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Kevin Millar homered twice, Juan Epstein pitched for the Rangers (he has a better poof 'do than his profile photo suggests), and the Orioles routed the Rangers, 9-1.

Poor Texas is sort of competing for the wild card right now, so these are games they really need. I mean, it'd take a minor miracle either way, but you aren't going to make miracles happen losing to the Orioles in August.

The two homers give Millar 18 for the season, his highest total since he hit 18 in 2004. He's unlikely to reach Amber's (and her scouts) projection of 25, but 18 is more than I expected, probably. Of course I also sort of hoped he wouldn't lose 30 points of OPS.

The Amber Numbers aren't as fuzzy as I thought they might wind up being in total, really. Maybe she's a genius. I KNOW she's a revolutionary.

Jeremy Guthrie went seven innings, giving up one run on five hits with four strikeouts and a walk, and he's now 9-8. Of course, he deserves to have about 15 wins right now, but that's life. I'm glad he's over .500. He deserves better than old fogies saying he doesn't know how to win. Dude's an ace. His season ERA is down to 3.26.

Guts is now at 163 innings on the season. Last year, Erik Bedard had a 3.16/1.09 line with a ton of strikeouts in 182 innings. If Guthrie doesn't get hurt, there's a chance his 2008 is better than Bedard's 2007. Not in a black-and-white way, but because he simply threw more innings and performed at a similar level.

Also, can we say it? Bedard's 2007 looks like a big, big fluke.

Before this post closes, I wanted to call attention to a charity cause in Florida, the Ultimate Weekend For Ryleigh. Two-year old Ryleigh Russo is battling leukemia, and to help raise money, the family and others are offering a pretty awesome sports weekend in late August down in St. Pete. A five dollar donation gets you one entry into the drawing.

I'm not trying to solicit money from you guys, but it's worth a look. One portion of the package is a trip to the O's-Rays game on August 30. Plus, there's a round of golf at the St. Petersburg Country Club the same day, and on August 31, two tickets to the USF-Kansas football game, which features a couple of really good teams. The Rays are one of the sponsors of the package, along with several others.

It's a great trip for a great cause. Check it out.

It's been a while. Where should we begin? Feels like forever.

Yeah that's some Creed, wanna fighdabouddit?

The 2008 rivalry between the Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles really started on February 8, 2008.

That was the day we traded Erik Bedard to the hopeful Mariners, who thought their 88-74 season in '07 was no fluke (it was), and that Bedard probably pushed them into serious contention (he didn't).

Let's compare the results of this trade. Bedard has gone 4-4 with a 4.26 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 61 1/3 innings for the Mariners. He currently sits on the DL with "left shoulder stiffness." He is VORPin' a cool 11.0 this year.

And then there's Adam Jones. Happy 23rd birthday, big guy! Jones is hitting .274/.317/.403 -- not a world-beater yet, but he can clearly play. He's also a funny dude and is destined to be a long-time fan favorite. AdRock's VORP is 9.3.

George Sherrill is overrated as all hell by his 30 saves (4.23/1.46), but he had a great performance as the O's lone All-Star and has done a nice gap-filling job as the closer, a role for which he's just not particularly suited. That's not his fault; he's best maximized as a LOOGy who can not totally die against right-handed hitting, but he's done his job.

We won't even count the prospects we got back.

The Mariners came to town on April 4 for a four-game set. We swept them right the hell out of town, a series that included the amazing Luis Hernandez as Hero moment, his game-winning single that propelled the O's to a 3-2 win and popularized the phrase "This is Birdland." It was Luis Hernandez and that win that made "Birdland" go from laughable marketing gimmick to something bigger that we now love.

Later in the month, we went out to Seattle, lost the first game, and then won the next two, including a big comeback in game three sparked by a Jay Payton home run and -- if I may be so bold -- my own personal, undying optimism (which has since died).

But baseball moves fast. Luis Hernandez isn't with us anymore, nor is the outstanding honorary Oriole in the Mariners bullpen, Eric O'Flaherty.

But all great rivalries must begin anew, really, year-by-year. Players come and go -- it's the passion and joy that makes fierce competitions like Orioles-Mariners what they are.

The last time we saw Seattle, Lookout Landing user 'Happybelly' remarked, "Get the Orioles the f--k out of here."

Look out -- here we come again!

I thought it'd be peachy keen and a whole lot of good ol' fashioned fun to look back on the first two weeks of the 2008 season, so let's do it!

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The biggest surprise of the young season isn't the 8-6 Orioles, 8-6 Royals, or 10-4 Cardinals. No, those things happen. Poor teams, or at least teams that aren't expected by many to contend, get off to good starts for one reason or another all the time. Sometimes, they sustain it. Most times, they do not.

The biggest surprise is the 4-10 Detroit Tigers. I'll admit it -- I bought into the hype. While I wasn't overly impressed with their pitching (in particular the awful Dontrelle Willis), that lineup looked scary. I was talking with a friend during their Opening Day game, a loss to the Royals, and we were going on and on about how deadly that lineup really was. They were dangerous 1-through-9, even without Curtis Granderson. Brandon Inge is not a special hitter by any means, but that guy hit 27 homers a couple years ago. And he was hitting ninth that day.

Edgar Renteria went 1-for-5, Placido Polanco went 0-for-6, Miguel Cabrera was 1-for-5...and they lost. And then they kept losing. Only a couple of consecutive wins over the Twins (11-9 and 6-5) have them at 4-10.

All those 1,000 run season predictions are looking awful. And kind of foolish, the more you think about it. Gary Sheffield is 39 years old. 34-year old Magglio Ordonez is coming off of a total career season, and the same probably goes for the 32-year old Placido Polanco. 36-year old Pudge Rodriguez is an offensive zero at this point; not that Jim Leyland has noticed. And Edgar Renteria's only other year in the American League was a flop.

And that pitching staff? Goodness gracious, great balls of fire. Look at the ERA/WHIPs on their starters: Bonderman 4.58/1.64, Verlander 6.52/1.19, Rogers 6.75/1.91, Willis 7.20/2.00, Robertson 7.84/1.84.

They are sporting a 5.95 team ERA right now. Nobody can overcome that, I don't care if they DO score a thousand runs.

I've watched them play plenty. They look awful. They have been outscored 87 to 46. I don't think they can make the playoffs as they're currently built. This is a Titanic team.

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The Chicago White Sox would scare the hell out of me if I were any of the AL big dogs.

Sure, Jim Thome looks like toast so far (.156/.240/.333 in 45 ABs). But a lot of these guys are killing the ball, and as bad as Jose Contreras is (6.17/1.97), they have a pitching staff that could cause trouble. Buehrle, Floyd and Vazquez are a fine front three, especially for a team that could hit like this one just might.

Nick Swisher was Kenny Williams' best move ever, probably. He's absolutely perfect for the Ozzie Guillen White Sox. Not only is he loud, noticeable, energetic and a real go-getter in every facet of the game, but he's also good. He is fast becoming the face of the White Sox. This was a guy that was born to be loved by modern day White Sox fans.

As for Joe Crede, just when you think he's out, he pulls you back in.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks are good. While they made the playoffs in 2007 with a lot of young dudes and a whole truck load of luck, they made the very smart decision to not rest on their laurels. Sure, that team was bound to probably get a little bit legitimately better anyway, but they went out and got Dan Haren (2-0, 2.50/1.00) to add to Brandon Webb (3-0, 2.14/0.86), and now they have Randy Johnson back in the fold. Johnson is older than dirt and still uglier than boiled sin, but what if you get five-to-six innings a night out of him and then save him for the postseason? That could be a deadly front three.

What's more than that, they've got some hitters. Justin Upton is swinging at a .388/.429/.712 clip so far, and Mark Reynolds is crushing the ball (.612 SLG, 5 HR). When you add in Eric Byrnes, Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew and Orlando Hudson, you could be looking at a pretty damn good lineup.

If you ask me, right now, at this moment, they are the best team in baseball.

 

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Quick Thoughts!

• The Chicago Cubs are not going to be a lot better than they were last year. Call it a hunch. Their rotation puts me off. I'd be way behind the Milwaukee Brewers to take that division in a surprising cakewalk, but I still recall the Brewers and Cubs locked in that deathmatch last summer to see who would decide to lose the division first. Kerry Wood -- oh, man. What you could have been.
• The Mariners are not contending for anything. Maybe it's because I watched us -- the ORIOLES, for God's sake -- sweep a four-game series against them, or maybe it's because I know Erik Bedard, and him being on the 15-day DL not only doesn't surprise me, but I have the sneaking suspicion it'll last a lot longer than 15 days. Maybe it's because their lineup lacks plenty. Maybe it's because I read Lookout Landing and those guys seem to have realistic expectations.
• If I were the rest of the AL Central, I reckon I'd keep my eye on the Kansas City Royals. Of the two legitimately midwest teams, they're the surprising above .500 club that I think has the much better shot at staying in that vicinity. Meche and Bannister are bona fide.
• The really notable thing about David Ortiz starting the season on a horrific schneid (.104/.246/.167) is that it makes Manny Ramirez worse, too. With Ortiz struggling so mightily, Ramirez has a 17-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which is way out of wack for him. He's crushing the ball, to be sure, and JD Drew is helping to pick up the slack, but the Red Sox are no unstoppable force right now.
• On the topic of last year's World Series participants, I hate to say it, but Rockies fans might want to get used to what they're seeing. That team was a miracle.
• The Yankees are run by a loud-mouth moron who recalls the golden age of "Mr." Steinbrenner himself. How long before this jackass gets himself fined or suspended by Major League Baseball? If you were ever thinking that the Red Sox had overtaken the Yankees as baseball's most hateable team, Hank Steinbrenner has come to ensure that no one ever tops the Bronx Bombs.
• Miguel Tejada went from one crappy orange team to another. Hope he's having a blast. Wait until mid-June, when he starts complaining.
• The Pirates are at .500. Thought I'd make note of that now. They're trying to tie a record for consecutive ineptness, going for their 16th straight losing campaign. The record is held by the 1933-48 Philadelphia Phillies. Part of me identifies with modern day Pittsburgh baseball fans, but the majority of me wants to see them tie that record. Go, Pirates, go!
• One thing I have learned about the Oakland Athletics, despite every TV commentator in the land and their smug sense of superiority over the fact that they never won the World Series and appear unlikely to do it any time soon: Never count a Billy Beane team out. Never.
• Cristian Guzman leads the poor Washington Expos in almost everything. Welcome to the new park. Same crummy team.

 

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In a rather unsurprising turn of events, Erik Bedard will not be making his scheduled return to Baltimore start tomorrow, sitting out with what is being called "something wrong with his hip, the baby."

If you ask this journalist, it sounds like nothing more than Bedard, the ex-Orioles ace, being terrified to face his former teammates, who are currently riding a three-game winning streak and have embarrassed his new team on consecutive days, scoring demoralizing victories in front of sellout crowds at Camden Yards.

Such cowardice on display from what was once a respected man about town! Such lack of intestinal fortitude that it begs one to ask, "Is this the guy we traded? Why were we ever reluctant to do so?"

March on, Adam Jones. March on, Shutdown Sherrill. Play with your heads high, for you are winners. This "Buh-dard" that was once so highly regarded among Orioles fans is showing his true colors: Yellow, all over.

Only counting those that were "contributors" to last year's team.

2007 O's that didn't land anywhere this spring: Adam Stern, Todd Williams, Paul Shuey

Corey Patterson did, but there's not yet a Reds roster photo of that guy, so he doesn't get to be included in this magnificent feature article.

Miguel Tejada, Houston Astros

Miggi has been scorching it this spring: .353/.411/.627 in 18 games with two homers and eight RBI. Only Hunter Pence and Jose Cruz are out-hitting our former shortstop for the 'Stros.

I really wish Tejada nothing but the best, considering his baseball exploits might get worse before they completely calm down. Plus, his lack of hustle never really bothered me. The public whining did on occasion, but I've said this a trillion times. He signed here with the idea that he was THE centerpiece of a big-time attempt to get back into contention. They surrounded him with crap.

Erik Bedard, Seattle Mariners

We've heard about how badly E.B. has struggled this spring, but check the numbers. 18 IP, 9.50 ERA, 30 hits allowed, eight strikeouts, five walks, and seven bombs given up.

So what's Mr. Bay-dar hiding? Is he hurt? Is he just not the same guy? Is he a fluke? A flash in the pan? Does he suck? Did we trade him just in time? Will the Mariners have their own Glenn Davis? Will the Mariners and their fans be beating their heads against the wall for the next two decades thanks to Erik Bedard?

Yeah, probably not. It's spring training. He's not used to pitching in Arizona. Maybe he's had real bad gas all month. Maybe he's constipated. He'll be fine. Though I don't care if he's not. I liked Bedard, but screw 'im, he's with them now.

Jaret Wright, Pittsburgh Pirates

He's pitched in eight games this spring. For eight innings. So he doesn't look like he'll be factoring into the rotation any time soon. Actually, trying to use him in a relief role, where he could dial it up every few days instead of trying to go five or six innings with his bad stuff and worse arm, isn't at all a bad idea.

Well, it's a bad idea because signing Jaret Wright is never really a good one, but if you're going to (and it is the Pirates, our NL counterpart), at least...no, he sucks. He sucked when we sent Britton away for him, he sucked in his handful of appearances last year, and he sucks now.

But I do like that murderous glare he's got going.

Chris Gomez, Pittsburgh Pirates

Sub at short
Sub at third
Need Chris Gomez? Just say the word!
Sub at second
Sub at first
Chris Gomez! It could be worse

From the O's to the ALCS-bound Indians and now to the Pirates. Good grief, some men love baseball. He's slapping the ball around at a .324/.390/.405 clip this spring. He's aging remarkably well for a utility infielder.

John Parrish, Toronto Blue Jays

Proof positive of the face upgrade that can come with just that little bit of facial hair that the Orioles think is so awful. Parrish now looks positively like a regular guy, instead of a porn star in 1983 that hasn't gotten over 1978.

Unfortunately for him, he still can't pitch, with a 7.36 ERA this spring. Parrish is one of the most frustrating SOBs I've ever seen, because he has the stuff to do some business out there as a reliever. But he's always picking at corners he can't hit, trying to be Tom Glavine.

J.R. House, Houston Astros

Dr. House has only gotten to the plate 17 times this spring, hitting .176 with a homer. He's not a major league player. He can't field his position, and his growth as a hitter was irrevocably stunted when he kept getting hurt and then tried to play major college football as a quarterback, like those schools don't recruit quarterbacks. There aren't many Chris Weinkes, but I suppose J.R. has time to try again if he wants to, since Weinke was close to AARP membership when he won the Heisman.

Everyone still in love with the idea of House has to give up the ghost pretty soon. He may have been a good prospect at one point, but that was almost a decade and way too many twists and turns ago. Forget it.

Victor Zambrano, Colorado Rockies

From the makers of Donald Trump for President and New Coke comes Victor Zambrano: Colorado Rockie!

I thought maybe Zambrano was the worst ex-Oriole still pitching in anything resembling the major leagues, but then I found out Jim Brower is at Reds camp with Patterson and Hairston, so it became a real race.

Zambrano has a 9.00 ERA and a 1-to-4 BB-to-K ratio in his five innings for the defending NL champs. He's about as likely to make the team as I am.

Paul Bako, Cincinnati Reds and Alberto Castillo, Houston Astros

If you have a buddy or relative or wife or husband or whatever that is a fan of another team, and they ever have a 1-2 catching punch so bad it makes them complain out loud in front of God and everybody, remind them of the time in 2007 when your team was starting Paul Bako and subbing in Alberto Castillo when Base Knock needed a day off.

Bako spurned the Pirates for the Reds, not that he had any real shot of making either team. This after he put up a season no different than any of his others, which followed a season in Kansas City that was just as terrible. And the Orioles gave this guy a guaranteed $900,000 contract last year, his highest salary -- by far -- ever. So here's another thing to remember: Never curse Andy MacPhail. When he went searching for your run-of-the-mill backup squatter, he came up with Guillermo Quiroz out of the super bargain bin and not a proven bum and former Maddux caddy.

Jon Knott, Minnesota Twins

Knott's in Twins camp with another eternal minor leaguer on the very fringe of a big league bench spot, the one and only Howie Clark. Two guys that I really root for to have a Tike Redman 2007 sort of season at some point.

Knott is slugging over .500 for Minnesota this spring, but that's also all he's doing. At 29, Jon is well used to awesome springs in the sun and then that inevitable call to the skipper's office to explain the red tag. Don't cry for the big guy. It's Knott over yet.

...

Gustavo Molina, New York Mets

He was barely an Oriole, and he's barely a Met.

He's got his uses as a backup catcher that can hit lefties a little bit, plus he has that last name which all but guarantees you years of service in the fool's gear in and around Major League Baseball, but anyone that caught for the O's in '07 was no damn good, so that means Molina is destined to stink forever.

There have been a lot of guys who have made very lengthy backup catching careers out of odd talents, like being good conversationalists in the dugout, dynamite pinochle players, or just all-around nice dudes, so I hope for Gus' sake he's got some of that extracurricular stuff down.

Rob Bell, Washington Expos

Everyone that yammered about wanting to see what Rob Bell could do got the answer that anyone would who'd seen what Rob Bell could do in previous major league stints knew would come. Rob Bell can't do nothin'.

He's pitched 6 2/3 innings for the Expos this spring, with an ERA juuust over eight. Same old story, same old song and dance. He's 31 years old. Game over, man.

In short, there are a billion and a half guys just as useful as Rob Bell to have around that aren't as old or as proven as him. It's possible to be proven in a bad way, too. And Rob Bell has done it.

Kurt Birkins, Tampa Bay Devil Rays

If they didn't want their team nickname to offend those that have just utter contempt for the dark lord, or whatever their stupid reason was to take "Devil" out of the name, then that's great. But signing Kurt Birkins is an affront to all mankind, isn't it?

Like all other ex-O's hurlers, he's stunk this spring. You could say he's made fans hurl. Birkins is assumedly hired to get lefties out, which has proven to be somewhat tough for him to do, but at least he's not going to be brought into pivotal ponts of games to face righties in Tampa Bay. Or is he? Can someone Sam Perlozzo their bullpen if they aren't indeed Sam Perlozzo? 

Victor Santos and Scott Williamson, San Francisco Giants

The other of the two late-season Victors that were pound-for-pound crappier than the two Jays, Santos has landed on his feet in the city by the bay, home of the roided up homer king and the Real World season that featured real world douchebag "Puck"! Not to mention the cartoonist that brought hate crimes into the world of the Green Lantern!

And he has an ERA over eight this spring, too.

Since the Giants are going to be as awful as anyone this year and have a team with a few good-looking young players and a bunch of retreads and chumps, they have one of those terribly transparent, pandering and pathetic slogans for the 2008 season. Theirs is, "All out, all season!" Williamson can't even go all out for four pitches, so I don't think he'll fit in. Or, unfortunately, he might.

The only thing I'm terribly interested in regarding the Giants this year is how long the rotting corpses of Ray Durham and Omar Vizquel can man the middle infield.

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