, the so-called greatest first-round draft bust in recent years is starting to look like one of the best players in the league. Matt Wieters (right) delivered a mammoth two-run homer to give the O's a 5-3 lead and added a two-run double to help break the game open. He's already one of the best defensive catchers around, and he's only scratching the surface at the plate. He's going to be one of the cornerstone players here for a long time.

That said, the Orioles are still sub-.500 and really need to start winning series to establish that they are a clearly superior team to last year's model and to buy more time until Brian Matusz returns to the starting rotation. Winning two of the next three in Chicago would certainly help.

Correction update: I mixed up the circumstances of last night's fortuitous rallies in a previous version of this blog entry. I was trying to watch both the game and the NFL draft and got a little discombobulated. As always, thanks for your understanding.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (58)
Categories: Just baseball
        

No doubt, Ozzie Newsome woke up this morning still irritated that he doesn't have an extra fourth-round pick in this week's NFL draft, but the Ravens probably should just be happy the aborted trade didn't cost them the player they wanted.

Newsome, who's better that this kind of thing than just about anybody, had a deal done with the Chicago Bears that would have given the Ravens an extra pick and almost certainly would have resulted in them still getting cornerback Jimmy Smith. The Bears apparently got their man, too, but the communications breakdown apparently was not intentional.

I'm not sure all's well that ends well, because the Ravens made the deal in good faith and probably deserve that draft choice, but it could have been a huge embarrassment if the Kansas City Chiefs had swooped in and picked Smith with the 26th pick.

No doubt, the Ravens would have drafted Muhammad Wilkerson or Cameron Heywood and acted like he was their first choice all along, but we now know that was not the case. Coach John Harbaugh said afterward that Smith was their clear choice and they wanted him badly.

Of course, I thought they should have gone for a pass rusher like Heywood or Wilkerson, but maybe they'll still be able to get a quality guy in tonight's second round.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Just football
        

While you're drooling over the long-term outlook for Zach Britton, don't ignore what else happened during the Orioles' 4-1 victory over the Red Sox on Tuesday night. Jim Johnson was nasty again, and this time for two innings, and Kevin Gregg seems to be getting into a better rhythm in the ninth.

Now, for the harder work of beating Josh Beckett and/or Jon Lester over the next two games. The Orioles must -- repeat MUST -- win this series before they head to Chicago for a four-game set against the White Sox. I outline why in my column for tomorrow's print edition of the Sun, but you can read it right now right here.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (122)
Categories: Just baseball
        

The Orioles are heading into the middle innings of tonight's game against the Red Sox with a slim lead and young Zach Britton is pitching well again. Now, if they can just hold on and put themselves in position to win this series, it would provide a big confidence boost for a team that has got to be wondering which end is up.

Numbers don't lie. The Orioles have the second-worst record in the American League, the worst team ERA and the 29th-ranked on-base percentage in the majors. None of that spells turnaround, but they desperately need a lift with the White Sox for them in Chicago this weekend.

I'll have a column up on this very subject in the next hour or two. Check it out.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Now, you're probably bracing for me to come up with some pollyanna explanation for where the Orioles are right now, and you will be waiting a long time for that. The O's are in crisis. There is no doubt about that, and the proof is in this 2-11 run that has taken all the joy and optimism out of the fan base.

There really is no sugar-coating that. If they don't figure out a way to win a few games in a hurry they'll be on the doorstep of replicating last year's devastating 2-16 run, which would be, well, devastating, though not as devastating as that one.

Which brings us to my original point. The Orioles are actually lucky right now that they are not already completely out of the picture in the AL East. By this time last year, they were so far down they couldn't see up, but all the other teams in the East except the Yankees sputtered out of the gate. Somehow, the Orioles are only two games out of second place after this crappy run. Last year, they were 11 games out of first place at this point in the season and 9 1/2 out of second.

I'm sure there are those who would say that last place is last place. I know a lot of people on this blog think that way, and that's fine. It is what it is and no one should be happy about it. I still believe that this is a far better team than last year's, but at some point it's up to them to prove it -- and that isn't happening right now.

This upcoming series against the Red Sox has become very important from a credibility standpoint. If the O's keep can't close out this homestand with at least a couple of wins, it's going to be hard to make the case that they've made up any ground on the rest of the division.

Injuries? Don't want to hear it. I proclaimed the Tampa Bay Rays DOA after Evan Longoria went down and Manny Ramirez retired. They lost Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena to free agency and traded away Matt Garza for budget reasons. They fell on their faces at the start of the season, but they have streaked back to .500 and into second place. That's a sign of the character of the team and the quality of the pitching staff.

The Orioles need to take a page from that playbook and dig deep right now or this season is going to come unraveled before they can get Brian Matusz and J.J. Hardy back from the disabled list.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (78)
Categories: Just baseball
        

When Josh Rupe drilled Russell Martin in the back last night and then insisted that it was unintentional, it reminded me of one of my favorite moments covering baseball way back in the day.

Let me preface this by saying that not only don't I believe Rupe, but I don't want to believe him. The way the game was played in the golden age, if you hit a couple of home runs in a row and dug in the batters box in your next at-bat, that bruise on your upper back was simply routine. No ejection. No suspension. That's the way the game was played at one time.

Now, let me get to my point, which was made better than me on June 20, 1980, when I was on an Angels road trip with an LA Times writer who would later become quite well known as a columnist here in Baltimore. His name was Mike Littwin.

We were in Boston with the Angels and 140-pound shortstop Freddie Patek did the unthinkable, hitting three towering home runs over the Green Monster at Fenway Park and coming up for one more at-bat late in a 20-2 Angels victory. Patek, as you'd expect, swung from his rear end in that final at-bat and nearly screwed himself into the ground trying to become the tiniest player to hit four homers in a game.

So, afterward, we were interviewing him and asked him how much he wanted to hit that fourth home run and, amazingly, Patek insisted that he wasn't even trying. Said something about not ever changing your swing, even as Don Baylor chuckled across the clubhouse about the way Patek had almost come out of his cleats in that final at-bat.

Which spawned something I now call the "Mike Littwin Ass**** Theory," and I'll let you fill in the blanks. Mike came back up to the press box and spelled it out.

"You know," he said. "If Freddy was lying to us, then he's an ass****, and if he wasn't trying to hit his fourth home run of the night in that situation, he's an even bigger ass****." I hope you're not offended by the crude language, but the principle kind of applies in this situation, though I don't think Rupe is anything but a decent guy.

In this situation, it has always been acceptable to claim you didn't mean to hit the guy -- even in the old days.

Bonus old guy moment: Here's how much the game has changed in one generation. Later in the 1980s, I attended a disciplinary hearing in New York following a well-publicized beanball incident and asked then-American League president Dr. Bobby Brown why the punishment was relatively light. He didn't hesitate.

"Because it's not a tea party."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Just baseball
        

It was hard to watch CC Sabathia tie the Orioles lineup in knots for much of last night, but that game wasn't going to be in the win column whether it was 3-0, 6-3 or 15-3. In this case, a loss is a loss, and about all Orioles fans can hope for when the O's wrap up this rain-shortened series today at Camden Yards is that the Yankees hitters will be tired and sore when they face Jake Arrieta. Pretty sure Russell Martin will be.

Eventually, the Orioles are going to have to show that they can play with the denizens of the Evil Empire if they are to be taken seriously in the American League East. Arrieta has proven he is not afraid of that lineup, so maybe today is the day that the O's assert themselves and quit reinforcing the notion that they are both overmatched and intimidated by the Yankees.

Brad Bergesen actually did a good job of collecting himself after that three-run first inning, but you can't give Sabathia a head start when he's already proven -- many, many times -- that he doesn't need any help to dominate the Orioles.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (65)
Categories: Just baseball
        

My latest column on the upcoming NFL draft is up on the Web site and will be in the print edition tomorrow morning. I'm making my case that the Ravens need to tap one of the deepest areas in the first round and bring home a quality pass rusher to help Terrell Suggs and Co. put more pressure on the AFC's top quarterbacks. You can read it right here right now.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Just football
        

...pathetic. There is seldom anything in between. I tweeted before Tuesday night's game that it was time for Vladimir Guerrero to "start squaring up the ball. When he gets hot, the O's will follow."

He jumped on two balls that night, one of them leaving the park, and hit another home run last night to join Matt Wieters in leading the Orioles offense. This does not make me Nostradamus, but it does make me more hopeful that the early struggles of the offense were not systemic.

Now, if Derrek Lee can jump on one tonight, maybe the Orioles can head into the Yankees series with some real momentum -- and a .500 record.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (150)
Categories: Just baseball
        

If you get a chance, check out my column on the passing to Maryland political icon William Donald Schaefer. I realize that better journalists have weighed in on his amazing career as mayor of Baltimore and governor or Maryland (not to mention stints in the city council and as state comptroller), but I thought I'd focus more on his impact on Baltimore as a sports town.

He was a complex man who had his warts, but no one can deny that he was one of the most important political figures in the history of Maryland. And no one can deny the role he played in the construction of the Camden Yards sports complex.

Here's my take, which will be in tomorrow's print edition of the Sun and on the Web site right here.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: News of the day
        

The NFL just released the 2011 regular season schedule and the Ravens open at home against the evil Steelers, which will be their third meaningful game against Pittsburgh in their last eight games (including playoffs). It might be even more meaningful, however, if the lockout clips off the first game of the season and it has to be moved to the end of the schedule.

I suspected that might be the reason for the imediate showdown, but a quick scan of the other schedules did not reveal a pattern of divisional season openers. If such a conspiracy was in play, you'd think the Jets would open against the Patriots and the Cowboys would open against the Giants or Eagles.

There are some interesting openers. The Saints will play the NFL champion Packers in the Thursday night opener; the Giants will travel to Washington; and the Jets will open against the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.

I'm pretty sure the season will start on time, anyway. Based on my experience covering many baseball negotiations, I suspect the NFL labor dispute will get settled about a week after training camps are supposed to open.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Just football
        

Remember how I wrote that column last week about the O's and how they were storing up acorns in heaven that would extend their viability a few weeks further into the season? Well, I take it back.

Never imagined that they would squander that 5-1 start in such dynamic fashion. I also thought the Indians' quick start was a flash in the pan, so I guess I was wrong twice. Here's hoping the O's can salvage today's game, but I'm not optimistic. They just look flat and I think it has something to do with Thursday night's late-inning giveaway in New York.

Maybe they'll prove me wrong, but I see little offensive chemistry right now. The low point yesterday was when they had a chance to get back in it with the bases loaded and Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis coming up in the fifth inning, but settled for only Luke Scott's leadoff home run. There was a point with the game still in doubt where the Orioles had seven baserunners over a three-inning span and managed to score just once.

If you would have told me that Mark Reynolds would be one of their top clutch hitters, especially in two-out and two-strike situations, I would have assumed the rest of the lineup would be chugging along right now, but the big improvement in run-production potential has yet to show itself.

The good news, I guess, is that the Orioles picked the right time to lose six games in a row -- since they are still within two games of the Yankees and are still ahead of the Rays and Red Sox, but the losing streak has coincided with the resurgence of the Tampa Bay Rays and comes in advance of a brutal homestand.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (192)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Here are some random thoughts as I prepare to spend another day in exile after my mean boss forced me to go on vacation:

Barry Bonds got convicted of giving an evasive answer when he was asked to incriminate himself in front of the BALCO grand jury. I'm not a big Barry fan and I think we all know what he did, but I'm also not a fan of the grand jury system, which denies witnesses many of the protections afforded them during a regular trial.

Nobody likes Chris Tillman more than I do (well, maybe his mom), but he's going to have to expand his repertoire if he's ever going to live up to his minor league billing. He can't finish off hitters consistently, though last night was more a case of him leaving a bunch of balls right in the upper middle of the strike zone.

Luke Scott made me crazy last night. He led off the second inning after the Orioles fell behind by three runs and refused to accept a walk from a struggling A.J. Burnett. Swung at two three-ball pitches that probably were out of the strike zone. Job One when you're behind by three or more runs is to get on base. Later in the game, he struck out in a three-ball count on a pitch that nearly hit him on the ankle. Hard to watch.

Bad night all around for Jim Johnson. He didn't pitch last night, but the Orioles lost to the Yankees and his New York Rangers lost in overtime to the Caps.

The highest batting average in the Orioles starting lineup after last night's game was .273 (Mark Reynolds). Is that good?

Today's vacation forecast: Sloth.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (199)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Obviously, I've got way too much time on my hands right now, but that's what happens when you take a week's vacation while everybody else in the family has to work. So, I was just sitting around trying to think up nasty Tweets to drop on my friends when a buddy sent me a link to this article from The Atlantic.

It's titled "Sister Schmuck Takes a Stand," so you can see why it caught his eye.

For the record, I am not aware of any relation to the subject of this story, but -- coincidentally -- I have an aunt on my father's side who is a nun in St. Louis, though she chose not to include her surname in her nun-name.

Anyway, check it out and count your blessings...unless you're NASCAR legend Dick Trickle.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck