My first baseball blog of 2013.

And it’s February 13.

Then again, there’s not really been any legitimate reason to write about the Orioles since January 1.  First, the football team kept us all in constant contact with Purple Fever, which made writing and opining about anything BUT the Ravens a waste of time.  And, obviously, the Orioles haven’t done anything worth commenting on…unless you count the signing of a broken-down Jair Jurrjens as a move deserving of evaluation.  I didn’t.

But, with pitchers and catchers reporting on Tuesday and the rest of the players showing up by Friday, it’s clearly time to start discussing our orange-feathered-friends with an eye towards the 2013 campaign.

As our very own Luke Jones assessed RIGHT HERE on Tuesday at WNST.net, it’s been a listless off-season for the Birds.  They commenced the hot stove period with question marks and issues worth considering at first base, second base, left field and starting pitching.

The team convenes in Sarasota with none of those problems either completely addressed or improved upon, truth be told.  Rather than go out and get a real first baseman, they simply promoted a formerly-failed glove with a decent bat in Chris Davis.  Not knowing whether or not Brian Roberts will ever return to form, the club elected to add a half-player in Alexi Casilla rather than create a sea change by sending Roberts on his way and giving the job to an everyday major-leaguer.  Left field was rescued in large part by Nate McLouth in 2012, but anyone willing to bet that he will duplicate his form of a year ago is just hoping for the sake of hope.  Oh, right, the team still believes Nolan Reimold can stay healthy and be a threat at the plate and share the left field position with McLouth.  The team likely believes in the Tooth Fairy, too.

In fairness, if the Orioles can get the same yield from guys like Wei-Yin Chen and Miguel Gonzalez, the 2013 starting rotation might not be all that bad.  Would it have been good to see the Orioles make a play for Zack Greinke or Dan Haren or, like Toronto, make a trade to bring in the likes of Josh Johnson and/or Mark Buerhle?  Sure.  But those players all cost money.

While the Birds clearly didn’t do anything in the off-season to improve their team, it’s accurate to note that the Blue Jays wound up being the only A.L. East club to appear as if winning was going to be important to them in ’13.  Boston’s going to stink again, the Yankees appear to be hard-pressed to be an 85-win team and Tampa Bay traded away some of their good young arms to Kansas City for high-level prospect types.  Sadly, had the Orioles actually added a handful of quality players over the last four months, they might legitimately be the favorite in the division.

My guess on 2013?  Pretty simple.  As The Killers showed with their first album, it’s awfully hard to catch lightning in a bottle two times in a row.  I’m going to assume the luck that guided the Orioles through 2012 ran its course a year ago and that same good fortunate bestowed upon the Birds by the baseball gods will instead go to the Royals or Mariners or Brewers or (insert team here) in the upcoming season.

2012 was a fluke season for the Orioles.

I said before the first game a year ago they’d go 79-83 and everyone in town thought I was nuts.  Obviously, I had no idea how lucky things would turn out for them.

I think they’re an 85-win team in ’13, but that won’t be nearly enough to get them into post-season play.  After 14 years of horrible baseball, I suppose we should be happy with back-to-back seasons of plus .500 play, but the Birds turned 95 wins into 85 wins in the off-season by dumpster diving for guys that no other team in the big leagues cared to take.  That philosophy worked a year ago but I can’t see lightning striking twice in the same place twelve months apart.

I’m hoping for the best, because I enjoyed the hell out of 2012, but you can’t count on luck to take you places.  At some point, you have to try to win.  And you do that by adding quality, not gambling on also-rans who swallowed the pill-of-good-fortune and put together a few good months of baseball.

I’d love to be wrong about this group.

I hope like hell they get as lucky this year as they did last season.

But I’m not counting on it.

PRESS RELEASE

The Orioles Friday announced that they have agreed to terms with catcher Matt Wieters, infielder Chris Davis, and left-handed pitchers Troy Patton and Briant Matusz on one-year contracts, thus avoiding arbitration.

Wieters, 26, batted .249 (131-526) and set career-highs with 23 home runs, 83 RBI and 144 games played. Wieters was named to his second All-Star Team.

Davis, 26, batted .270 (139-515) with a team-leading 33 home runs and 85 RBI in 2012. Davis saw action in left field, right field, at first base, served as the designated hitter and recorded a win in his only appearance as a pitcher, May 6 at Boston.

Patton, 27, was 1-0 with a 2.43 ERA (55.2IP, 15ER) in a career-high 54 games for the Orioles in 2012.

Matusz, 25, was 6-10 with a 4.87 ERA (98.0IP, 53ER) in 34 games (16 starts) for the Orioles. In his 18 relief appearances in 2012, Matusz was 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA (13.1IP, 2ER).

The Orioles have also exchanged salary arbitration figures with right-handed pitchers Jim Johnson, Jason Hammel, and Darren O’Day.

It’s that time of year again. Time for reflection. Time for regrouping. Time to start out the New Year on a positive. SO…….. how ’bout ‘dem 2012 O’s hun? It only took 22 years for this O’s fan to get that “old school – down to the bone chilling – orange and black – Orioles Magic,” feeling back into my soul. And it felt good. The town was energized, young Oriole fans finally experienced a Baltimore Orioles summer, many Oriole fans cleared off the cobwebs and  the hard core Oriole fans were revived. It had ”Been Such a Longtime” – Boston. That was a nice touch by the way, from the Camden Yards Audio/visual folks, playing that song at the park at the end of the season.

1989 – the “Why Not” – year. 2012 – the “We’re Not Giving Up” year. Early season perception of those two years: 1989 – the Orioles seemingly on a downward spiral, especially after the 0 – 21 start and 54-107 1988 season. 2012 – the Orioles below .500 since 1997 and ranked 28th out of 30 teams in the Power rankings. So naturally, what has become an annual tradition, I went out and bought an Orioles gaming ticket for them to win the World Series, this year at 125 to 1. Sadly, couldn’t cash in. Happy, probably won’t see those odds again anytime soon.

Remember1989? Frank Robinson was manager. Rex Barney at…………..Memorial Stadium! HTS with Mel Proctor and John Lowenstein (my favorite Orioles TV team) and Jon Miller/Joe Angel on the radio. Besides Brady and Cal, how about names like Randy Milligan, Joe Orsulak, Jim Traber, Bob Milacki, Kevin Hickey, Gregg ‘the otter” Olson? Come on, hit me up with some more. Dig deep into the memory bank. This year was that same kind of year. Some big names with (at times) an unfamiliar supporting cast,  ”stepping up to the plate”, becoming a team and surprising everyone!

Yes, there was 1996 and 1997 – but come on O’s fans – give credit where credit is due – Angelos did actually go out and try and buy it. The talent was retained with high price tags. They were expected to win. They were expected to participate with the 75% of the players that were “juicy juiced enhanced” at the time (whoops that last one slipped). It had been 12 years and no World Series appearance. Management made a move. Those two years came and went. Now, it has been 29 years since a World Series appearance. But this time, it is a more welcomed, different approach.

Since it is the New Year and I would like to stay as positive as long as I can (which means until the harsh reality of work tomorrow), let me offer my top 5 moments/games of this past season:

5. Opening Day – Friday 4/6/12, win 4-2 over the Twins. It was Opening Day, need I say more?  The Cartoon Bird was back! It was the 20th anniversary of Camden Yards and the place is still immaculate. Partly due to annual renovations at the stadium, this year in particular – new lower concourse floor, lower field wall in right, Batters Eye Pub in centerfield, the soon to be (at the time) Monument Plaza out in left, etc. Then there was the Opening Day Ceremony pageantry, then the game, then……… Nick Markakis (Future Hall of Famer) – smacking a home run in his first at-bat, on his first swing, after coming back from injury. Play Ball!

4. Sunday 4/29/12, win bottom of the ninth, 5-2 over the Oakland A’s at the Yard. O’s trailing the whole game, went into the ninth down 2-0, Bartolo Colon going for complete game. Weiters a 2-run double and then Wilson Betemit crushed a walk-off 3-run homer. They had won 6 out of 7 and you could feel the tide-a-changing. Little did we know, that game was just a glimpse of what was to come the rest of the year.

3. Saturday 7/14/12, Jim Palmer Statue day at the Yard, win in extra innings (13), 8-6 over the Tigers. Taylor Teagarden. Say it again, Taylor Teagarden – just a cool name – hit a game winning 3-run homer. This was AFTER the Birds had squandered a 4-1 lead in the 9th – the Tigers tied it. The Tigers then went ahead in the 11th – the O’s tied it in the bottom. Then the Tigers went ahead again in the 13th – only to have Taylor Teagarden end it in the bottom. Another game to be added to  “Classics of the Year”. 

2. Friday 10/5/12, Wild Card play-in game, win 5-1 at Texas Rangers. Joe Saunders, Joe who? The chosen starting pitcher to potentially springboard the Orioles beyond that playoff albatross that has been looming since 1997. He was 0-6 at Texas stadium with like a 10.00 era – then BOOM – Dan Duquette/the Buck “stops here” Showalter – make another Classic move. O’s move on to play the Evil Empire.

1. Sunday 5/6/12, the Marathon (17 innings, 6 hours +), the “where were you when….” game, WIN 9-6 at Fenway! If I remember correctly, something about Chris Davis pitching and getting the win? No game recap here, just watch it on Orioles Classics (MASN). Here’s a little salt to pour in the wound for the Red Sox fans though, that game completed a weekend SWEEP! 

“O” what a year. One heckuva roller coaster ride. The cool thing though………..meaningful baseball was back in Baltimore. They simply just never gave up. The future looks bright. I would advise on purchasing some Oriole shades. Who knows what lies ahead? Optimism for once, exists. I remember ’89, I have the VHS tape. I will always remember 2012, I will purchase the DVD.  Orioles Magic – Summer of 2013. I’m feeling warm already. Happy New Year.

D.I.Y.

Fedman

It has certainly been a “storybook” season for the Baltimore Orioles in 2012. No matter how their postseason run ends, there will be memories that will last for a lifetime.

I had an itch this week to compile a list of the top ten storylines for the season. It wasn’t an easy task, but here goes.

10. The ultimate reclamation

It isn’t SO crazy to think a team would have given OF Nate McLouth another chance in 2012. The former Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star was at least playing Major League Baseball, even if he hadn’t had a particularly good season since 2009.

Lew Ford was another story altogether. Ford went a full five years between Major League at-bats before being called up to Baltimore after ripping the cover off the ball at AAA Norfolk.

McLouth has been a significant contributor since being called up in August, taking over the every day LF spot and batting leadoff since Nick Markakis got hurt. Ford hasn’t contributed quite as much, but has come up with three big home runs when inserted into the lineup against lefties.

It has also lead to Tweets like this throughout the season…

9. “Why Not Again?”

Perhaps not the most significant story of the year, the story of Steve Johnson has likely been the most heart warming for Charm City in 2012.

I pulled this picture from Steve’s Facebook page…it’s probably three or four years old. I’d be willing to bet that at this point in his life, he’s probably embarrassed by things like this.

A Kingsville native, former St. Paul’s star and son of a former Orioles pitcher (and current broadcast analyst) made some of the more significant starts of the 2012 season. It’s Hollywood quality stuff. Even more amazingly, Johnson picked up his first big league win on August 8, 23 years removed from the exact date his father picked up HIS first victory during the Birds’ incredible 1989 campaign.

The Johnson & Johnson connection wasn’t the only inevitable comparison between the ’89 and ’12 O’s, as the cartoon birds, no name players and general disbelief of the respective campaigns was impossible to ignore. It even had me singing along…

8. What a dumb great trade.

SB Nation compiled reactions to GM Dan Duquette’s decision to deal SP Jeremy Guthrie to Colorado for SP Jason Hammel & RP Matt Lindstrom before the season. Here are a sampling…

This from Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal was perhaps worse…

For what it’s worth, most of us would probably be forced to admit that we didn’t think much of the deal at the time. Guthrie had been the organization’s only quality pitcher for years and was very popular thanks to also being a stand up individual. How were we to know that Hammel was going to put together an All-Star season (when healthy) and Lindstrom would be a reliable option in the back of the bullpen before helping to land veteran Joe Saunders in a trade? And how were we to know that on the other end of the deal, Guthrie would implode in Denver before being sent to Kansas City?

Certainly the deal has turned out to be quite the feather in Duquette’s cap, as has the signing of SP Wei-Yin Chen-who has pitched to a 4.02 ERA and 1.261 WHIP over 32 starts? The only real question mark for Duquette has been Tsuyoshi Wada, who needed Tommy John surgery before he could make a pitch. The way things are going for this organization, you almost assume he’ll be Stephen Strasburg in 2013. (Okay…not really.)

7. I’m not so sure about this.

“Nick Markakis batting leadoff when he returns? I don’t know…”

I probably don’t need to show you August. Ah hell, I’ll show you August.

Markakis’ effort (before being sidelined in September) was especially crucial following the loss of OF Nolan Reimold, who hit .313 in 16 games to start the season in the role. Without Reimold, the Birds attempted to use a group of players including OF Endy Chavez and even briefly a return of 2B Brian Roberts, but none could hold down the role until Markakis. The Orioles are now hoping Markakis can somehow get back before the season ends.

6. These guys…of course!

While Hammel and Chen were obviously “hits” for the Orioles’ rotation, the other 60% didn’t pan out so well. Opening Day starter Jake Arrieta, former #1 overall pick Brian Matusz and veteran Tommy Hunter struggled mightily over the season’s first few months before ultimately finding their way back to the minors for seasoning (all have since returned and offered solid efforts out of the bullpen).

In their place, the Birds turned not only to the aforementioned Johnson, but more importantly gave the ball to two pitchers have provided a level of stability that could have been expected by absolutely no one, perhaps even themselves.

Chris Tillman was at least viewed recently as a significant prospect in the Orioles’ organization. After being acquired from the Seattle Mariners as part of the Birds’ haul (along with Adam Jones and George Sherrill) for Erik Bedard, there was a thought Tillman would ultimately prove to be part of the “cavalry” of young Orioles pitchers former VP of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail regularly spoke of.

But after 2009 (5.40 ERA 1.554 WHIP in 12 starts), 2010 (5.87 ERA 1.528 WHIP in 11 starts) and 2011 (5.52 ERA 1.645 WHIP in 13 starts), it appeared as though Tillman was all but done in Baltimore.

And then this happened.

Of course it did.

Perhaps even more improbable was Miguel Gonzalez, who was all but abandoned by the Boston Red Sox following 2009 Tommy John surgery. Executive Director of International Recruiting Fred Ferreira signed off on Gonzalez to the Birds after seeing him throw just nine pitches (according to SI’s Albert Chen). Perhaps we should have expected the man who discovered Vladimir Guerrero knew what he was doing.

And just like that, Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez saved a rotation and very likely a season.

I feel like there’s someone else we should thank…

Of all of the decisions made by Dan Duquette upon arrival, perhaps the decision to make Rick Peterson (a fixture of the “Moneyball” Oakland Athletics) the team’s Director of Pitching Development has immediately paid the most dividends.

(5-1 on Page 2…)

BALTIMORE — Enjoying their final day off before the last six games of the regular season, manager Buck Showalter and some of the Orioles took the opportunity to attend the Ravens’ 23-16 win over the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night.

What the Orioles skipper didn’t expect was the thunderous ovation he and several of his players would receive when they appeared on the M&T Bank Stadium video screen in the second half. Nearly 71,000 fans exploded into a “Let’s go O’s!” chant and provided a standing ovation as the Orioles in attendance watched the game from Cal Ripken’s suite.

“That was fun. I know the players were buzzing about it,” said Showalter, who was sitting elsewhere before deciding to stop by the suite to say hello to Adam Jones, Chris Davis, and a few others before leaving for the night. “I think it even surprises them sometimes, the reaction that our city and our fans have to what they’re doing this year. I think it’s good, and I’m trying to stay in the background.”

While obviously focused on the task at hand of beating the Browns for the ninth straight time since becoming the coach in Baltimore, John Harbaugh shared his appreciation for the support shown by Showalter and Orioles players and offered his thoughts on what’s happening with Baltimore’s other professional sports team this year.

“I think the world of that team,” Harbaugh said. “I love Buck. I think he does a great job. They play fundamentally-sound baseball. This is a special team.”

An avid college football fan, Showalter was trying to leave the suite as his players and stadium personnel urged him to stay, obviously with the plan of showing the manager and his players on the video board. As fans erupted into loud cheers, Showalter wanted the energy to assist the Ravens in protecting their closer-than-expected lead over the winless Browns.

“They were trying to time it,” Showalter said. “I guess they needed a big defensive stand there or something. They thought it’d be a good reaction to the players on the board. I was hoping and praying it was going to be three-and-out afterwards. Otherwise, we’d never be [invited] back, but I think it was. And that’s when I left. I’m leaving in a hurry [after that].’”

Harbaugh offered high praise of the Orioles’ historic success in one-run games and extra-inning contests this season as they’ve already secured their first winning season in 15 years and are on the verge of earning their first postseason berth since 1997 as well.

The Orioles entered Friday with a 27-9 record in one-run games this season, which is on pace to tie the highest winning percentage in major league history in games decided by one run. They’ve won a franchise-record 16 straight games that have gone to extra innings, the longest streak in the majors since the 1949 Indians won 17 in a row.

Growing up in Ohio, Harbaugh recalled listening to Indians games on the radio with his father Jack, who is the bigger baseball fan. The Baltimore coach sees similarities between the Orioles and his own team in 2012.

“How many close games have they won this year? I think they set a record,” Harbaugh said. “One-run games, extra-inning games, finding a way to win. It’s something that we can look at as a team, too, and say, ‘That’s what we did a little bit last night.’ You find a way to win games.”

Unlike any other time in the 17-year period in which the franchises have co-existed in Baltimore, this is the first season in which Baltimore fans have had a reason to be excited about both teams in September and, if they’re lucky, well into the month of October.

Harbaugh made it clear the Ravens are behind the Orioles, inviting Showalter out to watch practice whenever he wants but also acknowledging the Orioles manager and his players are a little preoccupied these days. He even admitted to taking a peak when the result of the Yankees game was shown on the video board during Thursday’s game.

“The Ravens are big fans of the Orioles,” Harbaugh said. “We’re cheering them on in this pennant race. The Yankee score came up last night; I did happen to see that, I have to admit.”

To say the Orioles can’t overcome the loss of Nick Markakis to make the playoffs for the first time in 15 years would discredit everything they’ve accomplished in an amazing season.

Being tied for first place in the American League East with only 23 games remaining is an enviable position to hold, regardless of any injury or loss a team could possibly experience.

Yes, the Orioles will get by without their starting right fielder and leadoff hitter — who will miss the rest of the regular season and only has a slim chance of returning late in the postseason should the Orioles reach that point — but whether they can do better than that is the critical question. And they’ll need to if they want to win their first division title since 1997 or at least secure one of the league’s two wild-card spots.

“We’ve been a sum of the parts team all year,” manager Buck Showalter said following the game, “and we certainly lost a big part [Saturday night].”

There’s no downplaying how important Markakis has been to a second half in which the Orioles have gone 33-21 since the 28-year-old returned from hamate bone surgery that forced him to miss six weeks in June and early July. Finally providing the club with its first productive leadoff hitter in two years, Markakis had been the club’s most valuable player in the second half as he hit .335 with five home runs, 15 doubles, 28 runs batted in, and a .387 on-base percentage since returning to action on July 13.

Showalter turned to Markakis to handle the top spot in the order because he had no other options, and the Orioles are faced with the same dilemma for the final few weeks of the season. The club will likely turn to left fielder Nate McLouth to assume the No. 1 spot. The journeyman has surprisingly hit .273 with a .341 on-base percentage in 32 games since having his contract selected from Triple-A Norfolk, but expected him to continue that production — especially in the top spot of the order — is a lot to ask.

Though the lineup was far from ideal even with Markakis, having his bat in the leadoff spot brought more stability as there wasn’t a black hole at the top.

After finding a way to fill in the cracks with McLouth in left and the combination of Robert Andino, Omar Quintanilla, and Ryan Flaherty at second base, the Orioles will now need to patch another in right field. But it’s what they’ve done throughout the season, and Showalter won’t shy away from thinking outside the box to maximize production.

The Orioles’ best option in right would be to go with a platoon of Chris Davis and Lew Ford. Serving primarily as the designated hitter since Jim Thome went on the disabled list, Davis played respectably in the outfield earlier this season and has hit left-handers (.256 with four home runs in 90 at-bats) nearly as well as right-handers (.257 with 20 home runs in 343 at-bats) this season despite sitting against southpaws more regularly in the second half.

The Orioles could then use Wilson Betemit as the designated hitter against right-handed starters — he’s batted .304 against right-handed pitching this season — and move Davis back to the DH spot with Ford playing right field in games against left-handed starters. Betemit is hitting .143 against left-handers and shouldn’t be considered as a full-time DH.

The defense clearly won’t be as strong without Markakis in right, but the offensive production could remain at a tolerable level with Davis’ bat in the lineup every day and Betemit getting regular at-bats against right-handed pitchers. The return of Thome would provide another option at the DH spot against right-handed pitching, but it’s premature to assume the 42-year-old returns to action and can be productive at this point.

It’s not ideal, but very little has been that way this season and the Orioles still find themselves 17 games over .500 in the second week of September.

Lineup decisions and defensive alignment aside, how will the Orioles respond emotionally to losing one of their best players?

Markakis is well-respected in the clubhouse and you have to feel for him missing out on the first pennant race of his career after enduring six miserable seasons to begin his career in Baltimore. The right fielder missed only 25 games in his first six seasons combined but has endured abdominal surgery, hamate bone surgery, and a broken thumb in this calendar year.

It’s a tough pill to swallow for a team trying to do what no one believed they could entering the season.

“It sucks, what do you want me to say?” center Adam Jones said. “It’s September and one of our best players is down for the the rest of the year. It sucks. What can we do about that? Me [whining] and complaining is not going to heal his hand tomorrow. We have to rally around him. People have injuries late in the year. It’s extremely unfortunate, but it’s how things happen sometimes.”

The disappointment was evident following the game and understandably so.

In a season that can’t be explained statistically, perhaps Showalter’s finest accomplishment has been the ability to get players to buy into the concept of compartmentalizing a 162-game schedule. One of the most tired cliches of the sports world is to “take it one game at a time,” but the Orioles have exhibited just that throughout the season.

They’re never too high after wins and never too down after defeats, and it’s that mindset they must exercise in continuing to play at a high level despite the loss of Markakis.

It starts Sunday with a chance to take three out of four from the Yankees and move into sole possession of first place as the mediocre Freddy Garcia — complete with his 5.09 earned run average — takes the hill for New York.

The loss of Markakis won’t cripple the Orioles. Their record was 16-19 without him earlier this season.

They’ll fill in the cracks in right field just like they’ve done to get by at second base and left field.

But “just getting by” won’t land them in the postseason.

The Orioles will have to be better than that and losing such an important piece to their puzzle of success hurts those chances.

It’s time to look back at the three most compelling events of this past weekend. The Orioles are going to be a big part of this. When was the last time that we mentioned the Orioles and the word compelling in the same sentence late in the month of August? Enjoy the ride Baltimore sports fans. The Ravens are getting ready to gear things up and the Orioles aren’t just Wild Card contenders, at 4 ½ games back they are challenging for the AL East crown. Let’s get to our top three:

#3

Sunday afternoon the Baltimore Ravens made their first round of cuts. Included in those cuts was Kicker Billy Cundiff.

The training camp kicking battle between Cundiff and rookie Justin Tucker was intense from start to finish. I feel bad for Billy because he will not get a chance to redeem himself here in Baltimore after his AFC Championship miss that ended the Ravens hopes of going to Superbowl  XLVI. This competition has been the talk of the town since Justin Tucker signed with the Ravens as an Undrafted Free Agent. In the beginning I didn’t believe that Tucker would beat out Cundiff for the job, but as training camp and Preseason went along it became pretty evident that Tucker was starting to edge out Cundiff. It all culminated with Tucker getting all the kicks in the Ravens’ Preseason game vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tucker was nearly flawless in every aspect of his game. Tucker even pulled off a successful onside kick vs. the Detroit Lions.  I truly believe that Cundiff didn’t lose the job but Tucker was just that incredible in the competition. I’m fairly certain that Billy Cundiff will be kicking somewhere in the NFL before this season is over. Ultimately I think the Ravens had to consider the potential weapon that Tucker could be. His 53 yard field goal in Thursday’s game had plenty of distance and hit the net above the crossbar. Not out of the question to say that it would have been good from at least 65 yards.

Some will question the Ravens for starting this season with a rookie Kicker. The last time the Ravens attempted this it ended poorly with Steve Hauschka unable to handle the pressure of the job. Hauschka was just 9-13 for the Ravens back in 2009 before being cut after nine games. That year the Ravens picked up journeyman Billy Cundiff. If Tucker somehow folds under the pressure the Ravens would make a similar move. I just think that Coach John Harbaugh, General Manager Ozzie Newsome and the rest of the Ravens personnel staff just couldn’t let the potential talent of Tucker get away. Here was John Harbaugh’s statement after the decision was made to cut Cundiff, “Billy had a great camp, the best he has had with us. He showed, like he always has, a toughness and an ability to come back and be a top-flight NFL kicker. These decisions are never easy, and this one was difficult for all of us – Ozzie [Newsome], Jerry [Rosburg] and me. Of course, that says something about Justin [Tucker], the way he has kicked and our belief in him. But, that does not say something less about Billy. Billy was ready in every way to be our kicker. He’ll kick in the NFL. He’s a very good kicker and an even better person.” I don’t think there is any doubt that Harbaugh and the Ravens have the utmost respect for Cundiff and I truly believe that this was not an easy decision for the Ravens.

#2

Mike Mussina was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame before Saturday night’s Oriole game. I don’t understand the venom that some Oriole fans show towards Mussina. He was truly one of the Orioles all time greats and gave everything he had for the organization. I defy anyone to put themselves in Mussina’s shoes and say they wouldn’t have done the same exact thing that Mussina did when he left Baltimore to play for the Yankees. For those that don’t remember, Mussina took less money to stay in Baltimore twice before he finally left to take the deal with New York.

Mussina won 147 games here in Baltimore and was the last true player the Orioles had that I would actually pay to just go watch him play. He was more than just a good pitcher. It was fun to watch the way he would think his way through a game. He prepared and was as mentally tough as any pitcher. He had that bulldog mentality that I love in pitchers. Mussina pitched 200+ innings in 12 of the 18 years he pitched in the Major Leagues. The sad part for the Orioles is that he was the last true #1 starter that the franchise had. He left after the 2000 season. That’s 12 years of starting rotation mediocrity. Congratulations Mike Mussina on being an Oriole Hall of Famer and thank you for all that you gave to the Oriole organization.

Think back to the past decade of Orioles baseball and try and recall moments of success. Yes, this dismal decade might be a bit of a blur; however, the 2005 season had some moments of hope, at least in the first half of the year. Baltimore spent 62 days in first place in the AL East, and came into the All-Star break 47-40. The O’s came out of the break, and won two straight over Seattle. Shortly after, the O’s traded outfielder Larry Bigbie to the Colorado Rockies for slugging outfielder Eric Byrnes. The team believed they could be contenders. However, the deal at the deadline for Byrnes, as well as their success in the first half, could not be sustained. By the end of August, the O’s were 51-53. Rafael Palmeiro was busted for steroids and lying to congress. By season’s end, it was more of the same sad story for the Orioles. Their combined record post All-Star break was 27-48, and their 74-88 record was 21 games behind both the Red Sox and the Yankees.

There have been pessimistic comparisons out there, from fans and media alike, that 2012 will turn out like 2005. Heck, maybe you can’t blame people for thinking that way. The Orioles came into the All-Star break with a 45-40 record. They also enjoyed a stint in first place during May and early June. Dan Duquette has been telling the media and the fans that he has been given the green light to buy at the deadline, in hopes of continuing the push towards the team’s first potential postseason appearance since 1997. However, the trigger has not been pulled on any one of significance yet, a la Ryan Dempster or Zach Greinke. The Yankees are still eight games ahead of Baltimore in the AL East. After struggling out of the gate post-ASB, losing 4 of 5, the O’s have won three straight, including their 10-2 drubbing of the Indians last night in Cleveland. Their ace, Jason Hammel, is on the DL with a knee injury. Could the comparison to 2005 come to fruition?

Whether or not the Orioles are able to make their first postseason appearance since 1997 is irrelevant to this argument; 2012 will be different than 2005. To begin the comparison, one must look at the man who leads the players every day, the manager. Lee Mazzilli, who led the Orioles for the first half of 2005, had not even managed in the Majors for two years. Sam Perlozzo, who succeeded Mazzilli after the midseason firing, had a career record of 128-172; not much better.

Buck Showalter has won AL Manager of the Year twice. He managed both the Yankees and Diamondbacks, and left right before they both became World Series Champions. His experience and style has changed the culture in a locker room, which has been accustomed to losing for a long time. Buck is not going anywhere. However, if he was to leave, and if history is any indication, that means the Orioles will be World Series champions soon; right?

Secondly, the 2012 Baltimore Orioles lineup has been built much differently than seven years ago.  In 2005, the Orioles had sluggers, and supposed-to-be Hall of Famers, with Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro in the heart of the lineup. I think we all know how that turned out. Before the season started, Rafael Palmeiro adamantly denied steroid use, after Jose Canseco mentioned, in his book, that he had. Palmeiro went to Congress, looked them dead in the eyes, and said, “Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids, period. I don’t know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never.” Well, on August 1^st, he was suspended 10 days after testing positive. From then on, Palmeiro would need ear plugs the rest of the season to drown out the boos in Baltimore and opposing stadiums when he would come to the plate.

Sammy Sosa? He hit a dismal .221, with only 14 home runs and 45 RBIs. Tejada had a down year, compared to an MVP like season in 2004. Eric Byrnes, who was acquired at the 2005 deadline, hit .192 with 11 RBI in 31 games with the O’s.

The 2012 Orioles lineup is infused with young talent that will be part of the nucleus for years to come. Adam Jones, who signed a 6 year deal worth $85.5 million this year, made the All Star team and currently leads the Orioles in Average (.294), HRs (22), RBIs (63), Runs Scored (63) and SBs (11). Chris Davis, at 26 years-old, is a consistent power threat, and is second on the team in homeruns with 15. Matt Wieters, also age 26, is second on the team in RBIs with 46, and has been one of the best defensive catchers in the league. Nick Markakis is off the DL, trying to build on some of his strong moments in the first half of the season, before his injury. In this post-steroid era of baseball we now live in, the younger, fresher lineup allows for guys to play fundamentally sound baseball, on an everyday basis.

With the next three games against Cleveland, and July ending with series against division foes Tampa Bay and New York, this stretch will serve as a test of where this team will go this season. In addition, it will provide GM Dan Duquette a plan, as to the players he needs to target and the teams he needs to call before the July 31^st trade-deadline. Regardless, 2012 has been assembled and guided in a much more effective manner than 2005, and the Orioles are finding success they have not had in a very long time.

Friday night looked like a good opportunity for the Orioles to get back on track to begin the second half of their season.

Staff ace Jason Hammel was taking the hill against Detroit’s Doug Fister, who entered the night having surrendered 18 earned runs in his last 14 1/3 innings of work for the Tigers.

Right fielder Nick Markakis was returning to the lineup for the first time since late May, assuming the leadoff spot for the first time in his big-league career in an effort to boost the club’s abysmal .246 on-base percentage in the top spot this season. Regaining one of its best hitters looked like the perfect tonic for an offense that scored only 61 runs in its final 22 games before the All-Star break.

His return moved Chris Davis to left field for the first time in the major leagues, giving the club its optimal offense as the roster is presently constructed.

It looked unconventional, but maybe that was exactly what the Orioles needed to climb out of a 6-13 rut and start the second half on a high note.

Instead, the recent stretch turned even uglier with the sight of Hammel walking off the field with a right knee injury in the top of the fourth inning. The 29-year-old has dealt with soreness in that same knee for much of the season, but concern was apparent following the game in the quietest clubhouse reporters had witnessed all season.

“It took a little air out of the game,” said manager Buck Showalter while trying to remain optimistic. “One of our better pitchers had to leave early on. We had gotten back into it at 2-1 and it looked like he was going to settle in and keep us in the game.”

The Orioles (45-41) lost 7-2 to fall to just four games above the .500 mark for the first time since April 27, but a Saturday MRI on Hammel’s right knee will tell far more about the club’s second-half fate than a series-opening loss to the Tigers. Already having demoted three-fifths of the starting rotation to Triple-A Norfolk prior to the break, losing Hammel for an extended period would be a crippling blow to a club already desperate to add quality starting pitching.

Offensively, Baltimore looked as anemic as it did in the final month of the first half, making Fister look like an ace over seven innings in which he allowed three hits and struck out eight. No player exemplifies the Orioles’ struggles at the plate more than shortstop J.J. Hardy, who is now hitless in his last 23 at-bats and 18-for-130 (a .129 average) since June 6.

But Hardy is just one of many failing to get the job done at the plate.

“You want to start off [the second half] with some momentum,” Davis said. “Being at home, these are games we have to win. If we want to be serious about being a playoff team, we’ve got to win games at home, especially when we have our ace on the mound. Obviously, he left early on, but we’ve got to do a better job scoring runs.”

While Showalter waits for his offense to show signs of life — hopefully in a hurry — the Orioles will be on pins and needles waiting to hear Hammel’s fate. The pitcher did not have swelling in the knee after exiting and said through a team official he didn’t hear a pop or sound suggesting a tear when he injured himself delivering a 1-2 pitch to Brennan Boesch.

The Orioles are still saying the right things about refraining from panic, but human nature suggests it’s an impossibility at this point.

“Because of the way [Hammel's] performed, I don’t want to throw dirt over him right now,” Showalter said. “We’re hoping that we hear something good. Our trainers and medical people have done a great job, along with Hamm. I see all the work he does between starts to keep it under control, and I’ll trust him. We’ll make a good decision, probably in the next day or so.”

Hearing Showalter speak of the air coming out of the game after Hammel’s injury and following it up with a metaphor about not wanting to throw dirt on a coffin tells you the struggles and frustration are even weighing on his mind at this point. His expressed optimism wasn’t very convincing and understandably so.

Are the Orioles now circling the drain with the potential loss of their best starting pitcher on top of the rotation struggles they were already experiencing?

Maybe not, but it’s sure feeling that way.

The Orioles need to reverse their fortunes in a hurry, but you wonder how they can if faced with a potential loss as crushing as this.

The All-Star break is upon us. And, if the season ended today, the Orioles would be headed to the playoffs. Thursday’s disaster with the Angels notwithstanding, the Orioles have reached halftime without completely faceplanting as most of us expected they would. The bullpen has been the most pleasant surprise, with an ERA still close to the best in baseball. The offense (long balls in particular) has also been a big reason for the success, with Adam Jones on pace for 40 homeruns and several others flirting with 30.

However, just like last year, the most glaring weakness has been the defense. Unfortunately, the O’s also lead the league in errors, which has cost them at least three or four winnable games already this season. The other coin flip has been the starting pitching, which lately seems to always be either stellar or awful on any given night. Jason Hammel and Wei-Yin Chen are aces more often than not, but the other three rotation spots have been consistently shaky with occasional flashes of brilliance.

The Orioles have already made a splash in the trade market this year by acquiring DH Jim Thome from the struggling Phillies for a pair of minor leaguers. For awhile now, I’d been wondering if they were really serious about being buyers this year like Dan Duquette said, and if, to that end, they would be looking to pick up another legitimate starting pitcher. Today when I checked my fantasy team (the Mercersburg Rebels, currently in 1^st place), the news feed told me that the Orioles are trying to make a trade with the Brewers for RHP Zack Greinke. It also mentioned that the O’s have two highly-touted prospects in Dylan Bundy and Manny Machado that might be part of such a deal.

For the last few years, I’ve always made it a point to have Greinke on my fantasy team. He routinely goes deep into games, puts up lots of strikeouts, and has a very good ERA and WHIP. He won the 2009 AL Cy Young with the Royals, no easy feat when one considers that they’ve been about as bad as the Orioles over the last decade. This year, his record is 9-2, while his team is currently under .500 by five games.

So, all indications are that he would be an excellent pickup if the Orioles can pull this off. However, I would not part with Bundy or Machado to make it happen. Since Milwaukee lost Prince Fielder, they’re in need of a firstbaseman. Perhaps Mark Reynolds could be part of this trade? True, he’s not crushing the ball like he was last year, but Miller Park is definitely hitter-friendly. And now that the Orioles have Chris Davis, there isn’t a tremendous need for Reynolds here anymore. It would also make a big dent in that error rate.

Another thing to consider here is that the era of Brian Roberts is, regrettably, over. He’s given us some tremendous years, but unfortunately the Orioles simply cannot depend on him as an everyday player anymore. Therefore, letting go of Manny Machado would be unwise, because he will be coming of age right about the time when Roberts is officially finished. I don’t think I even need to elaborate on why trading Dylan Bundy would be a bad move, unless of course the Brewers are offering significantly more than just Greinke.

I have to admit, it’s a VERY nice thought that the Orioles’ rotation could eventually consist of Hammel, Chen, Greinke, Britton, and whoever gets their act together. That, coupled with Jones, Wieters, Davis, Markakis, Hardy, and our current bullpen would almost have to be a serious contender.

However, I must reiterate that even if this becomes reality, we are not yet free of Peter The Terrible, and I still remain unconvinced that the Orioles have truly turned the corner as long as he remains in the warehouse.

What do you think? Should the Orioles trade for Greinke? Is there someone else out there you’d like to see them pursue? Comments are always welcome.