Snow on Saturday?

They’re kidding, right?

Well, I’m heading to the Towson-Delaware game no matter what kind of weather arrives, but I certainly don’t fancy sitting at the stadium battling 35 degrees and a rain/snow mix.  But I wouldn’t miss this game, as Towson looks to continue their amazing run through the CAA schedule.  If you’re going out, “tweet me” (@WNST) and maybe I’ll let you buy me a hot chocolate.  Or maybe I’ll just stay in the press box where it’s warm.

Either way, I’ll be at Towson on Saturday night for the big showdown with the Blue Hens.

And, of course, I’ll be at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday to see if the Ravens can rebound from Monday night’s crusher in Jacksonville.

Just like you can count on Friday Mud, you can count on me to be somewhere in Baltimore watching and reporting on sports this weekend.  It’s what we do.  Better than anyone else in town.

Happy Friday.

Enjoy your Mud.  You don’t have to shovel it, either.

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>  I can’t keep track of all these Presidential candidates who are coming out of the woodwork and putting their names in the hat.  My guess is I’ll wind up not voting for any of them when the time comes, but that’s neither here nor there.  I figured I’d see what you all thought about another man who is thinking about running for office.  He’s been a leader in the past, so experience is on his side.  He’s worked under duress, which is an obvious strength for anyone who lives in The White House. Like any great leader, he’s able to delegate — he’s had as many as 25 men working under him at any given time.  What would you think, Baltimore, if THIS MAN wanted your vote next November?

>  By now I’m sure you’ve heard that LSU football coach Les Miles brought back three of his players who recently tested positive for synthetic marijuana.  I know, it’s an outrage, I’m with you.  It’s a complete joke.  The day the kids returned to practice, Miles went up to each one and slipped THIS in their pants pocket as they were entering the locker room.  How appropriate.  My guess is Miles has a desk full of those for any other miscreants on his team who break the rules.  Jerk.

>  Lost in the excitement of playoff baseball has been MLB’s annual “Miss Baseball” pageant, which gives every team in the majors the opportunity to put one of their fans in the contest that combines looks, their knowledge of baseball, and their individual ticket-buying support of their favorite team.  The three finalists are in for 2011 and here they are:  ”Miss Atlanta Braves” is a 25-year old PR professional who has owned Braves season tickets for the last 4 years.  I’d say THIS GIRL right here is definitely worthy of your vote.  ”Miss San Diego Padres” certainly has that west coast look going for her, as you can see RIGHT HERE.  Then there’s “Miss Boston Red Sox” — give THIS WOMAN a haircut and clean her up a bit and she might have a chance, too.  I’d say it’s a dead heat.

>  Good Joe Flacco and Good Cam Cameron show up this Sunday in Baltimore.  Make it 29 – 10 — Ravens over Arizona.  The only way I’d get excited at all about the Cardinals playing well is if Larry Fitzgerald has some sort of monster day with 115 yards receiving and 3 TD’s.  He’s on my fantasy team.  I’m always looking for a silver lining, ya know?

>  I got into a great pub debate a week ago with a few friends.  The question was:  ”If you could take one coach in the history of the University of Maryland sports and have that person coach one championship game – winner take all – who would you pick to coach the game?”  I didn’t hesitate.  I said, “Come on guys, you’d take the championship winning basketball coach…the best coach Maryland’s ever had.”  They disagreed with me, but I knew then I was right and I know now I was right.  You tell me. Wouldn’t you want THIS COACH RIGHT HERE on your bench?  Right.  Me too.

>  Poor Tim Tebow.  The dude has two wins under his belt this season and no one wants to say “well done”.  He’s so frustrated, he just got a personalized Colorado license plate.  Don’t believe me?  Well, HERE IT IS.  Believe me now?

>  This “Top 10 winners in team sports over the last 20 years” project has taken on a life of its own.  I started with a list of about 25, narrowed it down to 14, picked 10, then went back and thought of a few more…moved a guy out of the top 10, put someone else in, and now I just added another winner yesterday and had to remove someone else.  It’s tough.  So far, my #10 was Drew Brees and last week’s #9 was Greg Maddux.  Remember, there’s a difference between being a great player and “a winner”.  Alex Rodriguez will likely be in the Hall of Fame someday, but very few people would classify him as a winner.  I’m not 100% sure I’d classify Brett Favre as “a winner” but he’ll be in Canton someday too.  Winners are players you could remove from their team and put them in another city, on another team, and they’d help that new team win games.  Sifting through the names to come up with TRUE winners is more difficult than you might think.  But here we are…up to #8.  I thought long and hard where to put this next athlete.  Because his position isn’t over-analyzed with statistics, it’s not as easy to quantify his greatness, the way you might be able to with a quarterback or a pitcher.  But there’s no denying this man’s greatness and there’s absolutely no way you could ever say he was anything BUT a winner.  He’s the epitome of being a winner.  If you took him from his current team – in his prime – and dropped him off in 6-8 other cities, he’d immediately make them championship contenders.  Some will question his position in the rankings at #8, saying he belongs much higher, but this is where he ranks in my mind, fairly.  Take a look RIGHT HERE at one of the greatest winners of the last 20 years.

>  A bunch of Philadelphia Flyers season ticket holders have signed on to work part-time at McDonald’s.  Why, you ask?  Easy answer.  Good marketing on behalf of McD’s, as you can see ON THIS SIGN.

>  As you know, I’m a big fan of typing random phrases into Google search just to see what comes up.  So I typed in the words, “Are you freakin’ kidding me with this idiot coach of mine?” and THIS PHOTO APPEARED.

>  The Shoot Section (where I tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth…)

Starting next Monday, October 31, we’ll be starting our 2011 Holiday Charity Drive at WNST.  We’re calling it “Coats and Cans in memory of Fergy”.  Many of you who are longtime WNST listeners and supporters remember our friend Fergy Commodari from his countless calls to the show (“Fergy in White Marsh”).  He was not only an active caller/participant on the various WNST shows, but he was a major contributor to any of our charity fund-raising efforts.  Last December, for example, he brought 100 cans of food to our event at the Fullerton Pub.  Anytime we needed Fergy, he was there.  Sadly, Fergy was killed in a car accident back on July 5, 2011.  We at WNST have pledged to put this year’s holiday charity drive together in his memory.  There are THREE ways you can help us this holiday season.  From Monday, October 31 through Friday, November 18, we’ll be collecting canned food and non-perishable food items at WNST Radio (1550 Hart Road, Towson, MD 21286).  Those foods will be donated to the Canton Baptist Church for distribution to their network of food pantries in downtown Baltimore that feed the homeless — and to the Bea Gaddy Thanksgiving Day dinner.  Last year, we collected 2,400 cans of food.  This year, we’re hoping to do 5,000 cans and food items.  For those of you who can’t make it to the station to donate food, we’re asking you to pledge “a penny per can” (with a limit of 5,000…our goal) to a scholarship fund that has been set up for Fergy’s two young children.  If we reach 5,000 cans and you can spare $50.00 to go to their scholarship fund, we’d greatly appreciate it.  Then, from Monday, November 21 through Friday, December 16, we’ll once again be collecting coats and winter apparel that we’ll donate to the Helping Up Mission in downtown Batlimore, a facility that works with adult men who have encountered problems in their lives and are working their way back to their families through a wonderful program that is run completely by the men who are living in the facility. Last year, our listeners donated 400 coats and winter apparel items that were delivered to men at Helping Up just prior to Christmas.  We will take all of the items donated this year to the facility on Tuesday, December 20.  If you can donate canned food, coats and winter apparel this holiday season, we promise you they will all be put to great use.  And if for some reason you can’t donate any items but you’d like to help with the scholarship fund for Fergy’s children, we greatly appreciate ANY amount you can donate.  For more information or to have any questions answered, just email me (drew@wnst.net) or Glenn Clark (glenn@wnst.net) and we’ll get you all the details you need.  A special thanks goes out to Joe Enoch and his staff at Enoch Office Equipment for helping us with transportation for our canned food and coats/winter apparel delivery.  And thank you in advance to any of you can help us with our various charitable efforts this winter.  We can’t do it without you.

Congrats to Jim Thome on his historic achievement in reaching 600 career homeruns on Monday night. That said it sure seems like a milestone of this magnitude should have been met with a great deal more fanfare than it is seemingly getting. Maybe it’s evidence that baseball fans, largely joining the masses and embracing the football mentality may to some degree be abandoning the numbers that have defined baseball’s most historic achievements. As those numbers have been rendered all but meaningless in recent years.

Surely it’s a byproduct of the steroid era. Fans have been fooled far too often from Sosa and McGwire to Bonds and A-Rod to wholeheartedly buy into anyone’s entrance into the hallowed grounds occupied by the likes of Ruth and Mays and Aaron. While Thome and Ken Griffey Jr. both seem to have emerged from the steroid era with a plethora of homeruns and an unblemished reputation, given what we’ve seen in the recent annals of baseball, I doubt there are many who’d stake anything of considerable importance on being sure of their “cleanliness”.

Beyond that though, even if we are to concede that Thome’s achievements were “all-natural”, because of the backdrop of steroid induced sluggers that surrounded Thome’s career, his achievements while Hall of Fame caliber in their totality simply weren’t that remarkable through the prism of his contemporaries.

History will show that Thome’s numbers rank with the highest and most esteemed baseball achievers of all time yet in a 21 year career, he was named an All-Star just 5 times, finished in the top 5 in the MVP ballot just once, and was little more than an afterthought on most of the teams that he played for. How do we quantify someone as deserving of mentions amongst the greats of all time when he was never (even for a moment) seen as the best in the game or the best at his position or even the best on his own team?

Surely we should appreciate and celebrate the achievements of Thome as with or without the accompaniment of performance enhancers, the list of sluggers to hit 600 is a short one; shorter still when the court of public opinion excludes Bonds and Sosa and Rodriguez as we have seemingly done. Aaron, Ruth, Mays, Griffey, Thome.

Surely the reception has not been commensurate with the achievement. The steroid era is not yet done claiming victims. Our reluctance to celebrate Thome, and our outright failure to understand or appreciate his historic achievements as they were unfolding are both unfortunate byproducts of baseball’s last 20 years or so. It’s unfair to Thome, and equally unfair to the fans that missed out (so to speak).

Playing poker with Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio may sound innocent enough on the surface. That probably explains why fans, at least to this point, have been largely dismissive of the latest A-Rod indiscretions (if true) and are expecting them to blow over quickly with little or no consequence. But while some will see this as just further indication that in his heart A-Rod pines to be a Hollywood jet setter, others will see it as Rodriguez worst indiscretion to date and grounds for a tough penalty from Major League Baseball. Put me in the camp of the latter.

Baseball has a long and troubled history with gambling and the criminal element, and Rodriguez has apparently already been apprised by Major League Baseball once that his participation in these types of poker games is unacceptable. In addition to the star-studded cast of characters we know about, we can bet that games of that caliber are typically hosted, attended and protected by criminals and high stakes professional gamblers. Therein lies the biggest issue, and likely MLB’s greatest concern.

Professional sports gamblers, good ones at least, typically have particular areas of expertise. Often, these areas of expertise are fortified with “inside information”, well placed contacts who can give information to gamblers that the general public has no knowledge of, information that could influence the outcomes of games and therefore information that when in the right hands could prove quite valuable.

It seems unlikely that Rodriguez would intentionally feed this type of information to that type of element, but without intending to do so, gossip and anecdotes told over a poker table could potentially yield invaluable insight to an unsavory element clamoring to discern it. For baseball, that would be a big problem.

Additionally, and more importantly, it would seem that most tales of athletes or insiders gone awry because of gambling, find themselves at the mercy of criminals because of their inability or unwillingness to pay back big losses from card games, bets on other sports or other gambling losses. No matter how much a person makes, coming out of big money is never easy. Michael Jordan’s alleged $1 million plus in golf gambling losses became an issue not because he couldn’t pay it, we knew about it because he didn’t pay it. Coming off of a million bucks isn’t easy for anyone…even Michael Jordan…allegedly of course.

While it’s unlikely that an athlete who’s made in the ballpark of half a billion dollars in his career could find himself in that kind of trouble, there are plenty of guys making half a million per year or less that easily could. As the poker craze continues to grow, MLB is in a position where, like it or not, they’ll be setting a precedent going forward. They’d better make it a strong one.

Most but not all of those who have been banned from baseball for gambling were implicit in the fixing of games, but on rare occasions simply consorting with a criminal or gambling element has led to action from baseball. George Steinbrenner was banned for 3 years after consorting with criminal Howard Spira to get “dirt” on Dave Winfield. One year for A-Rod would probably suffice if the accusations against him are true.

There are literally thousands of elements to sports that we the public can appreciate, celebrate, even demand, but without integrity in the games themselves the rest of those factors and elements become meaningless and all sports become pro wrestling. While A-Rod is a bad example of someone who could or should find himself in a bad way to a bad element; in the interest of those who are compensated far less, he needs to be made an example of.

Begrudge athletes and their salaries if you’d like, but one fact relative to those salaries seems clear: High compensation for professional athletes is supposed to insure integrity in the games. Gambling is a big enough business that gamblers would make athletes rich if their teams didn’t. That the teams do, is supposed to keep players (and officials) above those types of temptations and problems. And like it or not, in addition to the most insane top end salaries of any sport, baseball also seems to have more guys in important roles making half a million dollars or less per season than any other professional sport too. Surely they don’t want those guys sitting down and playing “Rounders” with actual whales, sharks and other sea creatures with unsavory intentions.

Speaking of “Rounders”, even if I’m wrong and baseball lets this whole episode blow over, I’d hope at least a 10-game suspension would come down from Yankees brass for losing his money to high profile Red Sox fans Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

In honor of Terrell Owens having offseason ACL surgery that may ultimately cut his career short, today’s Tuesday Top 7 topic was “Top 7 Athletes We’re Glad Have Never Played For Our Favorite Teams (and we hope never do).”

Self explanatory, yes?

Glenn Clark’s list…

7. Ron Artest

6. Alexander Semin

5. Jonathan Papelbon

4. Michael Crabtree

3. Scott Rolen

2. Rasheed Wallace

1. Jay Cutler

Yesterday’s edition of the Afternoon Drive served up an interesting and exciting cast of guests, highlighted by a conversation with Orioles rookie phenom, Zach Britton, as he promoted an upcoming event benefiting the Wounded Warriors Project.

And, of course, we talked a little baseball …..

Our conversation covered Adam Jones’ amazing catch during Wednesday’s game, the rigors of a west coast roadtrip, the butterflies experienced during the MLB draft and a commitment to winning.

However, it was my final question and Britton’s response that inspired me to reassess some of the latest rumblings we’ve heard about overrated and/or “over the hill” players.

Pointedly, I asked “who is the best hitter you’ve faced at the big league level?”

Britton qualified his answer by citing the amazing increase in talent among Major League hitters, in comparison to the lineups he faced in the minors.

Surprising to hear? Of course, not.

As for the best hitter he’s faced, Britton feels it’s Alex Rodriguez …..
.

In a very brief window, A’Rod has faced the Orioles southpaw just 3 times …. and he’s 3 for 3 in those opportunities. On an optimistic note, the hits were singles.

Ironically, Alex Rodriguez highlights a current Sports Illustrated article that reveals the “Most Overrated Players In Baseball”, in accordance with a survey of current players.

Hmmm …. Britton’s response has caused me to wonder how many American League starting pitchers were polled for the SI article. Perhaps, some envious positional counterparts were personal in their choices?

On the flip side, Britton’s experience on a big league mound is limited; he hasn’t faced a handful of the American League’s lineups, yet. He has yet to throw a pitch that counts to the likes of Miguel Cabrera, Joe Mauer or Jose Bautista.

In blunt honesty, I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. Zach Britton has struck me as a humbly modest, yet fiercely competitive individual. You can hear the interview in its entirety HERE

We are appreciative of Zach’s time and generosity in spending a few moments with us, especially on a rare off day; upon returning from the west coast.

To that extent, it’s only fitting to elaborate on the primary reason for yesterday’s conversation, which emphasized on Zach’s commitment to supporting military personnel and specifically, the Wounded Warriors Project.

The Orioles will be represented by pitchers Zach Britton and Jake Arrieta during an upcoming event at the Under Armour Warehouse, where they’ll participate in assembling backpacks of gear for injured soldiers.

It’s a fitting tribute and act of fellowship, as Britton and Arrieta have active and veteran military personnel among family members. The event is scheduled for June 7th, and you can learn more about it HERE

Lip service is a cheap and easy way to suggest support for our real American heroes. Yet, Zach Britton and Jake Arrieta are selflessly committing time to help those who have made real sacrifices, and that’s a refreshing reality.
.

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The Major League Baseball season has reached the quarter pole (more or less) and so far it’s been quite a ride and realization. The AL East, despite our sincerest beliefs to the contrary remains at this point very much up for grabs with only 3 games in the loss column separating first and last place. Orioles’ fans were expecting to be moderately encouraged and summarily frustrated with their team all at once and so far that’s been the case. Improved offense however hasn’t been the case for the O’s. It can be argued (and has) that statistically, this year’s team isn’t much better than last year’s version, if at all; and while the pitching has been encouraging, lights out hardly comes to mind when assessing the O’s, whose team ERA ranks 13^th in the AL as of Sunday.

The fact that the Orioles remain competitive themselves is seemingly the byproduct of luck and timing (2 proven essentials in baseball success) more than any marked improvement from last year to this. While the expectation that the bats will eventually come around and bring with them even more chances at victories is feasible, recent history suggests that things could just as easily begin to unravel as the weather begins to warm.

Even without our modest hopes for a successful season, the respective struggles of the Red Sox and Yankees have added an extra layer of enjoyment to the season so far. Safe money might suggest that market corrections of sorts may be due for both of them soon too.

The Red Sox, despite their marked improvements from last year to this and the return of a healthy regime of incumbent stars have stumbled mightily out of the gates. While it’s conceivable that their sweep of the Yankees over the weekend and return to .500 could mark the worm turning for the Sox, there are still lots of questions and potential concerns surrounding a team that many had penciled in as the AL’s best to begin the year.

And while the Yankees have probably played above the expectations that followed their most disappointing off-season in recent memory, they too may have seen the worm begin to turn at the hands of the Red Sox last weekend. The Yankees have also, so far been the beneficiaries of an inordinate number of home games to begin the season.

After missing out on a few of their apparent earmarked bounties in free agency and while seeing the Red Sox make bold moves to improve themselves at the same time, the most disappointing part of the Yankees off-season might be the lingering contentiousness that they created in negotiations with Derek Jeter. Now that some of that contentiousness may have reached the locker of Jorge Posada too, it may begin to become a bigger distraction than the team would have invited.

The Orioles once went through a bit of this themselves. As much as we might point to the ambitious spending that followed the 1999 fire sale as the ultimate demise of competitive Orioles baseball, the devolution of the 1997 team into 1998 probably went much deeper than that. The “Ripken Rules” as they were described and his preferential treatment by the team had been earned no doubt, but surely there were times over the course of the Davey Johnson era where deference to aging superstars had to supersede the best interests of the team. Not just deference to Ripken as was much publicized, but to the wealth of stars past their primes on the O’s roster at that point. Maybe the Yankees too are now reaching that point.

While we all waited and hoped against hope that the Yankees and Sox might spend themselves under the table, perhaps it’ll be other market factors that could potentially contribute to their respective downfalls…or at least their returns to Earth.

Steroids and the steroid era certainly changed baseball, and they still arguably are changing baseball. If the dramatic effect that widespread steroid use had on the game has now been realized, then surely we are entering an era where the impact of their absence is beginning to be felt as well. How that shapes the next era in baseball is anyone’s guess, but whoever figures it out first, and positions themselves on the forefront of it will see the early benefits as a result.

While we can surely measure the impact of steroids and the lack thereof from game to game and intimate the return of pitching dominance to Major League Baseball, the more important impact of the absence of steroids in baseball from a team building standpoint is likely related to career longevity. Steroids not only enabled players to put up insane homerun numbers from year to year, but they also seemingly allowed them to do it at a much more advanced age than had been previously feasible. As a result the realization of value in free agent commodities went up and so did the standard length of free agent contracts.

If we go back to 1986 or so, after baseball got their billion dollar CBS contract and $3 million contracts became the gold standard, free agency in baseball was a risky proposition. Teams who endeavored into free agency thereafter, at higher and higher prices, did so at their own risk and more often than not seemed to come up short value wise. Before Randy Johnson with the Diamondbacks and Manny Ramirez with the Red Sox, the list of big named free agents who led their teams to the Promised Land was a short one. More often back then, successful teams were built through homegrown talent and astute trades, usually capitalizing on players trying to build their resumes for free agency.

After being controlled by their original teams for 6 seasons or more under baseball’s rules, free agents reaching the market at or near 30 years old likely won’t be seeing 6 and 7-year contracts once teams begin to realize the downside of these contracts and move forward more cautiously. Surely those players can no longer be expected to have primes that extend beyond the age of 35.

While the Yankees and Red Sox are unlikely to spend themselves under the table anytime soon, the compilation of aging players, and at times the deference to their years of service over their immediate impact on the team may lead the big spenders down an interesting path in the not too distant future. The Yankees may be halfway there already. While the values being realized between the contracts of both Jeter and Posada might be enough to sink most franchises, that’s probably not the biggest issue as the Yankees see it. The fact that both are feeling slighted by their treatment in this the twilights of their respective careers threatens to be a much bigger problem than simple economics for the Yankees.

Expect A-Rod to take them down a similar path before all is said and done, and Sabathia is poised to hold the team hostage for a contract that will pay him handsomely for far longer than he projects to be effective at season’s end.

Yeah…with or without genuine expectations for their own team this season, it’s sure shaping up to be an interesting season for Orioles fans anyway; and in some way, for the future of baseball.

After Alex Rodriguez hammered a 2-0 fastball 15 rows deep in the left field seats to make it 13-3 on Saturday night, Matt Wieters trudged out to the mound to offer a comforting word to pitcher Josh Rupe.

Rupe MIGHT have said this: “I’m so mad about that grand slam I could throw something.”

Wieters MIGHT have shot back:  “How about something that isn’t right across the middle of the plate?”

A-Rod’s 4-run tater was one of five dingers served up by Orioles pitchers on Saturday night, but it was another pitch thrown by Rupe in the 9th inning that had everyone stirred up.

Rupe, with his apartment in Norfolk ready for occupancy on Monday morning, hit Russell Martin in the upper back in the 9th.  Martin had two of NY’s 5 HR’s on the night, in case you’re looking for me to set the scene.  Then he was hit by a pitch.  Rupe said afterwards it was a mistake, the same way Judge Smails said “It was an accident…it slipped out of my hands” after he threw that club from the 18th green and hit the old lady eating lunch in the movie ‘Caddyshack’. 

It wasn’t an accident, of course.  Rupe hit the guy on purpose.  And then, with Mark Teixeira barking from the dugout, Rupe coughed up a 2-run HR to Brett Gardner to finalize the scoring at 15-3.  I guess the Yankees figured, “If you all still want to play REAL baseball and throw at guys when you’re down 10, we’ll keep hitting and we’ll keep scoring.”

I don’t know if Buck Showalter called for the intentional back-ball.  He wouldn’t say it even if he did. 

But I do know this. 

The Orioles need to start trying to beat these really good teams the old fashioned way…by scoring more runs and playing better baseball.

It was bad enough that Saturday’s bloodbath happened in front of 25,000 people in Yankee blue and 14,000 people with their tail-between-their legs in orange. 

Once again, it was Yankee Stadium South in Baltimore.

But I get that.  No one from Charm City REALLY wants to be there with 70% of those in attendance rooting for the other team.  It’s the classic catch-22.  Do I buy a ticket and try and change the environment at Camden Yards, knowing I really can’t change it and that I’ll be miserable by the time it’s 3-0 about 15 minutes into the game?  Or do I just sit home and watch the wreckage from my couch? 

Most watched it from their couch.

Me, personally, I stayed up for the whole thing, because I honestly thought something whacky might happen in the late stages as the Yankees ran up the score.

And I was right.

I don’t EVER advocate throwing at a player.  It’s gutless, really.  It’s one of the dumb things about baseball, these discreet, “didn’t-mean-to-do-it” efforts that almost always lead to *something else* happening at some point when the teams meet again.  And because pitchers don’t ever face their American League East counterparts at the plate, it’s likely some other guy on the Orioles will pay the price for the decision to throw at Martin on Saturday.  It’s one thing if Rupe says, “Eff this dude, I’m throwing at him and if they want to throw at me when I get up to the plate, that’s fine, bring it on.”  But Rupe doesn’t bat in the AL and, therefore, it’s likely to be Matt Wieters or Nick Markakis who gets one in the hip in New York the next time the teams do battle up there. 

I laughed this morning when I read some nitwits around town write and post stuff on various websites like, “I was happy to see Rupe throw at the guy.  I like seeing us fight back a little bit.  I like seeing the team not just lay down.”

Umm…”fight back a little” is better done when you’re losing 3-0 and you come back to take the lead, 4-3. 

Throwing at a guy when you’re down 13-3 because you couldnt’ get him out twice before…that’s NOT fighting back. 

In the old days of the WWE, Mr. Fuji would throw salt in his opponent’s eyes while the ref was arguing with Mr. Saito about coming into the ring too early.  Throwing salt in the other guy’s eyes was Mr. Fuji’s way of “fighting back”.  Get the message?  It’s dirty pool, just like throwing at someone is dirty pool and completely unncessary when you’ve been stuck in losing-gear for the last 13 years and haven’t sniffed a winning season since Clinton was the President.

Like I said, though, I understand that it’s all part of baseball lore and the “unwritten rule”. 

It’s stupid and cowardly and, frankly, stinks of desperation, but I get it.

Hopefully the Orioles will get their act together today and beat the Yankees in the actual game of baseball.  That would be a lot better than not only watching the team get squashed last night, but seeing them stoop to the lowest of lows…intentionally putting another player in danger because you weren’t good enough to beat them on the field.

The Baltimore Orioles (8-10) host the New York Yankees (10-6) this weekend for a 3-game set beginning Friday night.

Last week, these two ball clubs were disrupted due to rain and one of the games has been postponed to a later date. But the extra inning loss to the Yanks last Thursday night in New York was like a bad hangover the Birds could not shake until this past Tuesday against the Twins.

As the Bronx Bombers bats are heating up in mid-April, the O’s are just trying to find some offensive consistency game-in and game-out. With the young starting pitching beginning to show signs of stability, and life from the lineup, the bullpen has to hold up their end. Perfect example was Monday nights loss to the Minnesota Twins. SP Chris Tillman went 6.2 IP and gave up 3 runs, good enough to keep the Orioles in the ball game. After a solid relief appearance by RP Clay Rapada for the Birds,  RP Kevin Gregg came in and gave up 2 runs in the top of the 9th, and the Orioles lost by 1 run. This has to change, and fast.

The New York Yankees have a problem of their own, and it deals with one of the fan-favorites, OF Brett Gardner. He has been struggling since the start of the season (15 Games / 47 AB / 1 2B / 0 HR / .128 AVG / 2 RBI ), so manager Joe Girardi benched Gardner in the final game of the Toronto series this week in favor of OF Andrew Jones.

No Transactions for either team in the last three days.

Well, I was right! The Orioles accomplished all THREE of my “Keys to the Series” vs. the Twins:

1. The offense has to come alive vs. the struggling Twins pitching staff. - CHECK

2. Britton must shine on national television Wednesday night. - CHECK

3. Buck needs to get the Birds back on track and find a team leader for this ball club. - CHECK

Here are the Orioles “Keys to the Series” vs. the Yankees:

1. Take last Thursday night’s extra inning loss personally and play with vengeance.

2. Silent the Yankee fans at Camden Yards quickly.

3. The young pitching has to shut down the hot bats in the Bronx Bombers lineup.

The official ‘WNST Weather Predictor’ this weekend vs. the Yankees

Friday 7:05pm : PM Rain – High 51 / Low 44 – With the likely chance of Friday night’s game being a rain out and Yankee fans coming down, look out for them doing this!!!!

Saturday 7:05pm : Scattered T-Storms – High 72 / Low 61 – As the weekend night game comes around, look forward to seeing this particular Yankees fan at Camden Yards!!!

Sunday 1:35pm : Scattered T-Storms – High 74 / Low 59 – Supposedly the sun breaking out in the afternoon, I’m hoping for this O’s fan to be in attendance!!!!

( 8 – 10 )                                                                                     ( 10 – 6 )

Friday April 22nd, 7:05pm EST

Orioles vs. Yankees- Camden Yards

Brad Bergesen (0-2, 3.38 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (0-1, 2.52 ERA)

Saturday April 23rd, 7:05pm EST

Orioles vs. Yankees- Camden Yards

Chris Tillman (0-2, 6.16 ERA) vs. Freddy Garcia (1-0, 1.29 ERA)

Sunday April 24th, 1:35pm EST

Orioles vs. Yankees- Camden Yards

Jake Arrieta (2-1, 5.06 ERA) vs. Ivan Nova (1-2, 7.63 ERA)

Baltimore Orioles Projected Lineup & 2011 STATS

1. Brian Roberts- 2B

18 Games / 75 AB / 21 Hits / 3 2B / 3 HR / .280 AVG / 14 RBI

2. Nick Markakis- RF

18 Games / 69 AB / 14 Hits / 2 2B / 2 HR / .203 AVG / 6 RBI

3. Derrek Lee- 1B

18 Games / 67 AB / 14 Hits / 2 2B / 1 HR / .209 AVG / 6 RBI

4. Vladimir Guerrero

18 Games / 75 AB / 21 Hits / 2 2B / 3 HR / .280 AVG / 9 RBI

5. Luke Scott- LF

14 Games / 42 AB / 8 Hits / 2 2B / 2 HR / .190 AVG / 4 RBI

6. Adam Jones- CF

17 Games / 63 AB / 14 Hits / 1 2B / 3 HR / .222 AVG / 8 RBI

7. Mark Reynolds- 3B

18 Games / 59 AB / 11 Hits / 2 2B / 1 HR / .186 AVG / 10 RBI

8. Matt Wieters- C

16 Games / 52 AB / 14 Hits / 4 2B / 3 HR / .269 AVG / 11 RBI

9. Robert Andino- SS

9 Games / 25 AB / 8 Hits / 0 2B / 0 HR / .308 AVG / 0 RBI

New York Yankees Projected Lineup & 2011 STATS

1. Derek Jeter- SS

16 Games / 64 AB / 14 Hits / 1 2B / 0 HR / .219 AVG / 4 RBI

2. Nick Swisher- RF

16 Games / 55 AB / 15 Hits / 2 2B / 0 HR / .273 AVG / 8 RBI

3. Mark Teixeria- 1B

16 Games / 58 AB / 15 Hits / 4 2B / 6 HR / .259 AVG / 16 RBI

4. Alex Rodriguez- 3B

13 GAmes / 41 AB / 15 Hits / 5 2B / 4 HR / .366 AVG / 10 RBI

5. Robinson Cano- 2B

16 Games / 66 AB / 20 Hits / 6 2B / 4 HR / .303 AVG / 13 RBI

6. Andrew Jones- LF

6 Games / 16 AB / 4 Hits / 1 2B / 1 HR / .250 AVG / 2 RBI

7. Jorge Posada- DH

15 Games / 50 AB / 8 Hits / 0 2B / 5 HR / .160 AVG / 9 RBI

8. Russell Martin- C

15 Games / 51 AB / 16 Hits / 3 2B / 4 HR / .314 AVG / 11 RBI

9. Curtis Granderson- CF

16 Games / 55 AB / 15 Hits / 3 2B / 6 HR / .273 AVG / 9 RBI

If you are home or out this weekend and want the latest information during the O’s game from the experts, then head online and enter the Orange Crush Live Chat with Luke Jones this entire weekend!!!!

The birds’ bats have awakened and punished the Twins pitching staff over the past couple nights. Maybe, the sky isn’t falling after all. Ye of little faith !!!! And, just think ….. the BIG BOYS are coming to town over the next week …..
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Maybe, Just Maybe
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This Wieters kid is gonna be a big league hitter. After absorbing a lathering of criticisms from inside and outside Baltimore, is the Orioles prized catching prospect primed to “BUST” out in the right way?

If he does, I’m gonna remind Steven Goldman of Baseball Prospectus, every single day.
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Keep An Eye Out
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Starting today at around lunchtime, gawkers around the inner harbor will probably get occasional glimpses of baseball’s rockstars. My sources are telling me Derek Jeter will spend his off-day searching for Baltimore’s “fountain of youth”.

It gets better …. the Yankees obnoxious fans start rolling into town tomorrow.
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Simply The Greatest, EVER
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During yesterday’s AFTERNOON DRIVE, we devoted musical selections to female artists. I saved the best for last, and in my opinion there has never, EVER been a better voice than Karen Carpenter.

I’m not a huge fan of her soft melodies, it just means I can sacrifice my preferences and recognize talent.
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Dodgers, Divorce & Dysfunction (BONUS – 100 word special)
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Does Bud Selig have his hands full? In a word …. YES. And, his problems aren’t being caused by the poor-mouthed Marlins, Pirates and Royals. Nope, it’s much bigger …..

The Cubs can’t attract fans. The Mets have been investing with crooks. And the Dodgers have finally fallen victim to their owners’ aborted marriage. As of today, Major League Baseball is overseeing the business operations in Chavez Ravine.

I’m probably in the minority on this one, but there is a comfort in knowing the Orioles are not in financial ruin. The Dodgers could use Andy MacPhail’s fiscal discipline; yes, I said that.
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Dude, Just Listen To Me …..
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Have you noticed Justin Timberlake is not growing his hair very long these days? According to some notable published articles, the actor/singer is battling a thinning hairline.

It’s simple, he just needs to click on this TAB. I did it and six months later, I have never been happier.
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Family First? Not According To This Guy
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Perhaps, I was a little heavy handed in labeling Richie Whitt the “D-bag Of The Day” for his article regarding Colby Lewis choosing the birth of his child over pitching in a baseball game.

But, I still feel Richie is a D-bag. Decide for yourself – here’s the article.

The Baltimore Orioles (6-3) battle against the New York Yankees (5-4) in a 3-games series beginning Tuesday.

These two teams have not a played a meaningful series in New York (in the Orioles eyes)… well… since This tragic moment in Baltimore history.

With the first full week of the MLB season in the books, it is still premature to make predictions, but the Orioles have impressed many around the league and may even break the 13-year consecutive losing seasons this year (who said it was too early to make predictions). Oh yeah, here is one more prediction… This ‘Already’ retired player will be the next to be linked to steroids… can’t you tell!!!

The Birds enter the mid-week series atop of the AL East, and the Pinstripes in second place. But with superb outings by their young starting pitching, timely hitting, and strong defense, it is no coincidence that the O’s have an early 1-game lead.

RHP Chris Jakubauskas joined the Orioles 25-man roster as the club sent RHP Brad Bergesen down to AAA-Norfolk Saturday. Jakubauskas is in the running to make his first 2011 start this Wednesday against the Bronx Bombers. He made only one start in 2010 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and went 6-7, with a 5.32 ERA in 35 games for the Seattle Mariners during the 2009 campaign.

SS J.J. Hardy is inevitably heading to the 15-day DL, mostly likely early Tuesday, with a strained left oblique, leaving INF Cesar Izturis and INF Robert Andino to hold down the position during his absence. Buck Showalter has said that the two will split time until Hardy returns. The club plans on bringing up another pitcher to fill the roster spot left by Hardy, many are speculating that RHP Brad Bergesen, who was just sent down to AAA-Norfolk, is the choice and the front-runner to start Wednesday’s contest.

(6-3)                                                                              (5-4)

Tuesday, April 12th 7:05pm EST

Orioles @ Yankees- Yankee Stadium

Chris Tillman (0-0, 3.38 ERA) vs. AJ Burnett (2-0, 4.09 ERA)

 Wednesday, April 13th 7:05pm EST

Orioles @ Yankees- Yankee Stadium

Chris Jakubauskas (0-0, 15.00 ERA) or Brad Bergesen (0-1, 4.91 ERA) vs. Phil Hughes (0-1, 16.50 ERA)

 Thursday, April 14th 7:05pm EST

Orioles @ Yankees- Yankee Stadium

Jake Arrieta (1-1, 8.68 ERA) vs. Ivan Nova (1-0, 6.10 ERA)

Baltimore Orioles Projected Lineup and 2011 STATS

1. Brian Roberts- 2B

.189 AVG. / 1 2B / 2 HRS / 8 RBIS

2. Nick Markakis- RF

.250 AVG. / 1 2B / 1 HRS / 3 RBIS

3. Derrek Lee- 1B

.219 AVG. / 1 2B / 1 HRS / 2 RBIS

4. Vladimir Guerrero- DH

.270 AVG. / 1 2B / 1 HRS / 3 RBIS

5. Luke Scott- LF

.167 AVG. / 1 2B / 0 HRS / 0 RBIS

6. Adam Jones- CF

.212 AVG. / 0 2B / 2 HRS / 5 RBIS

7. Mark Reynolds- 3B

.241 AVG. / 3 2B / 1 HRS / 8 RBIS

8. Matt Wieters- C

.192 AVG. / 1 2B / 0 HRS / 2 RBIS

9. Cesar Izturis- SS

.167 AVG. / 0 2B / 0 HRS / 1 RBIS

New York Yankees Projected Lineup and 2011 STATS

1. Brett Gardner- LF

.167 AVG. / 1 2B / 0 HRS / 2 RBIS

2. Derek Jeter- SS

. 206 AVG. / 1 2B / 0 HRS / 2 RBIS

3. Mark Teixeira- 1B

. 182 AVG. / 0 2B / 4 HRS / 10 RBIS

4. Alex Rodriguez- 3B

.321 AVG. / 2 2B / 3 HRS / 5 RBIS

5. Robinson Cano- 2B

.324 AVG. / 4 2B / 2 HRS / 5 RBIS

6. Nick Swisher- RF

.219 AVG. / 1 2B / 0 HRS / 6 RBIS

7. Curtis Granderson- CF

.172 AVG. / 1 2B / 2 HRS / 3 RBIS

8. Jorge Posada- DH

.138 AVG. / 0 2B / 3 HRS / 6 RBIS

9. Russell Martin- C

.300 AVG. / 1 2B / 3 HRS / 8 RBIS