On 11 March 2005, Camden Chat was born. SC poured his heart and genius into this blog, building a corner of the internet where Orioles fans could take refuge. Camden Chat celebrated its 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th birthdays with SC at the helm, and with his nurturing CC went from being the best blog that no one knew about to the premiere destination for intelligent Orioles discussion. In a time when it's been tough to be an Orioles fan, SC facilitated the growth of a community that cares about the Orioles and each other.

Camden Chat has been experienced a lot in its life, much of which is chronicled excellently in the links above. Below are just a few of many awesome and/or horrible moments experienced in the past year:

• The major league debuts of Bradley "3E1N" Bergesen, Jason Berken, David Hernandez, Nolan Reimold (you can't stop him, you can only store him in a cool, dry place), Brian Matusz and his BFF Chris Tillman, KOJI!, Justin Turner, and of course the Switch Hitting Jesus.
• The rise and fall of the "Hire John Gibbons" movement.
• The two most ridiculous game threads in CC history: Memlomania and Rhymeapalooza.
• A 13 game losing streak.
• The first annual CC Night at the Yard. 

Ah, memories. I'm sure we have even greater things in store for the upcoming year. Happy Birthday, Camden Chat! If you're interested in buying a present, CC's wish list includes: a winning season, a top tier first baseman, and a pony. 

In my other FanFest post I left out the part about the Blogging the Birds forum featuring in addition to me, writers from Oriole Post, The Loss Column, Baltimore Sports and Life, and MASN Sports. It was the last forum of the day and we were joking before it started that there might be a dozen people interested in sticking around to listen to a bunch of nobodies give their opinion on the Orioles. It ended up being more than that, perhaps even twice that many! 

MASN's Steve Melewski was the host of the forum and had us each give a little rundown of our blog. When it stood up, what we're all about, etc. He then asked us why we got into writing. A pretty hard to answer question really, at least with any uniqueness. It seems safe to say that most people who write a blog focusing on a sports team 1) love the team, and 2) love to write. For me at least, those are the reasons. That and I love and am really proud of this community and want to do all that I can to to keep it going strong. 

Once the other bloggers started answering, though, I was kind of surprised by the answers. They said things like they wanted a place that was quiet and away from the yelling of sports radio (I certainly agree with that aspect, sports radio is ridiculous) and suddenly the guys were saying things about taking out emotion and having a place to get away from reactions and focus on analysis. I'd already given my short answer (I love to write and love baseball, duh) but I had to offer up my own opinion because my love for writing doesn't jive with the cold, analytical approach being preached by the other bloggers. 

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Little O's fans.

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Yesterday's FanFest was the first that I'd attended since January 2001 where I saw the likes of Brook Fordyce and Greg Myers. That was my senior year of college and I guess as I got busy with being an adult while the Orioles got busy sucking, FanFest dropped down on my priority list. But yesterday's event was worth more than the price of admission and the time commitment required. 

I arrived at the Convention Center as the doors opened at 10 a.m. and was pleasantly surprised to see a line snaked around the outside wall of the building. Because I was participating in a forum that day I'd been given permission to use the press/volunteer entrance so I was able to bypass the line (score!). 

By the time I made my way downstairs to the main stage Dave Trembley and Andy MacPhail were on the stage giving the State of the O's address. They addressed a lot of things, nothing earth shattering, and took questions from the audience. One question was from our very own BaltimoreSportsFan about the base running mistakes of 2009. MacPhail and Trembley both loved the question and Andy told BSF, "When you get a little older, come see me about an internship." Then Dave gave the stock answer about not making mental mistakes. He also said that one backfield at Spring Training will be dedicated to base running drills, so we'll see. 

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Garrett wonders why he's allowed on the stage with these three, Brian looks casual yet stylish, Adam is wearing an awesome suit, and Nick just climbed down from the tree stand.

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Hi all. FanFest was so much fun today. I was there from 10-6 so I'm pretty beat. I'll write up a full post on all of the FanFesty goodness tomorrow, but in the meantime check out the photos I took, posted on Camden Chat's Facebook page. 

It was great seeing Brotz13 again as well as Daniel from Camden Crazies, Anthony and James from Oriole Post, Chris from Baltimore Sports and Life, and Neal from The Loss Column. I also met for the first time daveh873, his lovely girlfriend Jen, jobe, BaltimoreSportsFan (and his dad), and Jeremy (who's user name I didn't get). Sorry to miss the rest of you who were there! 

Part 2 of the AL East Roundtable focuses on the 2nd half of the season. I expect I might take some heat on my opinion of the outfield defense, but I will say that recently I feel that Adam Jones has picked up his defense and I wish I'd mentioned that in the discussion. See the entire thing below the jump.

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I recently had the pleasure of participating in a discussion of the AL East with bloggers from Bluebird Banter, DRaysBay, Over The Monster, and Pinstripe Alley. Below is part 1 of that discussion, focusing on the trade deadline. You probably won't learn anything new from what I had to say, but there is a lot of good stuff from the other guys. Special thanks to Sky Kalkman of Beyond The Boxscore for moderating.

Sky Kalkman (Moderator): Which teams, under which circumstances, will be buyers over the next three weeks? How about sellers? If there are any undecideds, what will be the tipping point?

R.J. Anderson (DRaysBay): I think the Rays could buy and sell. If someone comes along with an enticing offer for Carl Crawford or Scott Kazmir, I fully expect the Rays to listen. At the same time, seeing them acquire a cheap catcher wouldn't shock me either.

Daniel Hugo (Bluebird Banter): Historically, the Jays have been quiet in July in terms of deals - not buying or selling. This season could be somewhat different. Of course everyone has heard the Roy Halladay trade rumours but I have to say, I don't think it's particularly likely he gets dealt before next year's trade deadline, though you never know. Scott Rolen could be interesting to some teams, but the Jays would likely need to get back someone who could play third base next season. Lyle Overbay has slumped lately but he is still having a solid season and could be a useful piece. And if anyone needs a shortstop short-term, Marco Scutaro will be a free agent after this season and is having a very fine season on both sides of the ball. The Jays would be looking to get young position players back, particularly in the infield, as only Aaron Hill is signed after the 2010 season. They could also be looking for a young power hitter. The Jays would love to trade Vernon Wells, of course, but his deal makes that very difficult, even without the no-trade clause.

Stacey Long (Camden Chat): There is no question that the Orioles should be sellers this year. They aren't going anywhere in the standings and they have a number of free agents to-be who could provide value to contending teams. Danys Baez has seen a career revival this year after missing all of last season. He's a FA next year and I can't imagine the O's bringing him back unless he takes a considerable pay cut. Aubrey Huff, also an upcoming FA, has dropped off after a great 2008 but still provides left handed power and has proven himself much more adequate at 1B than could have been imagined. Some O's fans want Aubrey to be re-signed (or at least offered arbitration after the year) because the Orioles don't have an immediate solution to replace him in 2010. Plus Huff has really endeared himself to fans and has publicly stated that he wants to remain an Oriole. He has regrets about leaving the Devil Rays just before they crossed the line into contending, and he's scared to miss that boat with the O's as well. Other possible trade pieces for the Orioles include George Sherrill, Jim Johnson, and Luke Scott. I think the O's may make a few trades, but Andy MacPhail is nothing if not methodical. He won't trade just because it seems like he should and he won't give away anything if he doesn't get substantial value in return. It seems that he prefers to operate in the winter when there is more flexibility, and he's very, very deliberate. But his patience did bring us Luke Scott, Matt Albers, Troy Patton, Adam Jones, Chris Tillman, George Sherrill, and more, so for now I'll defer to his wisdom.

Randy Booth (Over The Monster): The Red Sox will be "buyers," if you even want to call them that. They're certainly not sellers as the team with the best team in the American League. Even though the Red Sox have been inconsistent, they may not necessarily need to trade for anything. They have a few guys like Jed Lowrie coming off the disabled list that will instantly shore up some holes (of course, that's if he stays healthy). So for another year under Theo Epstein, the Sox might not make a huge splash -- unlike last year, when that guy named Manny, I think, was traded.

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As has been discussed several times in the past days, I was in Boston this weekend to take in a game at Fenway Park vs. the Kansas City Royals. In the past, when I've been to baseball games that don't feature the Orioles, I generally root for the home team to win. But I just couldn't do it. I couldn't root for the Red Sox. Having been to Kansas City last summer and in possession of a KC Royals t-shirt, I decided that I'd play the part of traveling Royals fan for the day. Two of my other friends also donned the royal blue and so it was that three "Royals fans", one Red Sox fan, and fellow Camden Chatter 2632 (dressed in neutral colors) took a trip together to Fenway. 

Should you ever decide to pose as a Royals fan in Boston, there are two things you need to know:

1. Red Sox fans are SUPER friendly to Royals fans. Friendly to the point that it made me feel a little bad about being a giant liar.
   
2. It's a lot tougher pretending to be a Royals fan when the Royals are the away team than it is in Kansas City. It's especially difficult when you run into people who are actually from Kansas City. 

We didn't start out with the intent to be liars. We really didn't. But once people started engaging us in conversation it seemed like it'd be really douchey to say, "Actually I'm an Orioles fan and these two are Yankees fans so we're cheering for the Royals."  Mostly we received well wishes from Red Sox fans who wanted us to enjoy our time in Boston and give us props for sticking with the Royals through the tough times. The first actual lie came when an older man asked us, "Is your dad a Royals fan?" After a moment of hesitation my friend responded, "He is!" which allowed the man to speculate that our father had told us tales of George Brett and that it was those stories that gave us the wherewithal to maintain our Royals passion over these tough years. We also heard a story from one woman about how her friend is from Kansas City and they go to games when she visits KC and isn't it a lovely stadium? We were asked a lot of times if we were visiting just to see the Royals. Technically we were even though I think the Red Sox fans were most impressed at the idea of us coming all the way from Missouri.

Then we encountered a Royals fan. A 20-something fellow in a KC hat spotted us as he walked past our seats. Looking thrilled, he high fived us and then said, "Do you live around here now or are you visiting?" We answered that we were visiting and he followed up with, "Where do you live?" Instead of just saying, "New Jersey," my friend Katie pipes up, "Lee's Summit!" The guy thought that was great, shared his hometown, and moved on. We looked at Katie like, "Lee's Summit? WTF?" She said, "I have a friend who lives in that town!"  So at that point we were pretty much full fledged liars. Our lying became a bit tricky when, after the game, some guys in Royals gear stopped us and, like the guy before them, asked where we were from. Confident from actually knowing the name of a town in Missouri, Julia says, "I'm from Lee's Summit!" And then you won't believe what happened. This kid says, "Really? What year did you graduate from high school? I went to Lee's Summit High School! Class of 2000!" SERIOUSLY! What are the odds? Of all the towns, THIS kid went to high school in the town from which we pretended to hail? Now trapped, Julia says, "Class of 98" and the kid starts asking her if she knows this person and that person. She managed to wriggle out of the conversation and escape, and from then on we made sure we didn't get close enough to any Royals fans to engage in conversation. It was hilarious and ridiculous. We clearly didn't think our plan through. We just didn't expect it. Even at the rest stop on our way home we got some folks telling us to, "Stay strong, Royals fans!"

Anyway, Fenway Park. I know a lot of you describe the place as a dump and have no desire to go there (ever again or for the first time), but I was excited to visit. I love other ballparks, especially those that have history and character. Fenway Park has both. Yeah, it's old and therefore kinda dirty, but I didn't find it bothersome. I actually thought it was pretty cool to see the field, the Green Monster, all the things I've seen on TV when the Orioles are getting soundly beaten over and over. The atmosphere was as I expected, although a bit laid back given the opponent and the score of the game. It was really just a great place to see a game, I thought, and the weather was perfect as well. A good day at the park.

As for the actual game, well, it's fair to say that the Kansas City Royals are not good at baseball. I don't know who made me sadder, Bruce Chen or Tony Pena, Jr. Josh Beckett pitched a complete game shutout on just 94 pitches. After 6 innings he had only 60 pitches. The Royals managed to get a few runners in scoring position but could never get the hit they needed. The Royals pitchers appeared to be terrified of Jason Bay given that his final line was 3 BB and 2 HBP. Our good friend Bruce Chen lasted three innings plus two batters. He only gave up three runs but it was actually a miracle it was that few. The game could have easily been 10-0. Oh well, us Royals fans are used to the let downs.

Tonight was MASN Orioles Blogger Night at Camden Yards and I was joined by Duck and Jonny Pops in representing Camden Chat at the event. Other Camden Chatters in attendance were Brotz13 (Orioles Card "O" the Day, NumerOlogy), thewaywardO (The Wayward Oriole), and RoarFrom34Blog (Roar From 34). Also present were representatives from The Loss Column, Oriole Magic, Dempsey's Army, Baltimore Sports and Life, and Baltimore Sports Report. The whole group was treated to a lovely evening courtesy of MASN, especially Todd Webster and Kristen Hudak. So if you guys are checking in on us, thanks again!

The evening began when Duck and I met at Pickles for a pre-game beer before heading over to the home plate gate where we met Jonny Pops, Brotz13, and a number of other bloggers. Once inside the doors we were all issued press passes (see me showing mine off in the pic). I found the entire thing to be terribly exciting. We whooshed up the elevators to the press level where we briefly got to meet Amber Theoharris. She was on her way down to the field so couldn't talk for long. Jonny Pops suggested she stop by later and do a story on us, but she politely declined (hee).

Gary Thorne and Buck Martinez spent a few minutes detailing their day and how they prepare for the game, including talking to players on the field, going over the game notes, the usual. Gary also joked that when there's a good hockey game on they always keep it on during the game. As you all know, Gary has that great voice, and it was even more booming in person. Those of you who pay attention to Buck when he's on camera know that he's always giving that twinkly winky eye to the camera, and as I was in his line of vision I felt like he was giving it directly to me the entire time. The question was asked if Buck and Gary read any sports blogs, and they said that they didn't, since between all of their various jobs they just don't have the time. So feel free to continue saying whatever you like about Buck and Gary here, they won't ever know :-)

After our meet and greet with Buck and Gary we were led down to the bullpen area where we watched a bit of Orioles Xtra with Jim Hunter and Rick Dempsey, then we went to the MASN Suites where we'd watch what turned out to be a fine Orioles game.

I'd never been in a suite at Camden Yards before and I felt especially fancy. There was plenty of good food, a refrigerator stocked with beer, soda, and water, AND celebrity visitors! Gregg Zaun had his entourage there, and Rick Dempsey spent a good deal of the game in the suite with us. Duck was especially geeked to get his picture taken with the Demper. Jim Hunter also stopped by for a bit and Al Bumbry was hanging around as well. The entire thing was just so...cool. Perhaps the greatest celebrity run in was when Roch Kubatko stopped in and Duck introduced himself as being from Camden Chat. I'll let Duck tell the story as I wasn't there when it happened, but the bottom line is Roch wasn't amused about the time that a story was written about Roch challenging a Camden Chatter to fisticuffs. Sadly I did not even see Roch as I was outside cheering on the O's.

We also got to visit the MASN HD truck where a hundred monitors and like twenty people were working super hard recording the game, deciding what gets shown, putting together highlight packages, and tracking pitches. Honestly I didn't understand half of what was going on in there but it looked very important.

Perhaps the finest part of my evening was just getting to sit around and shoot the breeze with my fellow Camden Chatters. We all interact on this blog on a regular basis, but meeting in person really gives you a chance to get to know the people behind the screen names. It was a real treat to meet the guys.

Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't get MASN the proper credit on this evening. We've had many discussions here about the changing face of media, how the internet changes things, and how blogs often aren't taken as seriously as they should be. By reaching out to the Orioles online community, MASN is proving that they do get it.  They showed great respect for us and our work, and for that I'm very thankful.

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