Base Hits: 6/27/2008

"That's how you're gonna beat 'em, Butch. They keep underestimating you."

- Butch Coolidge (Pulp Fiction)

Dateline Chicago: O's Just the Second Team to Take Series From Cubs at Wrigley in 2008

When Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella saw his interleague schedule, he was relieved.

The Cubs were matched up against the American League East this season, but didn’t draw the Yankees or the Red Sox. Turns out, he should’ve been worried about the Rays and the Orioles...

The Cubs (49-30) won two of three at Toronto but dropped five of six against the surprisingly good Rays and Orioles.

“I thought maybe we caught a break,” Piniella said. “But this was before we played Tampa Bay and Baltimore.”

They keep underestimating you Orioles. That's how you're going to beat them!

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Buster Olney talks with some Oriole players as they continue surprise this season. And he's honest enough to admit he only had this team winning 56 games this season.

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I wonder how long Sam Perlozzo will be able to hang on to his coaching gig in Seattle? Doesn't look like Perlozzo's sunny disposition is helping anything out there.

But Dave Trembley is certainly helping things in Baltimore. A good article about the Orioles skipper over at Pressbox Online.

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Win Share data on the Trade Tracker is updated now. The Tejada and Bedard deals continue to look great in the short term as well as the long term.

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I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier but the Orioles are eliciting some great reaction shots from the opposition. So here's today's Oriole-Inflicted Grimace of the Day:

This Jason Marquis grimace is courtesy of an Aubrey Huff double in the third inning of yesterday's game.

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Want to learn more about the newest Baby Birds? Nobody is doing it better than Camden Depot as they look at each draft pick the Orioles made in 2008. (Well, at least the first few picks...)

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Song of the Week: A sons from Canadian indie rockers Arcade Fire. This one's called Rebellion (Lies). Have great weekend and let's sweep the Nats!

Base Hits: 6/6/2008

Lots going on in Birdland this week.


The O's drafted LHP Brian Matusz yesterday. I was hoping for a position player but when high school SS Tim Beckham and Vanderbilt 3B Pedro Alvarez went off the board, I was OK with South Carolina 1B Eric Smoak or the best pitcher available. Matusz was, by most accounts, the best pitcher available.

According to Keith Law (whose opinion I've come to respect):

If we set aside the relievers, Brian Matusz (taken by Baltimore with the No. 4 pick) stands out as a player who could -- and should -- move quickly. If he goes to A-ball or even Double-A, he could miss bats left and right with his off-speed stuff and never have to work on improving his fastball command. He might not be challenged at all until he reaches the big leagues, which is a strong argument for getting him to the majors sooner rather than later, especially when you consider the general fragility of pitchers' arms.

Nothing wrong with that. Hopefully we see Matusz in Baltimore in 2009.

It was nice to see that the next four picks were spent on position players.

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Screech is back! O's claimed him off waivers from Oakland and sent him to Norfolk. The Orioles can't have enough position player depth in their system.

Also, Luis Hernandez is gone. Maybe he'll be able to develop into a serviceable utility player. Both he and Brandon Fahey failed to capitalize on golden opportunities to become big league regulars this year, with their bats and their gloves. Here's hoping Freddie Bynum or Alex Cintron seizes that opportunity.

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The Orioles plans to renovate the Spring Training facility in Ft. Lauderdale have hit a snag. Vero Beach beckons...

I sound like a broken record but I'm hoping the Orioles take over the former Dodgertown.

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Adam Loewen will pitch out of the bullpen when he comes off the DL. That's a good idea. the rotation has pitched well so far and Loewen just may not be up to being a starter at this point in his career. A season or two in the 'pen might be just what the doctor ordered.

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I updated the Oriole Trade Trackers. By measure of Win Shares, the Tejada and Bedard trades are looking like real fleecings in Baltimore's favor...even this year.

Base Hits: 2/6/2008

With all the trades going down this offseason, I decided to add a few modules to track how all these trades are working out for the Baltimore Orioles. I am measuring them in Win Shares accumulated after the trade by the players involved and then showing an advantage to one team or the other. What's a Win Share (WS)? More on that can be found here.


For perspective, in the ill-fated Glen Davis trade, the players Baltimore traded away (Finley, Harnisch, Schilling) went on to accumulate 437 WS while Glen Davis contributed a meager 12. That would be a 425 WS advantage for Houston!

And that would be the standard for a bad trade.

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Jim Palmer just won a malpractice suit against an opthamologist who, among other things, tore Palmer's retina during cataract surgery. Eeesh.

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The big club could take a lesson from one of its minot league affiliates. The Frederick Keys have been voted by Frederick Magazine readers as one of the best entertainment values in town. Why? In part because they have not raised ticket prices in eight years.

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I keep hearing the Orioles might trade Erik Bedard. Could this possibly be true?

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Former Oriole Javy Lopez is back with the Braves trying to resurrect his major league career.