Okay, I've noticed that things are a little dead around here. Sure, the O's are showing signs of grinding toward another listless finish, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun! I just did a little rooting around on eBay, and the following game-used jerseys could be yours...if the price is right!

2005 #61 John Maine Home (from his first career win - autographed to boot!)

1999 #41 Jason Johnson Road

1999 #13 Mike Figga (!) Black Alternate

Pretty entertaining stuff. There few a few obscure ones the last time I searched, months and months ago. Doug Linton and Francisco de la Rosa come to mind.

Hey guys, I'm checking in with a little diversion today. As I may have mentioned once or twice, I'm the guy behind the NumerOlogy site and Orioles Card "O" the Day blog. I've intended for some time to sponsor a player page on Baseball-Reference.com, because 1) it's an awesome site that's totally worthy of support and b) throwing up a link to my site totally couldn't hurt my traffic. I'm asking for your input: which Orioles player, past or present, should I sponsor? Here are the guidelines:

1) It should be someone who's not currently sponsored. If you could check it out yourself before making a suggestion, that'd be a big help.

2) I'm a cheap bastard. I'm looking to spend $10, no more and no less. That could be one O.K. player, like Billy O'Dell (who wore 4 different numbers with the O's, making him relevant to my site), or it could be two $5 scrubeenies (like Eli Whiteside and Paul Carey).

3) Obviously, if you have any rationale for your choice, explain yourself.

Thanks,

Kevin

P.S.: While surfing for examples, I found that John Wasdin costs $10. WTF?

Roch Kubatko has confirmed on his blog that he has accepted the Baltimore Sun's buyout package and his last day is this Friday, August 1. He says that he's still "weighing his options", and has not decided what to do yet. But never fear, he will be taking his blog with him. Say what you like about Roch, but he brings readers to that site and they're taking some self-inflicted damage by letting him walk. I still read him every day; the jokes are groaners, but he's got a lot more access to the team than almost anyone. The occasional quote or bit of breaking news makes it worth reading to me.

According to the latest tally from mlb.com one hour ago, Brian Roberts is still in FOURTH for the All-Star Final Vote, with balloting ending today at 5PM. Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria still leads Jermaine Dye of the White Sox, and they've apparently distanced themselves from (h)G(h)iambi, Brob, and that jackass from KC...

(puts on "COLLEGE" sweatshirt)

NOTHING IS OVER UNTIL WE DECIDE IT IS! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! And it ain't over now! 'Cuz when the going gets tough...

The tough get going! C'mon, who's with me? C'mon, let's go! AAAAAHHHHHH!!!

(runs out of CC alone, comes back to see everyone still sitting around morosely)

Hey! What's this lying around shit? What the fuck happened to the Birdland I used to know? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts, huh? "Ooh, we're afraid to go with you Kevin, we might get in trouble." Well just kiss my ass from now on! Not me! I'm not gonna take this. Longoria, he's a dead man! Dye, dead! Giambi...

DEAD!

Seriously, you guys. We're not gonna let some pissant rookie from that concrete retirement home down south take what rightfully belongs to the best damned smurf second baseman in the league, are we? We've got six hours and UNLIMITED VOTES to make a little more Orioles Magic happen.

Let's do it!

Turned on ESPN in time to catch the O's-Stros highlights on Baseball Tonight. What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment. Anyway, that ESPNews reject Dari Nowkhah was hosting, but at least it wasn't that ass-clown Steve "Fill Thine Horn with Oil and Go Kill Yourself" Berthaiume. Boy, was Dari in rare form. Over the course of the highlights, he managed to state the following:

1) That the Orioles won in the bottom of the ninth.

b) Kevin Millar drove in both runs.

Later, during Touch 'Em All, he noted that Luke Scott was part of the Erik Bedard trade. That's strike three, but hey, who's counting? It's just the Orioles.

Larry Stone of the Seattle Times quotes Mariners manager John McLaren on Erik Bedard :

"I think that's basically what he is,'' McLaren said. "That's the way he was in Baltimore. Basically, he's programmed to go 100 pitches.

"There's not an easy way to put it. I'd love to see him go further, but if he's not capable, he's not capable....There's no use dwelling on it. It is what it is. He's a 100-pitch pitcher."

A pain that O's fans know all too well. Talk about selling high on a guy. It's also worth noting that the genius who brought Bedard to Seattle, M's GM Bill Bavasi, was fired today. Of course, that Bedard trade was the least of his problems. Trading Rafael Soriano for Horacio Ramirez, counting on beat-down, power-deficient Jose Vidro as an everyday DH, paying top dollar for Carlos Silva, Jarrod Washburn, Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson...eugh. This guy made Mike Flanagan look like John Schuerholtz.

For giggles, I scoped out some Yankee blogs this morning to see how they were coping with yesterday's pounding. Peter Abraham of the LoHud Yankees Blog actually had a rational take on the Jeter HBP and LaTroy's response to it...but his readers begged to differ .

The level of Yankee sycophantism (probably not a word) is hilarious bordering on nausea-inducing, including those who refer to Jeter as the Man or "our Man". There's even a Red Sox fan who is very persistent in his (correct) argument that Mr. Yankee dives in with his hands first, which is why he's always getting plunked and which is why he was plunked last night.

But the best are the handful of yahoos who insist that not only was Danny at fault for hitting Jeter, but he'd also thrown at Melky earlier in the game. For those who weren't watching, he threw a pitch high and tight; Melky spun out, but was in no real danger of being hit.

If you've got some time to waste, take a read and try to stifle your laughter.

Okay guys, I need some numerical assistance for my website. When Alex Cintron joined the big league club last Sunday, mlb.com had him listed as #19 (I missed his appearance late in that day's game). On Saturday night, he finally got into another game and was wearing #13. For anyone who caught the Mother's Day game vs. Kansas City, which number was Alex actually wearing that day?

As a P.S., I was at Friday's game and spotted the bullpen catcher wearing #67. Since we cleared out Sam Snider, Orlando Gomez, and Rudy Arias after last year, does anyone know who he is?