With postseason baseball still going on, there isn't much to talk about Orioles-wise beyond the minor moves that have been made in the past few days. I figure with 1 to 2 days of the baseball season remaining, it might be fun to take a look at the events of the 2009 Orioles seasons. Not a recap or analysis, really, as a ton of sites have already done that, but a look back at some memorable events and how they were perceived by our community. I had fun looking this stuff up and I hope you'll enjoy the walk down memory lane, although it may take you a few days.

Continue reading this post »

Photo via boston.com

View full size photo »

I'm home sick from work today. Good story? So you get bonus coverage on Camden Chat today.

It was on October 21st, 2007 that Kevin Millar rallied the Boston Red Sox with a commercial on FOX before the game and, more offensively to most Orioles fans, threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park while joking around and embracing members of the Red Sox team.  Outrage filled much of Birdland at the disgustingness of it all. Here is SC's take, written the night it happened, and then later stories on the same topic:

Memo from me to Kevbo: GET OFF MY PLANE

Kevbo: "Ain't no thang, y'all, dang."

Kevgate: Reactions to the (now definitely overblown) Millar Saga.

You'll see from the comments that most of us on Camden Chat at the time were not amused, although I think in the heat of the moment many people might have been a bit more bitter than warranted. I didn't comment in any of them, mostly because I remember being conflicted about it. When it comes to the Yankees and Red Sox I try to never be the person who comes off as whiny or jealous of those teams, and sometimes it's hard not to sound that way even if it's justified. Plus in the case of this event, I really, really liked Kevin Millar.

Two years later, though, I think it stinks. Not in an irrational, knee jerk way that many expressed when it happened, but in an objective way. It was never a secret to Orioles fans that Kevin Millar, while happy enough to be an Oriole, always wanted to be a Red Sox. And frankly, if we looked at it objectively, who could blame him? But it doesn't excuse palling around with them and rooting them on while a member of a division rival.

Right now, going into the 2010 season, I have expectations for the Orioles. I expect them to get better, I expect them to put a better product on the field each year and ultimately I expect them to compete. It was hard to have any expectations of the 2007 Baltimore Orioles. I mean, look at the roster.  At that point in time the most we could ask for was to not be embarrassed, and that's just what happened. It was one more thing on top of Dice-K t-shirts being sold in Camden Yards gift shops and the like.

At any rate, it was a long time ago, so I doubt any of us have an emotional reaction to it now. Ultimately this event, like fretting over a sweep at the end of the season coasting the team a draft spot, is something winning teams don't have to worry about. And hey, maybe when the Orioles are in the postseason next year, Kevbo will come back to throw out the first pitch :)

I was thinking today about how tonight Erik Bedard will finally be facing his old teammates after the O's missed him due to injury twice last season. But as soon as I thought about it, I realized that most of this team never played with Bedard. A quick comparison of the 2007 roster to the 2009 rosters shows that the only current Orioles to play with Bedard in 2007 are Brian Roberts, Melvin Mora, Nick Markakis, Aubrey Huff, Jeremy Guthrie, Jamie Walker, and Danys Baez. Since Bedard left over 70% of the Orioles roster has turned over. It's possible that after this year only Roberts, Markakis, and Guthrie will remain. This isn't news to anyone who follows the Orioles, of course, but still, that's a lot of dudes to get rid of.

If you get a chance, check out the 2007 roster; it'll turn your stomach it's so bad. I can't even believe I watched those guys. I made up a 25 man roster from 2007 based on the players who spent the most time with the team that year so that I could see where they are now.

In the Majors

Ramon Hernandez - He's the starting catcher for the Cincinatti Reds and appears to be doing ok. His hitting is pretty much in line with his last few years, but his defensive numbers look good. He's caught 37% of base stealers (10 out of 27) and hasn't allowed a passed ball. I haven't actually seen him play, but the guys at the Red Reporter don't seem to have anything bad to say about him. In a poll on May 29th, he was voted best off season acquisition by a landslide.

Kevin Millar - Kevin loves the AL East and is on the bench for the Blue Jays. He's gotten into 28 games and is holding his own as a backup with an OPS+ of 96. I hope he's happy in Toronto because he's one of my favorite dudes ever.

Miguel Tejada - Miggi is off to a great 2009 with the Houston Astros. In 50 games he has hit 5 HR and 20 2B and is OPS'ing .908. He seems due to a drop off soon, however, since his batting average is .353 and his OBP is only .380. Once his batting average drops to its normal .285-.300 range he'll look more like his career average, maybe less since he's getting so old.

Erik Bedard - After an injury plagued 2008 season, Erik is living up to his potential this year. In 54.1 innings he has 54 Ks and his K/BB is back near his 2007 level at 3.60. His ERA is just 2.48, but he's been a bit plagued by the home run. The Orioles will have their hands full with him tonight.

Still Playing Somewhere

Corey Patterson - AAA Syracuse (WSN). Corey has an embarrassing .299 OBP in AAA. I hope he invested well.

Paul Bako - In AA Reading (PHI) since 5/29.

Jay Gibbons - After getting released by the Marlins in Spring Training, he signed with the Newark Bears on May 11th. In 27 games he has 3 home runs and an OBP of .303.

Tike Redman - He's Jay's teammate in Newark, and he's doing very poorly.

Brian Burres - He made two starts for the Blue Jays and is now in AAA Las Vegas. Somewhere, Jim Palmer weeps.

Chad Bradford - Chad had elbow surgery in the offseason and is currently rehabbing in the Rays' minor league system.

Chris Ray - We all know where he is. Start pitching better and get back to Baltimore, Chris!

Out of Baseball

Jay Payton - Mr. Surly isn't affiliated with any team that I can find. Poor chap can't even get anybody to update his Wikipedia page.

Chris Gomez - He hasn't caught on anywhere after the O's released him in ST this year. Chris is getting pretty old, I'd be surprised to see him play again.

Daniel Cabrera - Unemployed after he refused a minor league assignment by the Nats. Rumor has it he might end up with the Marlins.

Steve Trachsel - The Trashman was cooked after 8 starts last year. He hasn't been heard from since his release.

John Parrish - Signed a minor league deal by the O's in February then released during ST, John hasn't pitched anywhere since as far as I can tell.

Rob Bell - He was last seen in AAA Charlotte in 2008, but he was awful. I'm guessing at age 32 he finally decided to hang it up.

Paul Shuey - Mercifully retired (again)

I can't even begin to talk about some of the other drek that was on that roster, especially the pitchers in August and September. Let's hope we never see those days again.

More photos » by Richard Drew - AP

Jeremy Guthrie will start his second Opening Day game for the Orioles in 2009. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Browse more photos »

When Jeremy Guthrie takes the hill on April 6 against the Yankees, he'll be making his second consecutive Opening Day start for the Orioles. Here's a look back at everyone who has thrown the first ball for the Birds, from 1956-present (1954 and 1955 are mysteries to me).

1956: Bill "The Big Show" Wight

In '56, Wight was a journeyman, 34-year old lefty. He wound up going 9-12 with a 4.02 ERA and 1.55 WHIP (97 ERA+) for Baltimore. The Birds went 69-85 that season, a big part of that poor record being unreliable pitching. Connie Johnson was the team's best starter, but just about everyone that suited up as an O's pitcher got to start at some point.

1957: Hal Brown

Brown was nicknamed "Skinny," with a listed weight of 180 pounds at 6'2", which wasn't really that wildly uncommon, but he carried it really thin, particularly in his chest and abdomen. Brown went 7-8, 3.90/1.13 (92 ERA+) in 150 innings.

1958: Connie Johnson

Big guy for the time at 6'4", which is still pretty big. Connie went 6-9, 3.88/1.25 (92 ERA+), and it wound up being his final season at age 35.

1959: Jack Harshman

John Elvin "Jack" Harshman had (1) a cool name and (2) a horrible 1959 season. He was just 31, but it was his second-to-last year of Major League ball. After an 0-6 start with the Orioles (6.85/1.82, 55 ERA+), Harshman was sent to Boston for Billy Hoeft, who would have a great season in '61 in the O's bullpen. Hoeft had started the '59 season with Detroit, but was traded to Boston on May 2. On June 15, the Hoeft-for-Harshman exchange went down. On July 30, the Red Sox waived Harshman after he managed to put up a 6.57 ERA for Boston. Harshman was then claimed by the Indians, and in 66 innings with the Tribe, he posted a 2.59 ERA. Third team was a charm in '59 for Jack Harshman.

1960: Jerry Walker

Walker, just 21 at the time, had had a very nice season with the Orioles in '59, going 11-10 with a 2.92 ERA (130 ERA+) in 182 innings. The kid got the nod in '60, which was the first season of the end of his playing days. He was out of the league after his age 25 season in 1964. After the '60 season, the O's traded him to Cleveland for Dicks Hall and Williams.

1961: Milt Pappas

Had a nice '61 (13-9, 3.04/1.19) and won 110 games as an Oriole before the famous trade with the Reds that netted us Frank Robinson. His 110 wins as an Oriole places him seventh all time (1954-present) for the Birds.

1962: Billy Hoeft

Posted a 2.02 ERA mostly as a reliever in '61 (he made 12 starts), and got the Opening Day start in '62. He made just three more starts the entire rest of the season, and had a crummy year with an 80 ERA+ (111-point drop from the prior season). He was part of a package sent to the Giants for John Orsino, Stu Miller and Mike McCormick after the season.

1963: Steve Barber

Ah, what coulda been. Barber made the '63 All-Star team, and went 20-13 (2.75/1.33, 125). All things considered it was probably his best season, beating out '65 because he threw 40 more innings in '63.

1964: Pappas

1965-66: Barber

I hear Steve's arm is just a little sore, but getting better every day. He'll be back out there any day now.

1967: Dave McNally

In his fifth season as a regular for the O's, 24-year old lefty McNally got his first Opening Day start. It wouldn't be his last. '67 also happened to be by far McNally's worst year: 7-7, 119 IP, 70 ERA+. Just dismal all around. The collapse of the pitching staff, of course, is the reason that the '66 World Champions turned it around to go 76-85 the next year, which was a big reason Hank Bauer was replaced by Earl Weaver in '68.

1968: Tom Phoebus

His 15-15 record is one thing, but he put up a 2.62 ERA in '68. 2.62! Wow! Trouble is the league ERA -- THE LEAGUE ERA -- was 2.95 that season, the legendary summer of 31-win Denny McLain and other nasty pitching feats. The league come around and fixed that mess pretty fast. Phoebus only had a few more years before his early retirement at 30.

1969-71: McNally

McNally won 20, 24 and 21 games these three seasons, but he wasn't really that amazing, putting up ERA+ marks of 112, 113 and 116. Solid, yes, but McNally was around the top 15 for MVP votes every year and finished fourth, second and fourth in Cy Young balloting. Jim Perry's '71 Cy Young was a flub -- the award should have gone to either Jim Palmer (we'll get to him) or Sam McDowell, probably, but hey, Perry won 24 games and the Twins won the West.

1972: Pat Dobson

Dobson, 30, won 20 games for the '71 O's, and is probably best known now as a trivia answer. Despite going 16-18 in '72, he was just as good as he was in '71. The team was just a lot worse.

1973: McNally

Good to see you again, Dave.

1974-77: Jim Palmer

Jim Palmer was the ultimate pretty-boy athlete. Unnaturally handsome with clear blue eyes and a square, smiling face, he was also highly intelligent and articulate. In his articulate way he whined about the Cy Young voting every time he didn't win it, feuded with his manager, and pulled a face whenever teammates misplayed a ball behind him. He was sort of the exact opposite of Don Zimmer, who is ugly as boiled sin but solid, authentic, tough, and lovable.

-- Bill James

Jim Palmer is without question the greatest pitcher in Orioles history and one of the best of all-time. He was an anchor every single year, a workhorse, and a star.

1978: Mike Flanagan

Flanagan is fifth all-time in wins as an Oriole (141), but his big Opening Day debut stunk and so did his season. Flanny was chased after 2 2/3 innings (6 H, 4 ER) and while he did go 19-15, he also did so because of run support, as he put up an 87 ERA+ for the season.

1979-80: Palmer

Continue reading this post »

My mom and I were looking through old photos last weekend and came across a stack of pictures from an Orioles game in 1979. It was a blast looking through them so I thought I'd play show and tell.

When I saw the stamp on the back of the pictures indicating they'd been developed in September 1979 I thought maybe I was at this game. Maybe it was my first Orioles game ever! My mother put the kibosh on that pretty quickly by telling me that no way did they take me to baseball games when I was six months old, they always left me with my grandparents while they were off having their fun.

Once I got home with the pictures I sat down to identify the players in the pictures and when the game took place. Even though I know the names of old Orioles I can only match up faces to the most famous of them, but a quick trip to NumerOlogy and I had ID'd them all, even the first base coach Jim Frey.

After I had that all straightened out, I headed over to baseball-reference.com to figure out when this game occurred. I knew the film had been developed in September 1979 so the game was probably not too long before then, that Steve Stone had been the starting pitcher, they were playing the Brewers, Lee May was at 1B and the Brewers pitcher was number 25. A bit of clicking around and I found it: August 8, 1979.

It was a heck of a game, although sadly the good guys lost in the end. Home runs by Benny Ayala and Ken Singleton weren't enough to overcome a mediocre pitching performance. Still, the O's went into the top of the 9th tied 4-4 when Don "Full Pack" Stanhouse promptly allowed the Brewers to score 4 runs in 2/3 of an inning. The O's went on to lose 8-4, but at the end of the day they were still in first place at 74-38, 5.5 games in front of Boston. Imagine reaching 74 wins by August 9th? Imagine reaching 74 wins at all?

Click Continue Reading to see the photos in all their grainy 1979 glory. 

Continue reading this post »

First base often times is a place where you can "hide" a guy that can hit but doesn't have much athleticism. There are exceptions; Mark Teixeira and Albert Pujols are both outstanding first basemen in every way, as is Colorado's Todd Helton. There have been many athletic guys positioned at first for various reasons. Steve Garvey threw like my grandma, for instance.

This decade, the Orioles have had all sorts of problems. The losing started in 1998, but it has truly cemented itself in the 2000s. A couple losing years happen to any franchise, even the great ones. But the Orioles not only haven't had a winning season this decade, they haven't come close.

One of the issues has been first base. Traditionally you get a guy that can rake over there. The Orioles have instead chosen to fill the position with old fogies, has-beens and PR disasters.

Will Clark is one of my favorite players, but when the Orioles signed him after the 1998 season to replace Rafael Palmeiro, we didn't get the guy who'd been such a phenomenal and tremendously overlooked hitter. We got a broken down shell of the guy Will Clark used to be in San Francisco and Texas.

When healthy, "The Thrill" still hit -- he batted .303/.395./.482 in 1999 (294 plate appearances) and .301/.413/.473 in 2000 (310 plate appearances) before he got sent to St. Louis to fill in for the injured Mark McGwire. Clark destroyed NL pitching for the Cards and helped them get to the playoffs. He then retired gracefully.

Clark was entering his age 35 season when the Orioles signed him. He had been healthy in 1998, but prior to that the red flags were everywhere. We all knew he wasn't the guy he was in his early Giants days, but we didn't even get the guy that played in Texas:

Note of course that 1994 (114 games) and 1995 (144 games) were strike-shortened seasons. He was healthy in those seasons, but since they were short 38 or 21 games, it is what it is. '94 particularly might have been a different story with the extra games.

When Clark got traded, the team handed over the first base job to Chris Richard, who did not come over from the Cardinals in the Clark trade, which netted us Jose Leon on July 31, 2000. Richard actually was acquired on July 29, 2000 with Mike Nussbeck in exchange for Mike Timlin. We really did all we could to help St. Louis out in 2000.

Richard had a power surge in his end-of-season audition, slugging .563 with 13 homers in 199 at-bats. He was the Opening Day DH in 2001 and struggled to stay in the lineup. A couple years later he had been traded to Colorado for Jack Cust, whose glove needs glue in it to be playable and never got a fair shake with the O's. Shortly after that he was out of the league.

Who was the Opening Day first baseman for the 2001 O's? David Segui, of course, the 34-year old ex-Oriole we signed to a four-year deal.

The Segui deal is one of the overlooked bonehead moves of the decade. After the Clark health fiasco and the Albert Belle mess, the Orioles picked up Segui for about $7 million per season. Segui had played in 140+ games exactly three times in 11 years, while bouncing through eight organizations (Orioles, Mets, Expos, Mariners, Blue Jays, Rangers and Indians).

Yeah, he could hit some. But he was also 34 years old with a spotty history.

To the shock of literally nobody, Segui played in 82, 26, 67 and 18 games in his second run in Charm City. He was paid $27,762,895 for this service.

With Segui a non-entity and Richard a bust, Jeff Conine was the regular first baseman from 2001-03. Conine was barely passable as an everyday first baseman, and that wasn't his fault. After all, that was supposed to be Mr. Reliable, David Segui. He was pretty good in 2001, banged up and not very effective in 2002, and traded in 2003.

In '02, Jay Gibbons got to play some first base, and he broke out with a 28-homer season. We might give Gibby some guff now, but he was a genuinely nice Rule 5 pickup by the Orioles. He did more than you can expect of any Rule 5 guy, really. Gibbons was bad in the outfield and actually worse at first base, so he never stuck. He was another guy who got hurt a lot, anyway.

In true Oriole fashion, the team refused to learn from the Clark and Segui mistakes and signed 39-year old Rafael Palmeiro to play first base in 2004, part of the influx of new offensive talent with Miguel Tejada and Javy Lopez. This was a crummy idea from day one that got worse as Palmeiro embarrassed himself, the organization, and baseball in general in 2005. Here's why it was a bad idea from day one, though. Let's say Palmeiro really broke out in 1991 as an offensive star:

The Orioles made the mistake of assuming that the home run totals meant that Palmeiro wasn't declining as he sauntered merrily toward 40. They were very, very wrong, and his final two seasons in Baltimore hashed that out: 108 OPS+ both years, with home run totals of 23 and 18, and the 23 took a bit of a late-season surge. Let's not even really go into THE GIANT STEROIDS ISSUE.

When Palmeiro was quietly released and all but taken out back and shot as far as the Orioles are concerned, what did they do next?

Of course! They signed 34-year old Kevin Millar! Now I love Kevbo, I really do. I'll always remember him fondly because unlike the other old farts we're talking about here, he went out and played his best. He didn't get hurt, he didn't drag everyone's name through the mud. He just played. He was a leader on and off the field and I enjoyed him.

But calling him successful in Baltimore is a stretch. He OPS+'d 111, 106 and 87. That's not "happenin'" as a first baseman.

Now he's gone. He should be, and he is. They made the right call. And with no one in line -- not one single viable first base prospect in the system, after all these years -- the job goes to Aubrey Huff, who turned 32 in December.

The good news is that they didn't go out and sign Huff. They did that a couple years ago when it didn't make any sense. The fact that Huff had a remarkably good 2008 at the plate does not retroactively make his signing in the 2006-07 offseason a better one. It didn't make sense and was the product of a front office that didn't know what the hell they were doing and were making last gasp attempts at a "competitive" team by luring Huff and Jay Payton, who were both veterans on the decline.

Huff was great last year. He's unlikely to repeat. What's more bothersome is the fact that there STILL is not a viable first base prospect in the system. Brandon Snyder's glove is terrible and he's got a lot of hitting to do to make up ground. Billy Rowell was thought to likely be a first baseman and he's been brutal so far in the minors. Both have time. Both are young. I agree with that. And sure, maybe Nolan Reimold could play first base and that fixes everything, but he's been an outfielder his entire career and has had injury troubles of his own.

This is a position that has been neglected. Third base has the same problem, but thankfully Melvin Mora has been able to reliably man the hot corner for the last five years.

First base is the Oriole position of Steady Eddie, Boog and Gentleman Jim, the first big-time Oriole bopper. Between the reigns of Powell and Murray there was Lee May, who was sort of like if you took this decade of Oriole first baseman and boiled it down into one guy. But this has gone on a lot longer, and there ain't no Eddie Murray on his way here.

To be fair, the team did try their best to sign Mark Teixeira this offseason. And this whole first base black hole is one of the reasons that it did make sense. There is nobody that's going to be ready to take control of first base in the foreseeable future. Huff might be fine, but given his age, he's a stop-gap. What happens when his contract's up? Who then? Carlos Delgado?

It's an area that needs to be addressed in the coming drafts, or they might have to look around for a blocked first base guy in someone else's system. Clearly, free agency has not been kind to the Orioles as far as first basemen go.

It was six years ago yesterday that pitcher Steven Scott Bechler died in Fort Lauderdale during the opening days of Orioles spring training. He was just 23.

For those of you who might be younger readers and don't know the story of Steve Bechler, he died as a result of heat stroke brought on in part by the now-banned ephedra herbal supplement, which was briefly a big thing for people trying to lose weight and boost their energy.

Steve was an expectant father at the time of his death, and his daughter Hailie now lives with her mother, Kylie, and her new husband. Dan Connolly did a wonderful article on Bechler's legacy last year.

Steve never got the chance to become memorable on the field, but he'll always be an Oriole. We would be wrong to forget him, no matter how short his stay.

Pretty easy to explain, right? A history of Baltimore Orioles Sports Illustrated covers, just for kicks, all courtesy of the SI Vault.

August 31, 1964: Brooks Robinson crossing home plate. "Orioles vs. White Sox" wound up a bit premature. The Yankees (99-63) outdisanced the White Sox (98-64) and the Orioles (97-65) in one of the great pennant races.

October 10, 1966: Printed one day after the Orioles finished off their sweep of the Dodgers for the team's first World Series win.

October 6, 1969: Frank Robinson at 33, helping guide the Orioles to 109 wins and a romp over the Twins in the ALCS. And then came the Miracle Mets.

Continue reading this post »