Playoff Thoughts

Well, two of the four division series are decided with another ending later tonight, followed by the Mets-Dodgers ending tomorrow.  With the Cardinals being eliminated, we will have a World Series winner that hasn't been crowned since at least 1993 (Blue Jays).  One remaining team has never won the World Series (Astros), one hasn't won since Kirk Gibson in 1988 (Dodgers), another hasn't won since Marty McFly traveled through time (Royals in 1985) and one hasn't won wince my great grandparents were school children (Cubs - 1908).  Although, Back to the Future Part II did predict that the Cubs would win in 2015.  So what if they missed the AL portion of the series.  The big takeaway was the Cubs winning.

All of those years taken aside, there is something that can be drawn from this season's playoffs.  Baseball indeed has the parity that has been sought after for so long.  No one team has dominated the sport since the Yankee dynasty of the late 90s.  You can make an argument that the Giants winning three out of the last 6 seasons may qualify, and you are right to do so.  Regardless, baseball is really even across the board.  So many teams have a chance to win it all, I mean, who really predicted the Astros to make it this far this year?  I didn't think the Rangers would make it to the playoffs when Darvish went down.  The Cardinals were besieged by injuries, but still managed to win 100 games.

I'm hoping the Cubs can go ahead and end their streak of futility this year.  Proving Back to the Future Part II correct would be really cool, but seeing a bunch of happy (real) Cubs fans would be a nice treat.  Not the bandwagoners, but the real fans who have suffered for so long.  I know a few of them, so I'm hoping they can be happy at the end of this season.

We are in for a good show, no matter what happens from here on out.  I'm excited.

September 29, 2012 Buckle Up Rally

Before Saturday's game, we all (me, Ryan, his wife, my wife and my son) went to the Baltimore Animal Shelter and attended one of the Buckle Up rallies that had been held to pump fans up about the team.  At the event were Orioles players such as Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, Chris Tillman, Nate McLouth and Wei-Yin Chen.  You were supposed to buy the $15 BARCS Pet Calendar in order to get an autograph, but the players were signing anything put in front of them.  I did get the calendar, in case you were wondering.

They were also giving away T-Shirts, so I got a free Buckle Up shirt and Chris got two free shirts, Arrieta and Matusz.  I was hoping he could get a Chen shirt, but they were all gone by the time we got there.

Here is a photo of Wei-Yin Chen signing Chris' baseball.  We were at the tail end of the line and were being rushed through.  The event was supposed to end at 2PM, but we got to the front around 2:10.  They still signed for the remaining folks in line, which I thought was nice.  The handlers wouldn't have had this problem, however, had they moved the line along quickly to begin with.

Here is a rare shot of my wife making it onto my blog.  She was flirting with Brian Matusz, I think.  Trying to bribe him with her endless pad of signatures.  Actually, he flipped through her pad and wanted to look through it, but he didn't have enough time.  He even told my wife that he was dying to know who all she had in there.

Here is my Matusz ball.  I now have 3 signed baseballs from Matusz.  I might be willing to trade one if someone has anything to offer.  Just saying.

Here is my Jake Arrieta ball.  This one, along with the one below were a little tough to distinguish 'which way is up.'  I had to go on Ebay and look at some other Arrieta autos in order to tell which was the proper orientation for his auto.  The photo above is the correct oriantation.

So, now, this one is really cool.  Wei-Yin Chen came from the Japanese league, but is actually from Taiwan.  He signs his name in Mandarin Chinese and it is read from top to bottom (I think).  At least, he put his number at the bottom, so I assume that is how it is to be read.  If any Chinese scholars would like to correct me on this, please feel free to do so.  I know English and German, so Chinese is definitely not a strength of mine.  I was excited to get this ball, however.  I got the Matusz and Arrieta autos on Rawlings OLB balls, and the Chen on a Selig OMLB ball.

We had a blast at the Buckle Up rally and got 3 good signatures for only 15 bucks, so I feel like we made out pretty well.

Lots of Mail From Ryan Part One - Some Orioles IP Autos

Ryan from "O No Another Oriole Blog" is a heck of a guy.  He just purchased a new house (Congrats man!) and is purging some Orioles stuff and was kind enough to send some my way.  There was so much stuff that I had to break it up into multiple blog posts, so here we go.

This first post concerns some of the in person autos he sent my way.  The first of which is the below Oliver Drake signed baseball.  I believe I traded this ball to Ryan at Fan Fest this January for a Joe Mahoney signed ball.  I kind of regretted trading the ball away, but at the time my buddy Ryan needed it, so I wanted to make sure he was happy, first.  Little did I know that the ball would be back in my collection a few months later.

Drake is a mid-level prospect for the O's at the moment, but I'm hoping he can turn it up and get on their radar.  With Matusz's struggles, Tsuyoshi Wada's elbow issues, etc, The Orioles need more pitching depth in the minors.  If Drake can have a solid year at AA Bowie, he might work his way onto the 2013 roster.  Only time will tell.

Here is a signed 2010 Topps RC of Jake Arrieta.  Jake is off to a decent start to 2012, after having bone chips removed from his elbow.  Apparently he is pitching pain free for the first time since he played in college.  I expect a good year from Jake, if he can keep his ERA down.  I wouldn't be surprised if he wins 15 games this year.  We'll see!

Brad Bergesen is struggling at AAA Norfolk.  He can be a pretty effective pitcher if he can get his sinker going.  I definitely like Bergy and hope he turns it around and makes it back to the big club this year.

Of all the young pitchers that the Orioles have stockpiled thae second most disappointing (aside from Matusz) has to be Chris Tillman.  He is still 24, so there is time for him to get it together, but he really needs to get on the fast track.  Tillman has the stuff, but not the command.  He also might not have the mental makeup as of yet to be a major contributor to the rotation.  Here's to hoping he becomes what all the scouts and front office types saw in him.

Finally, the last IP auto Ryan sent was this Mike Bordick signed 2000 Upper Deck.  Bordick might be one of the most underrated shortstops ever.  Bordick, until this season, was the only major leaguer to hail from the State of Maine (from what I heard on a MASN broadcast).  He was a solid defensive shortstop who was brought into Baltimore to replace an aging Cal Ripken at shortstop when the Iron Man was moved to third base.  I met Bordick in Norfolk in 2010 and he was really nice.  He now does commentary on select Orioles' broadcasts on MASN.

Thanks so much for all of the awesome stuff, Ryan.  I don't think I will ever be able to repay you, but I'll definitely try.

Orioles Win on Opening Day

A Nick Markakis 2-run homer in the first inning followed by his RBI triple in the sixth that extended the lead led to a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Opening Day in Baltimore.  Watching my first regular season game on MASN for the first time since 2009 was a blast as I was able to see what an Orioles win should look like.

Seven strong innings by Jake Arrieta paced the Orioles today.  Arrieta got 4 strikeouts, 2 hits and 2 walks in those seven shutout innings.  Troy Patton would allow a 2-run home run to Josh Willingham in the 9th before Jim Johnson would come on to nail down the save.

The Orioles will go as far as their starting pitching will take them, and today, Arrieta looked sharp.  He was able to cut down on walks and helped his case with 3 great defensive plays.  I really hope that the Orioles continue to play like this. If so, it will be a fun season.

The future is WOW

Worst blog title ever...

After P.A. told me that SI gave the Orioles an offseason grade of C-, I began thinking about the group of young players they have assembled for Spring Training and the fact that the O's have extended Brian Roberts and Nick The Stick's contract's, I would give them an A. I am more excited about this year's spring training that I have ever been. I'm not expecting the Orioles to contend this year, but I do know that a fre years from now when they WIN the world series, they will be pointing back to this offseason as what got them there.

Anyway, I went through some of my O's cards and pulled some of the guys who I think will be there when the O's do pick up a ring...

Brian Roberts:

Yes, I'm biased, but he IS my favorite player right now. I predict he'll have a good season this year, with probably a .290 avg, 40 sbs and 48 doubles. Not bad for a leadoff hitter, huh? Of course he won't be elected to the all star team because all the Yankee fans will vote for Robinson Cano and his .240 average and you know Pedroia will be WAY up there too.

Nick Markakis: Can gun down Ichiro at home plate at Camden Yards from the Eiffel Tower. Man he has a cannon for an arm. I think he'll have a breakout year by hitting 30+ homers, making his first all star team and winning his first Gold Glove....

Adam Jones: Another potential gold glover in the O's outfield. He will hopefully hit 25+ homers this year, along with stealing 35+ bases. I anticipate that he will be the #2 hitter behind Roberts, so I think he'll get quite a few RBIs this year as well. I am still amazed that the Orioles were able to get Jones, Sherrill and others from Seattle for Bedard. Also, Bedard may be back next year... Without having to give up anything at all. Not too bad. I give the O's an A++++ for that trade.

Brandon Snyder: Unless he really surprises someone, he won't make the squad this year out of Spring Training and most likely will start at Double A Bowie. Probably one of the nicer prosects in the game, I met Snyder last year when i took Christopher to his first game, a Winston-Salem Warthogs vs Frederick Keys game in April. Snyder gave Chris a used baseball out of his bag and signed it for Chris who was crying because I wouldn't let him pick up trash from the ground at the stadium. Snyder then took the ball and had some guy named Matt Wieters sign it as well... I really hope Brandon Snyder makes it, if not only for the sentimental reasons, because he is beginning to show that he can hit pro pitching and is starting to make a name for himself in the minors.

Jake Arrieta: Like Brandon Snyder, most likely won't make the team out of ST but will definitely be seen in the majors this year. Arrieta is a STUD. P.A. and I hope to catch some Durham Bulls vs Norfolk Tides games this summer and see Arrieta in action. From what I have read on Roch Kubatko's blog on http://www.masnsports.com/ (read it!), Arrieta is looking great so far. He may surprise and make the rotation, but I doubt it. I think he will log some innings in Norfolk and be called up after May. Look for this guy to be a star in the years to come.

Matt Wieters: Never heard of this guy before. Destined to be a #9 hitter... haha. No, really, I'm definitely not being serious.

I have seen him in 2 different games so far and man can this guy hit. He's a big boy too. We met him in April through Brandon Snyder. I took my little brother Andy, my Mom, my wife (devil woman... oops, Mallory), my sister Christy, my son Chris (who was 2 at the time), my neice Alexis and my neice Grace, to a game in April and we all met Brandon Snyder. I had gone to the game mainly because the past 3 O's #1 picks at the time were all playing for Frederick (Snyder, Billy Rowell and Wieters). Brandon Snyder was signing autographs at the dugout and signed balls for all of us. I was interested in getting Rowell's auto as well (but he wasnt there due to injury) and asked Brandon if he was around. He said 'No, but Matt Weiters is sitting right there.' I said, really? He said, 'Yep, THE Matt Wieters.' So he called him over and had him sign balls for us as well.

We, then, got Wieters' auto again in Baltimore this past July when he was playing for Bowie. He was doing a signing along with Chris Tillman (another STUD and piece of the Bedard trade) at Sports Legends beside the Warehouse in Baltimore. He is ranked the #1 prospect n baseball. I sure hope he lives up to the hype! I can't wait to see him in the majors.

What do you think, guys? This was kind of fun. I am more stoked about the future of the clob than I have been in a long time. Who needs Tex and CC? The O's are taking the Tampa and Twins approach and building from within, which, to me, means a lot more because you can see the players grown up with the team and you grow a better attachment with them. I think it means more.