BALTIMORE — It was unlike any scene we’ve ever witnessed as the Orioles remained on the field after the final out of their 6-3 win over the Boston Red Sox Sunday.

An outpouring of raw emotion that better belonged in a storybook or movie script as fans applauded their efforts and hoped for a post-game celebration.

Joining most of the 41,257 spectators who remained in the ballpark in the moments following the game, players and coaches became fans themselves as they watched the top of the ninth inning of the Angels-Rangers game on the video board at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles hoped to celebrate the guarantee of a postseason berth with their home fans on their home field, but the Angels’ dramatic comeback victory against Texas closer Joe Nathan ended those thoughts as the club walked off the diamond with mild disappointment.

However, the standing ovation they received while walking to the dugout still felt like the perfect ending for an imperfect finish to the day. Everything started so promising for the Orioles, who held up their end of the bargain by completing a three-game sweep of Boston. But as they’ve learned all season long, little comes easy as the teams they needed to lose didn’t on Sunday afternoon.

Entering the day tied for first place with the Orioles, the Yankees bounced back from an early deficit to win in Toronto. The Angels’ win in the first game of a doubleheader in Arlington kept the Orioles’ magic number at one for clinching a postseason berth as they boarded a plane to St. Petersburg for the final three-game series of the regular season.

The Orioles would finally clinch their first postseason berth since 1997 late Sunday evening as the Angels dropped the second game of the doubleheader in Arlington.

“It would have been a neat moment to share had it worked out, but you can’t really expect anybody to lose,” left fielder Nate McLouth said. “You’ve got to kind of take care of your business, but it was nice to kind of wave goodbye to the fans. It would have been neat to have clinched right there, but it was kind of a cool moment, anyway.”

There was nothing phony about the on-field viewing party as the Orioles planned to watch the conclusion of the Angels game together and thought it appropriate to watch with the fans. Players and fans hung with every pitch before Torii Hunter’s two-run double with two outs sent players toward the clubhouse and fans toward the exits for an anticlimactic finish to an incredible scene.

As special as it would have been to see the Orioles clinch at home and celebrate on the field at Camden Yards, you’re reminded of what this club is all about. Scratching and clawing their way to victories in 28 one-run games and 16 straight extra-inning games over the course of the season, there’s something fitting about the Orioles — and their long-suffering fans — having to wait just a bit longer to secure their first postseason spot in 15 years.

“It definitely was a little awkward because everything was kind of working [our] way, but we’ve had to fight for everything this year,” Johnson said. “With the way that game finished up, this [race] is going to come down to the wire. Look at how last year finished; it was ‘March Madness’ in September. This game’s crazy. You never know what’s going to happen, and that’s the way this team’s been fighting all year.”

For manager Buck Showalter, the post-game scene was a reminder of just how far the Orioles have come since he arrived in Baltimore late in the 2010 season. He’s continually preached the need for the Orioles to win back fans by putting forth a product they’ll want to see over and over.

The Orioles have done that and then some — even if the crowds haven’t always reflected that — but the manager isn’t interested in taking any of the credit. Showalter wants the focus on his players, even if we all know how big a part he’s played in restoring that pride in the organization.

“I spent more time watching the players and their reactions,” Showalter said. “As I’ve gotten older, I try to really step back and take in a moment. I took a couple of scans around behind me in the stands. We want to keep that. That’s our responsibility. It’s our responsibility to play good enough baseball and conduct ourselves in a way that people want to come back and see what’s going on here with our team.”

The post-game clubhouse was what you’d expect as plastic tarps were folded up on top of lockers for a champagne celebration that wasn’t to be. To call it a letdown would be an overstatement with players aware they would clinch a postseason berth late Sunday evening if the Angels dropped the second game of the twin bill against the Rangers.

To clinch at home would have been exciting, but to clinch anywhere is what’s really important. And the Orioles were so close, they could taste it before departing for their series against the Rays..

“Who cares? If you’re in, you’re in,” said center fielder Adam Jones about not being able to clinch a spot at Camden Yards. “Nobody cares. I don’t care. You can do it home, road. We can clinch on the plane. We’re going to party somewhere.”

If Sunday was the final day of baseball at Camden Yards this season, the spontaneity of that scene between fans and players will go down as one of the most memorable moments in the history of the franchise.

And it was just the latest example of how far the Orioles have come by owning a Sunday in late September — even if the Ravens weren’t playing this weekend.

The Orioles hope they haven’t seen the last of Camden Yards this season, but the next few days will determine their fate.

“Hopefully, we can bring them something fun,” said Johnson, who’s noticed fans becoming more and more involved without being prompted by the scoreboard or public address system. “They’re into the game. They understand the situations, they stand up by themselves, they start their own chants, they’re into it. It puts more pressure on the other team, but it also gives you a little boost of adrenaline at the same time. If you can harness that, that’s a huge advantage.”

It’s an advantage the Orioles haven’t had — or needed to have — in a very long time.

And we’ll have to wait a little longer to see if they can take advantage of it in October.

BALTIMORE — If you’re caught up in the hysteria of the Orioles’ impossible run to the postseason looking more and more like reality, you may not have noticed Friday marked the one-year anniversary of the 2011 season finale.

Of course, the final day of last season may go down as the most exciting in the history of major league baseball with division races coming down to the final inning of the year. Tampa Bay completed an improbable comeback win over the New York Yankees while the 93-loss Orioles knocked Boston out of the playoffs with a dramatic 4-3 walk-off win that ended with a Robert Andino hit to score Nolan Reimold in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The famed “Curse of the Andino” had been born as the Orioles celebrated like they had won the World Series. Yes, it was a fun moment in a make-believe sort of way and players were entitled to a night of celebration after the grind of a 162-game schedule, but the celebration was artificial — no matter how good it may have felt to eliminate the Red Sox from the postseason — knowing the Orioles had just completed their sixth straight season of 90 or more losses.

A year later, the roles are the opposite of what we’ve come to expect over the years as the Red Sox limped to town with a lame-duck manager and a gutted roster on the cusp of 90 losses. In contrast, the Orioles won their 90th game of the season in a 9-1 series-opening win over Boston and reduced their wild card magic number to three to clinch their first postseason berth since 1997.

Not one to gush over individual moments or buy into media concoctions, manager Buck Showalter was asked prior to Friday’s game whether the 2011 finale was the catalyst for the unexpected prosperity the Orioles found this season. His answer was surprising, even if it was delivered in Showalter’s unassuming way.

“I can’t say it didn’t help. It does,” Showalter said. “You create your own intensity and this is a self-starter group. I think once again, we fed off the emotions of our fans, too.”

No one should buy too much stock into the final game of the 2011 regular season being the main reason why the Orioles stand only a game behind the Yankees in the American League East entering Saturday. Just take a look at the roster and you’ll see too many different faces to believe what happened last Sept. 28 was a franchise-altering moment.

But it might have offered just enough of a taste of motivation to the holdovers from 2011 to push through the tough times while also remembering how difficult it was for the Red Sox to complete their postseason mission despite being in excellent position only weeks before the 2011 finale.

With a plethora of unlikely heroes contributing on any given night, the Orioles turned to second baseman Ryan Flaherty and starting pitcher Chris Tillman on Friday night to begin the most crucial series of the season — to this point, anyway — against Boston. Flaherty’s grand slam in the first put the game out of reach as the Rule 5 selection collected a career-high five runs batted in after languishing on the bench for most of the season.

A year ago when the Orioles were knocking the Red Sox out of the playoffs, Flaherty was stuck in the Cubs’ minor league system, uncertain where his future might take him. Now he finds himself in a platoon with Andino, receiving regular starts against right-handed pitching.

“It seems like every night it’s someone new, whether it’s a pitcher, hitter, a play in the field, something,” Flaherty said. “Just keep on riding it and, tomorrow, nine more innings.”

Not even invited to join the club last September despite being on the 40-man roster, Tillman began the 2012 season in Triple-A Norfolk as a virtual afterthought behind the other tabbed members of the cavalry in Jake Arrieta, Brian Matusz, and Zach Britton. Just over five months later, he’s the only one of the four in the starting rotation as Tillman looks to be a virtual lock for the potential postseason rotation.

He took Friday’s crucial start in stride as he didn’t allow a hit after Scott Podsednik led off the game with a bunt single and retired the final 14 batters he faced in eight stellar innings of work to improve his record to 9-2.

“There is not one game bigger than the other,” Tillman said. “I always try to go out there, go deep in the game and give my team the best chance to win. We are getting to the nitty-gritty here, but we have to focus on tomorrow’s game and not look ahead.”

Showalter’s best accomplishment among many this season has been his ability to balance out his players’ emotions on a daily basis. They’re never too high when they win or too low in defeat. And they’re never caught up in how big a certain game might be, an attitude that will serve them well over the season’s final week and into October.

These days, the Orioles clubhouse is anything but celebratory after wins as an outsider wouldn’t have a clue in figuring out whether the team had won or loss that night.

It’s a stark contrast from the on-field dog pile of a year ago over something that just wasn’t all that meaningful in the long run.

Or, so we thought.

No matter how you view the “Curse of the Andino” and what it meant to this club heading into the 2012 season, the Orioles have a real reason to celebrate this time around.

It’s no longer about playing the role of a spoiler or basking in the glow of a make-believe celebration because there’s nothing better to look forward to. The Orioles are for real and their slaughtering of the down-and-out Red Sox on Friday night was just the latest example in proving that.

Instead of deferring to the heavyweight and hoping to get lucky, they’ve become the team delivering the knockout blow.

Boy, how can things change in only a year.

BALTIMORE — Orioles starting pitcher Jason Hammel will throw off the front of a mound Saturday as he takes the next step in his recovery from right knee surgery.

Hammel will be in Baltimore for the throwing session and if the knee responds well the following day, the Orioles have a schedule in place for the right-hander to start bullpen sessions and then go on a minor league rehab assignment. The 29-year-old underwent surgery to have a piece of loose cartilage removed from his knee the week after the All-Star break.

“He’s had a ball in his hand for awhile now,” manager Buck Showalter said. “It’s not that long where it’s like a spring training thing with the arm strength. It’s not so much, for me, Saturday as it is how he feels Sunday. If he doesn’t have any issues there, then we can proceed with a plan to have a little more definitive date about when he’ll be able to pitch for us.”

Showalter’s estimated timetable all along has been early September for Hammel’s return to the Baltimore rotation, but the Orioles manager could see that being a bit earlier if the pitcher gets through Saturday’s session without any setbacks. A minor league rehab assignment would not need to be a long one, according to Showalter.

“It’s not like he’s going to have to go out and throw one or two innings the first time out and two or three the next time out,” Showalter said. “Once he gets healthy, it can move pretty quickly.”

Hammel last pitched for the Orioles on July 13 and has an 8-6 record with a 3.54 earned run average in 18 starts this season. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 15.

It may not be a must win game for the Baltimore Orioles today in their series finale with the Minnesota Twins, but it is as close to one as you can get.

There is no such think as a “must win game” unless a loss would eliminate the team from the playoffs, or playoff contention. Instead, there are several key games throughout the length of the season and today’s game is one of them. A win gives the O’s a split with the Twins and a bit of a mental boost heading into a tricky four game series against the Cleveland Indians.

However, a loss this afternoon and the O’s will have won exactly one of their last six series, a road win over the Seattle Mariners during the July 4th week. They are currently sitting a half-game out of the race for the second Wild Card behind the Detroit Tigers and are a whopping 10-games back of the New York Yankees in the no longer close American League East. More important than all of that though could be the fact they only hold a half-game lead over the Boston Red Sox for second place in the East.

Looking at all those factors, it is probably clear to you that winning against Minnesota today isn’t just important, it is almost an imperative. All year one of the biggest questions in baseball has been about whether the Orioles are for real or not and just weeks ago there was heavy discussion about whether Baltimore should be buyers at the trade deadline. Now, because of the losing, everything is in flux. The O’s look a little like frauds wh0 can’t hit, can’t pitch and can’t string wins together and again look like a potential seller at the deadline.

A win against the Twins to split could change it all. Winning today is an important step to righting the ship and getting the team at least somewhat back on course. Perhaps they aren’t the runaway AL East Champs people believed they were in May or early June, but there is no reason this team cannot be at least competitive, if not a Wild Card team. In order to achieve those goals though, they have got to win on Thursday, otherwise every loss after it will not only move them closer to a below .500 record, but to a position where there is again a season of no-hope.

Baltimore may be a perfectly flawed team, which many think is an oxymoron, but they may have the right types of flaws to allow them to overcome their biggest obstacles. They don’t have a top lineup, but pretty everyone can hit for power, have a flawed pitching staff, but a bullpen that has been solid most of the year and all together a team suited to hang with the big boys, but not necessarily beat them.

Keep in mind, heading into the season the goal was never to beat the big boys, but rather carve a path back to baseball relevance. So far, they have begun to do that, but the team has reached a fork in the road with one path leading them towards eventually success and the other leading back to where they started before Spring Training. If they want to press on down the path they have been on, to a return to relevance, they have to show the fans and the rest world that despite a series opening loss to start the second half, they are not going to go quietly by dropping the first two.

Obviously there is a lot of baseball left, so there is no way to call Thursday’s game a must win. Looking at it though, you can see it is one the Orioles might have to win in order to keep their heads above water. If they can’t win, especially with one of their best pitchers in Wei-Yin Chen on the mound, it could mark the point in the year when the team enters full slide mode.

With the Baltimore Orioles in contention halfway through the season for the first time in what seems like forever, the key to making sure they do not fade is a strong second-half start.

The Detroit Tigers are in town this weekend, the first series of the second-half, and are on fire. Detroit has, with the win friday, won six in a row, are coming off of a sweep of the Kansas City Royals and have their three best pitchers starting in the series. Taking them down and containing a top-10 offensive team in every major category will not be easy. Perhaps the reason winning this weekend is important isn’t just because they are playing a team not that far out of the Wild Card race, but because Baltimore needs to avoid their own self-fulfilling prophecy.

It is no secret what everyone is waiting for, the slide. For the last few season the O’s have started strong and then faded as the season has gone along. Despite that, every year when they start hot, fans seem to think they are on their way back to prominence. This year though, the fans seem to have stayed pessimistic, thinking the team is still destined for failure.

On a Friday, with the Orioles in playoff position, one would expect Oriole Park at Camden Yards to be filled to capacity. Yet, the park was maybe half full and even that could be a generous assumption. It is almost as if the fanbase is just waiting for the slide and with the team in the midst of a three-game slump where they have lost four of five, many probably are wondering if the slide is here.

A win in this series though, would give the team confidence and the fan base a little bit more life. Perhaps that is what the team needs more than anything, confidence. To know the slide isn’t coming and they can win games. Knowing they can compete can be a huge part of being a successful team and maybe it is the thing the O’s need to finish above .500 for the first time since 2001.

Is this a perfect team? Aboslutely not, but it is a competitive team, something O’s fans haven’t had in a while. Despite the team not winning on Friday, they still have the pieces to have a productive winning season, which should be the goal. To many, it may sound like a defeatist attitude, not gunning for a playoff spot. Rome was not built in the day though, and is it going to be that bad for O’s fans if the team finishes with a winning record but not a playoff birth? Probably not, in fact it would be their best season in a decade.

Right  now, it is all about stringing together wins and believing the team is good enough to compete in the league, something it hasn’t been for a while. There are so many questions and speculations flying around about whether the Orioles need to make a move at the deadline to put them over the top, but with an organization building itself back to promenance, that cannot be move made when the goal should be to simply keep winning.

Yes, they need starting pitchers and yes they need consistent batters, but more than anything the Baltimore Orioles need to remember how to win. If they can do that, they will continue to win as an organization.

Even though a winning season, but not a great season, this year is not what fans want, it is definitely a step in the right direction. Once the O’s get back on the winning track, if they can string some strong games together, they will finish above .500 but just miss a shot at postseason glory. Coming up just short though, should set them up to succeed next year.

BALTIMORE — It came down to the final nervous moments, but the Orioles signed No. 4 overall pick Kevin Gausman to bring another talented pitcher to the organization.

The LSU right-hander agreed to terms on a contract just before the 5 p.m. deadline on Friday and announced the news himself on his Twitter account.

“I was confident we were going to get a deal done,” Gausman said. “I feel so blessed to have this opportunity and just real excited about this road I will be starting soon.”

According to Keith Law, Gausman signed a deal worth $4.32 million, which was more than the assigned pool amount of $4.2 million for the No. 4 overall pick in the first round. However, the Orioles will not be required to pay any tax because they stayed within their allotted bonus pool under the new collective bargaining agreement.

Scouting director Gary Rajsich said the organization was confident they would sign the talented 21-year-old, but there were some nervous moments along the way. A report earlier in the week hinted that Gausman was “strongly considering” returning to LSU for his junior season, and the pitcher said it was a difficult decision to leave Baton Rouge.

“We are thrilled to have Kevin,” Rajsich said. “I do love a power pitcher with a fastball with a lot of movement on it who can control the speed of bats with his changeup. He can throw it for strikes back-to-back so it is an effective pitch for him.”

Executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said the organization hasn’t finalized plans for where Gausman will report for the remainder of the 2012 season, but a decision will be made over the next few days. He reminded everyone that Gausman had a heavy workload for the Tigers this season, which will factor into how much he will pitch in the Orioles’ system for the remainder of this year.

Gausman possesses mid-90s velocity on his four-seam fastball and also throws a two-seamer he feels is appropriate for pitching at homer-happy Camden Yards. His changeup is considered a plus-pitch, but his breaking stuff — a curveball and a slider — is still  a work in progress.

“How long I spend in certain places [in the minors] is going to be determined by those pitches and whether I’m going to keep one or try to develop both,” Gausman said. “That will be a big difference maker for me.”

The 6-foot-4, 185-pound draft-eligible sophomore went 11-1 with a 2.72 ERA (115 2/3 innings), 128 strikeouts, 27 walks and two complete games in 16 starts for LSU this season. Gausman was 5-6 with a 3.51 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 89 2/3 innings in his freshman season in 2011.

He was originally selected out of high school by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2010 draft but elected to go to LSU instead. Gausman is the third first-round pick the Orioles have selected from LSU, joining Ben McDonald in 1989 and Mike Fontenot in 2001.

To hear Gausman’s introductory press conference as well as comments from Duquette and Rajsich, visit the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault right here.

This year’s Midsummer Classic will be quickly forgotten by the American Leaguers who got crushed by the San Francisco Giants. Matt Cain, Melky Cabrera, Pablo Sandoval, and Buster Posey all contributed towards the National League’s 8-0 victory over the American League. Amazingly the final score really leads people to believe that the entire AL team played horribly, and I’m not saying that the game was close, but only 3 American League pitchers allowed hits. Verlander and Harrison who combined to allow the 8 runs in just two innings. Five of their combined eight hits were for extra bases, which is unacceptable for any pitcher in a regular season game for just two innings work. But this is the All-Star game and I think Justin Verlander and Matt Harrison will survive. Chris Sale allowed 2 hits and fought out of the jam.

The bigger problem for the AL was only getting six hits. Two of those six were by Yankees and another was David Ortiz, making three out of six from the American League East. Oriole catcher, Matt Wieters, hit a ball that was caught at the Warning track, a ball that at Camden Yards is a home run.

As Orioles fans there are two positives from this game. The first is Jimmy Johnson’s shutdown inning with a strikeout and setting the NL down 1-2-3 in the 8th. The 2nd positive is that in that 8th inning all three Oriole All Stars were on the field at the same time.   That is the first time since 2005 that 3 Orioles were playing at the same time during the game. Unfortunately both Wieters and Adam Jones where hitless in their combined three at bats.

This loss was the 3rd straight for the American League after having a dominant reign in the thirteen seasons prior where they never lost and tied once in that miserable night in Milwaukee. With 21 of the last 26 World Series winners having home field advantage and the last nine teams to host a game seven, winning those contests, should this poor showing really give the National League representative of the Fall Classic the advantage? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I think the fact that a Wildcard team can receive home field advantage over a 100 game winning team is absolutely absurd. There is no good explanation for this other then Bud Selig wants fans to stay interested in the game. What he doesn’t realize is that the MLB All Star Game is 100 times better then the other three games combined. The Pro Bowl is a joke, which many players turn down chances to play in, the NBA all star averages 300 points a game and the NHL has a fantasy draft for its game.

The MLB fans will take the All Star Game seriously weather it means anything or not, its an important night where the entire country’s spotlight is on this one game because there is no other important event in the country happening on this night. Selig needs to cut the crap and “make it fun” and not “make it count.” By the way the last home team to lose a game seven at home happens to ironically be our beloved Orioles in ’79 to Pittsburgh.

Have you had your feelings hurts?  Have you hit a tough stretch and need to turn your frown upside down?  Your best buddy Bud Selig is ready to give you a great big bear hug and change a rule if he needs to.

While the All-Star game provided insomnia sufferers the best night of sleep since the Yanni music fest it also provided more proof why Bud Selig doesn’t have a clue.

During Monday night’s home run derby the Yankees Robinson Cano was booed continuously by the Kansas City faithful.  Unhappy with Cano’s decision in not choosing Royals all star designated hitter Billy Butler they booed every time the Yankees name was announced and cheered every time Cano recorded an out.  No big deal the home team fans are supposed to react that way.  Baltimore fans nearly 20 years later we still despise Cito Gaston for not putting Mike Mussina in the 1993 All-Star game.  The game was held in our city and in our stadium and this guy from Canada snubs our guy (at the time).  Hell hath no fury like Charm City fans scorn!  Subsequently Gaston was booed ferociously every time he came back to Baltimore.

Similar scenario happened last year when the All-Star game was held in Arizona.  Diamondbacks fans let Prince Fielder know their displeasure when he didn’t choose Justin Upton.  During an interview Tuesday Bud Selig said “We’ll talk about (changing the rules), I felt very badly last night. I felt badly last year for Prince. This was tough.”

The rule that Selig is alluding to is the home run derby rule that allows the captain to pick their own team.  His new rule change would mean that the host team would automatically have a participant in the derby if there is a representative of that team in the game.  Thereby eliminating the controversy caused by Cano’s decision or Fielder from the year before.  Giving the home fans their guy to root for during the hitting exhibition.

On the surface I have no problem with this idea.  He wants to alter a rule for a competition that means absolutely nothing.  Bud if you want to make sure the home team has a guy at the plate that’s cool with me.  If you want the bat boy to take a swing or the mascot to pitch blindfolded go for it.  At the end of the day it means zilch.  It doesn’t affect the standings or decide home field advantage.  Go for it Bud you’ve got my blessing.

What doesn’t make any sense is that while Bud is concerned about Robinson Cano or Prince Fielder getting their feelings hurt, it appears he is happy to offer the same close minded position on the use of video replay.  Selig’s response was that most people don’t want it.  Clearly Bud listens as well to his audience as Justin Bieber obeys speed limits.

Mr. Commissioner I offer to you a crazy idea.  Why not test video replay during an exhibition game?  How about a game where you have the odds in your favor, like the All-Star game?  After all you’ll have the best umpires in the game working the game.  Come to think of it wasn’t Jim Joyce calling first base Tuesday night?  On second thought maybe the odds aren’t stacked in your favor, Bud.  

Adam McCallister WNST audition

Follow me on Twitter: @McCallister_A

With trade rumors swirling this week of the Orioles going to get an arm at the possible expense of Manny Machado, some O’s fans are pleased and others are strongly against it. This season in Double-A Bowie, Machado is hitting a modest .264 in 84 games. He does have an impressive 48 RBI’s, a strong 10 stolen bases and a decent OBP of .347. But are those numbers good enough for the Orioles to still have the utmost confidence in their first round pick of a few seasons ago?

The Baltimore Sun was amongst many media outlets that first reported that the Orioles are shopping around for Zack Greinke, the ace of the Milwaukee Brewers. Greinke was ejected in yesterday’s ballgame against the Astros for spiking a baseball after a call at first base, clearly he’s frustrated with his play in Milwaukee. The Orioles have a very strong need for another starting pitcher to counteract with Tampa and the Yankees. With Hammel and Chen both having outstanding seasons, one more great pitcher would be a huge help. And Greinke who is 9-3 with a 3.17 ERA, would absolutely fit that need. Greinke won the Cy Young while winning 16 games with one of the worst teams in baseball that season. He is a stud on the hill and the Orioles as well as every organization in baseball would be lucky to have him. But the question that Orioles fans are asking; is Machado too much to give up?

JJ Hardy is locked up for another 2 seasons after this season and he has been one of the best shortstops in baseball. With the Orioles competing at the All-Star Break, and getting to the point they are at with some dismal starting pitching of late, I believe it is an obvious move. Machado has been good in the minors, but not great. Matt Wieters was great in the minors and it showed how quickly he was called up. Machado was drafted a year before Dylan Bundy, yet Bundy has gained a significant amount more of attention as far as call-ups go. I understand many Orioles fans will disagree with me, but Greinke is only 28 years old. He has shown no sign of slowing down. The Orioles haven’t made the playoffs in over 15 years and with a legitimate line-up this season, my opinion is you have got to make the move.

A friend of mine made the argument that we wouldn’t win the World Series if we reached the playoffs, but he didn’t quite think that through did he? We would have made the playoffs for the first time in 16 seasons. This city needs a baseball home playoff game. That should be the goal. So in my opinion, make the move Birds.

Since the 2006 Collective Bargaining Agreement, baseball has made their All-Star Game not only exciting, but actually important, as it determines home field advantage for the World Series, and the game is now something baseball fans cannot miss.

Most All-Star Games are nothing more than a glorified time-waster in the middle of their sport’s seasons. The only notable event at most All-Star Games are the skills competitions. Contest like the one before the NHL All-Star Game, the NBA Skills Competition and Dunk Contest and the Home Run Derby for baseball. Now though, the Derby has become the boring thing for baseball as the last few All-Star games have been great games.

Since making the outcome of the game matter, only one game has been decided by more than two runs, last year when the National League won 5-1. Of the five games played under the “it counts” format, three of them have been one-run affairs. Before that, only four had been decided by one run, including a tie in 2002, since 1990. It may not be definitive proof that the new format guarantees closer games, as there is such a small sample size, but it does seem to change the way the managers play the game.

There is no better example of how the game has become more exciting than in 2008. It was the final All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium and oh, boy was it a good one.  After 14-innings the game still was not decided and both leagues were down to their final pitchers with both managers concerned about what would happen if no one scored in the next few innings. If you turned the game off at some point, then you were a fool, as the AL had a shot at winning it after getting Carlos Guillen to third with one out in the 12-innings. Yet, as you should expect in an All-Star Game, outstanding pitching from Aaron Cook ended the threat. Of course, this all came just a half inning after Joakim Soria and George Sherrill worked out of a bases loaded jam the NL had manufactured in the 12th inning. So, to say the game was just bad offense was not the case at all.

The game ultimately ended 4-3 on a walk-off, but featured three total lead changes, including the final one to end the game, outstanding pitching and just overall good baseball. 4-3 is a perfect score for an All-Star game too, as it shows both teams actually played the game the right way and didn’t just give up runs carelessly. Obviously it is easier in a non-contact sport like baseball, but it is still sort of sickening to see the NHL All-Star Game end 12-9 or the NBA All-Star Game end 152-149.

Games rarely end with those scores in their respective sports, so really what is the point of playing if you aren’t going to do it the right way?

Looking towards next Tuesday, we have a whale of an MLB All-Star game coming up. The National League is currently on a two-game winning streak and look at that, the NL has won the last two World Series too. Maybe it is just a coincidence, as the NL has won three of them since the new format was introduced, despite only winning two All-Star Games, but the fact the NL is 2-for-2 in World Series in years they win the All-Star Game can’t be overlooked. After losing the last two games as well, you have to imagine the AL is chomping at the bit to get back to their dominance.

If you’ve never watched the baseball All-Star game, try to watch this one, if only for three innings. The way these players play in it, now that it is important, it will be hard not to get hooked.