Agreed but....

How in the HELL do you let a pitcher that threw 9 balls in a row, throw ONE strike that was a BORDERLINE STRIKE off the hook. WHY THE HELL WAS HE SWINGING AT THE NEXT PITCH.

Not only wasn't it a strike it was a sinker down and in that the ONLY thing you could do to it, was exactly what he did. Hit it INTO THE GROUND to end the game.

Damn you Roberts...damn you..

16 Games left before break, O's right now 39-30

3 vs Nationals (32-22) 2-1
2 vs Angels (29-29) 1-1
4 vs Indians (30-25) 2-2
3 @ Mariners (26-33) 2-1
4@ Angels (29-29) 2-2

I got them going 9-7 At the break 48 and 37 what say you.

[QUOTE=ChiefsandO'sfan;8692816]16 Games left before break, O's right now 39-30

3 vs Nationals (32-22) 2-1 -- We don't see Strasberg
2 vs Angels (29-29) 1-1 -- Yikes, Wilson and Santana....best case scenario, split.
4 vs Indians (30-25) 3-1 -- I like our chances against them for some reason. Their bullpen is nails, but their SP is average, like ours.

3 @ Mariners (26-33) 1-2 - we never win out west.
4@ Angels (29-29) 1-3 - we never win out west part 2.

I'll say 8-8 At the break 47 and 38.

Roch Kubatko ‏@masnRoch

Zach Britton so far at Norfolk: 6 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, 1 WP, 1 error. 90 pitches, 56 strikes. #orioles


Man that's good to see cant wait till he is back.

The Mariners in recent weeks touched base with the Cubs on shortstop Starlin Castro, asked the Royals about designated hitter Billy Butler, talked to other clubs about other hitters.
None of the talks progressed, according to major league sources. Virtually every team contacted the Cubs about Castro after a published report said he was available (he wasn't). Butler, too, remains relatively untouchable (he's under club-friendly salaries through 2015, and the Royals consider him a core piece.)

The point is not that a trade is about to happen; the Mariners just were doing their due diligence, conducting their normal pre-July business. No, the point is that the Mariners are in position to make a trade happen if they choose.

Call it "Michael Pineda: The Sequel."

I?ve written before about the logic of the M?s trading ace right-hander Felix Hernandez, prompting a flurry of Hands off! missives from the Pacific Northwest as if King Felix is guaranteed to stay in Seattle beyond the expiration of his contract in 2014.
Well, trading Felix for the right package still would make sense, given the Mariners' offensive deficiencies. But if the M's prefer, they can deal from a different position of strength, offering one or more of their big young arms for a hitter of comparable age and promise.

Think the next Castro - someone like Rangers Double-A shortstop Jurickson Profar or Orioles Double-A shortstop Manny Machado.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/f...eficial-061912




Ken must of bumped his head no way i do Machado for Felix

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If that is all it takes....I drive Manny to Seattle myself.

I wouldnt bring him back before the All-Star break. Bring up Tillman and/or Moyer and let him take his time.

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2012?

Brittany Ghiroli ‏@Britt_Ghiroli

Reimold's surgery will be performed by neurosurgeon Dr. Ziya Gokaslan of Johns Hopkins on Monday morning. ‪#orioles


This sucks out for the year.

That sucks

Big win 40-30 now

a) Jason Hammel looks more and more like the real deal.

b) This was the quintessential Reynolds game. Hit one into the seats to get the lead, and throw one into the seats to give it back.

c) Damn shame about Reimold. He was finally locking down that LF spot and now, well... who knows?

d) I don't know if I want to peek into the Royals gamethread or not. They've probably been throwing things in there.

Hammel better make the all star team.

I was about to say it would be hard to leave him off the team, then I looked at some stats. There are a TON of AL starters putting up big numbers.

Duquette “absolutely” has ownership’s backing to add pieces at the deadline

The Orioles are in it to win it this year, as executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said Saturday that he has the ownership’s full backing to add pieces externally if need be. Baltimore entered the day 1 1/2 games out of first place in the American League East and will approach the Trade Deadline as buyers, looking for ways to continue what has been a surprising start to the season.

“We’re in contention, and we need to look at all the options we have to help our team,” Duquette said. “But we have some pretty good options in our Minor League system to bolster the team that we have here.”

Speaking before the game, along with manager Buck Showalter, to season ticket holders as part of the club’s annual “State of the Orioles” address, Duquette told the group assembled principal owner Peter Angelos “wants to win this year”. He reiterated that sentiment in meeting with the media, saying that he “absolutely” had the support of the Orioles ownership to do whatever he feels is in the team’s best interest.

“We are in contention, so we are going to do whatever we can to make the playoffs,” said Duquette, who inherited an organization with 14 consecutive losing seasons when taking the reins this winter.

Under previous president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail’s four Trade Deadlines, the club was in a decidedly different state, trading away relievers George Sherrill, Will Ohman and Koji Uehara and first baseman Derrek Lee in hopes of bringing back something for the future.

Duquette – who has stressed building the organization through the amateur and international efforts — made it clear he wouldn’t sacrifice the Orioles’ top prospects, but he wouldn’t hesitate to make a move that betters this year’s club without crippling the current farm system.

“I like to build an organization, so that we have depth throughout the organization,” Duquette said.

40-31 awful game bats need to wake up.

Ok let's take the rubber game.

Big win 41-31


http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?co...y_22551647&v=3


Why do people still run on matt?

Heh. I hope they keep doing it. More free outs.

This team has been...not good (especially with the bat) since clubbing the Pirates into submission two weeks ago, and they were somehow still 4-5 in that span. I think I'm more impressed by that than all the winning that was going on earlier. We all remember previous O's teams that would lose, like, 12 of 15 when things weren't just right.


Oh, and BTW, if people consider ERA to be a viable stat, we still have the best bullpen in the game. That's mind-bottling.

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/z.../wieterscs.gif

Baltimore Orioles corner infielder Mark Reynolds is "more than available" to teams looking for a right-handed bat, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. It’s been reported that the Orioles are targeting established starting pitching this summer and we found out yesterday that they will "absolutely" be buyers.

Cafardo notes that with the availability of Reynolds, Kevin Youkilis wasn’t the only popular corner infielder out there. While he admits Reynolds strikes out a ton and isn’t as good defensively as Youkilis, Cafardo says the 28-year-old’s power could intrigue contending teams.

After getting off to a slow start to the season, both offensively and defensively, Reynolds has improved. A shift to first base has helped him defensively, and Reynolds has maintained an OPS of .863 this month after posting an OPS of 1.042 over his 12 games in May.

On the season, Reynolds has hit at a clip of .226/.345/.409 with six home runs, 12 doubles and 22 RBIs. While he’s averaged more than 200 strikeouts over the past four seasons, Reynolds can take a walk and has hit 44, 32 and 37 home runs from 2009-11.

Last place in the AL east 38-36.The Central and West only have 3 teams with a better record then that.

With CC on the DL and Pettitte out 6 weeks do the yankees come back to earth?

Right now, they don't even need decent starters. They're just pounding the shit out of the ball.

Agree i think age will get them soon plus they only played 20 games vs the AL East and the O's have played 34.

O's gotta win tonight and take 3 /4 from Clevland.

Problem is right now, Only Chen and Hammel are pitching like ML pitchers. Bringing Lindstrom back and optioning Tolleson doesnt make sense to me with Gregg still on the roster and needing to make a move for a pitcher on Sunday....

Hopefully they have something up their sleive.

You know, I'm actually more concerned with Boston. They have been a total cluster**** since September, and yet, here they come. Tied for 3rd with TB now.

Need a win tonight

Jake is coming around hope Britton will be up before break. Right now Matusz is lost he need's to be pitching in like the AL central or NL Central or west

If it was anyone but Hammel going tonight, I'd guarantee we get sodomized by LAA and Weaver. He gives us a shot, but he's gonna need to be damn good.

That Mike Trout catch unreal

Yeah... We're getting our brains beat in. Also, Tom Davis as play by play man is brutal. He literally doesn't know what he's doing.

Yes, I'm bitching about the announcers in a blowout loss...

It's ugly 41-33 after this ass kicking. It took awhile longer this season but I think we are seeing the nosedive happening now. Hope I'm wrong.

THIS JUST IN: Those Angels are pretty good.

Steve Melewski ‏@masnSteve

I hear there have been Xavier Avery sightings today at the ballpark. Guess the X-man is returning to the Orioles.

About time.

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How do you like the Orioles chances against the Indians from the lowly AL Central?

The ‪#Orioles‬ are hitting .043 (2-for-27) with runners in scoring position over their last nine game. They're 3-6 in those games.

That should tell you how they are playing right now.

Had 2-2 vs Indians now need 3-1 make up that -1.

I predice Baltimore trades for Grienke. I have nothing to base that on other than really wanting to seize your opportunity this year. You got the pieces for that? I like to make completely uneducated guesses sometimes.

• Teams that have talked with the Orioles say they're right in the thick of the Garza discussions, but they continue to make clear to the Cubs -- and to the rest of civilization -- that Manny Machado and Dylan Bundy aren't going to be part of any trade conversation, with anybody.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/...ll-time-greats

Painful to watch this team right now.

Big win needed that 42-34

Heh. A lot of stuff happened between these two posts...

Seems that if this team isn't hitting bombs, they're losing.

And... Brian Roberts. He's below the Mendoza Line and making errors. What to do?

Ehh **** it. We won.

Idk about Roberts but Avery needs to lead off.

If all goes well I'll be drinking a Natty Boh and watching O's/Tigers live and in person in about two weeks. How 'bout them O's?

RJ: The Homecoming.

They're hangin' in there.

Well, I guess we just went out and got Jim Thome. OK....

I like the move to bad we need pitching.I never wanna see Hunter pitch again.

http://msn.foxsports.com/video/MLB?v...c-ef57e76f9340

O's still after Matt Garza

The way things are going, we're gonna need about three Garzas to remain playoff competitive.

And having said that, I never thought this team was winning the division, or making the playoffs. Didn't think so when they were winning earlier in the year, either. That's just a huge jump from where they've come from, and there are too many loaded clubs in the AL. I'll be content if they play competitive ball the rest of the way and finish around .500. What would be really disappointing is another total ****ing collapse.

EDIT: Wow, Carl Peterson would've loved this post...

Agree

Badly in need of offensive help, Orioles hope Thome becomes their homey

By Scott Miller | Senior Baseball Columnist
June 30, 2012 8:08 pm ET

Jim Thome can only bring good things to the Orioles, who are in need of a bat and looking at every conceivable option to parlay their shockingly good start into a summer-long ride.

His bat, clubhouse presence, veteran leadership, revered character ... there is a reason why Thome has been beloved at every stop along his highly decorated, 22-year career. There is a reason why his five-city tour through the majors has included encores in both Cleveland and Philadelphia.

As much as anybody playing today, Thome has always left 'em wanting more. More moon-shot homers. More wise clubhouse chats. More photo ops with fans.

Even at 41, Thome will be a valuable addition to Buck Showalter's Orioles, whose fantasy season is threatening to crash-land in the wake of injuries to Nolan Reimold (neck, out until at least mid-July), Nick Markakis (hand, out until after the All-Star Game) and Nick Johnson (wrist, out until late July). Toss in outfielder Endy Chavez (hamstring, out until mid-July) and it's a wonder the dogged Orioles remained in second place, just four games behind the Yankees, entering Saturday's games.

Credit general manager Dan Duquette with not waiting to pull the trigger. Offense for Baltimore lately has become a volunteer activity: The Birds have scored more than three runs in just two of their past 13 games. Over the 13 games into Saturday's, the O's were taking their nickname far too literally, batting just .120 (9 for 75) with runners in scoring position.

With his fatherly presence, Thome can turn boys into men and mediocre fastballs into home runs. The only place a club could even consider using him every day is at designated hitter. So blame the Phillies for leading him to the one place in all of baseball he never should have been at 41: The National League.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. admitted as much on a conference call with Philadelphia beat reporters on Saturday.

"To be frank, when it was very evident he wasn't able to play first base for us, it was difficult to carry this type of a player on our club," Amaro said. "We tried to do it with Ross Gload last year. He played limited first base. It ties our hands.

"That said, Jim was going to be, and has been, a guy that was a threat for us. We were hopeful we would have him play enough on our club to stay sharp. It didn't work out."

Thome and Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel have conducted one of the game's longest-running bromances, but even at that, Thome couldn't do much more than produce a gleam in the old skipper's eyes. In Philadelphia's grand plan, Thome would be in the mix at first base early this season while Ryan Howard recovered from Achilles tendon surgery. But given the condition of Thome's back, he was at risk to break down every single time he bent over to pick up a ground ball.

As it is, Thome was disabled with a back injury after just 18 at-bats this season. He returned earlier this month and, for the season, was batting .242/.338/.516 with five homers and 15 RBIs in 30 games.

The Camden Yards warehouse will seem like a chip shot to him. In an interleague series earlier this season, Thome went went 6 for 13 with four RBIs in a three-game series. No doubt, that series alone tempted Duquette to blow through his cell phone monthly minutes plan.

Now, the future. Which is sort of a funny thing to say about an old-timer like Thome, who tied Sammy Sosa for seventh place on the career list with his 609th home run earlier this season.

But that's exactly where Thome figures into the Orioles' plans as they claw to stay in the AL East race for the first time in forever, and exactly what remains questionable in Philadelphia. With another loss in Miami on Saturday, the Phils completed a 9-19 month of June, their worst month since they went 9-20 in September, 2000.

"This wasn't a trade that had anything to do with a message," Amaro told the Philadelphia reporters. "This is a trade that is beneficial for us later on and, hopefully, beneficial to Jim.

"If people think this is the start of us selling players off, that's incorrect. We are in a tough spot because we have no played well and are behind. But we're not throwing in any towels."

The Orioles? They hope this is just the start.

If the Brewers entertain a deal for Greinke, the Orioles are a team to watch. The notion that Greinke needs a smaller market because of his past anxiety issues is still very much in play.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/0...medium=twitter

This team is a mess right now after today only 6 games over .500

Chen is perfect game so far 6inn 18 up 18 down

There you are! I must admit, I was debating posting this myself because I didn't want to be Jinx Guy.

Chen 2.0> Chen beta

****.

Yup didn't wanna walk him gave him a meatball

Now just need to win the game.

Bingo. Three wasn't enough last night.

Blame Dino lol

Hope Tillman look's good tomorrow.

Trust me. I did.Wait...what? Tillman's going tomorrow?

yup

Here we go

...again

JFC

The April/May O's would go and win this game from here. Let's see what they've got now.

**** yea dino

Well, how about that? Bob Dino. Weird how shit works.

And X with three hits. "Yeah, try to send me down again, mother****ers."

43 and 37 Man needed this win bad.

In the WIN column.

We're somehow still sitting in a playoff spot, even after all this shittiness.

Time to step it up. I want to go into LA confident. Can't believe Roberts to the 15 day DL already.... well, actually, it's not too shocking.

Tillman looks like a completely different pitcher...hope this sticks....if so, maybe Peterson can fix Matusz too.

Great win 44-37 Tillman you the man.

I just got home, haven't even seen the recap yet. Tillman looked good, huh?

And, I just realized that's game #81. We're halfway.

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/z...tillmantip.gif

8 1/3 0 er 7k Man he was hitting 97mph in the Ninth.