Birdseed...Where We're Neither Young nor Stupid.

Strangest thing I have ever seen in a baseball game

OrangeOctober — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:16:37 GMT

You have to see this to believe it! In this Korean Baseball video, the pitcher hits the batter, but its what happens next that will surprise you!

This is the strangest thing I have ever seen in a baseball game. Maybe someone can explain this to me:

http://thedugoutdoctors.com/2009/11/korean-hbp-reaction-seeing-is-believing/

Hill, Fiorentino & G. Rodriguez refuse assignment to AAA - now free agents

JR — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:39:38 GMT

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bal-orioles1103,0,4858923.story

baltimoresun.com

Three O's refuse assignment, file for free agency

Hill, Fiorentino, G. Rodriguez now allowed to talk to other teams; Simon to Norfolk

By Dan Connolly

dan.connolly@baltsun.com

5:36 PM EST, November 3, 2009

Three 2009 Orioles have decided to refuse an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk and have elected to file for free agency.

Pitcher Rich Hill, outfielder Jeff Fiorentino and catcher Guillermo Rodriguez have filed their paperwork with Major League Baseball and have informed the Orioles that they will become free agents.

Right-hander Alfredo Simon, who started two games in April before having elbow-ligament replacement surgery, accepted his assignment to Norfolk.

All four were taken off the club's 40-man roster last week.

It was Simon's desire to stay with the Orioles as he rehabs from surgery, his representative, Phil Isaac, wrote in an e-mail.

"Alfredo is a great fit for this organization, whose emphasis seems to be on building with young pitching," Isaac wrote. "He has a great arm and is willing to prove that in order to earn a spot in 2010."

Despite refusing their assignments, Hill, Fiorentino and Rodriguez could re-sign minor league deals with the Orioles later this offseason. The filing, however, allows them to talk with other organizations.

"We respect their decisions and thank them all for their contributions to the Orioles this year," said Matt Klentak, the club's director of baseball operations.

Hill, a 29-year-old lefty who was 3-3 with a 7.80 ERA in 57 2/3 innings before being shut down in late July due to shoulder inflammation, is the most likely to return.

The Orioles acquired Hill last year from the Chicago Cubs for cash because they liked his upside. He showed flashes, but he also battled injuries and wildness and struggled for much of the season. Eligible for arbitration, the Orioles removed him from the 40-man roster but haven't completely eliminated him from their plans.

"If Rich has interest in returning to the organization," Klentak said, "we would welcome him back in 2010."

Fiorentino, 26, batted .281 with 8 RBIs in 24 games with the Orioles this year. A former third-round pick of the team in 2004, he was first taken off the 40-man roster by the Orioles in January 2008 and was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds.

The Orioles re-claimed him from the Oakland Athletics in June 2008 and he made it back to Baltimore this season, after three years away from the big league club. Because he can play all three outfield positions, Fiorentino could land on another team's 40-man roster or may pursue an opportunity to play overseas.

Rodriguez, 31, was hitless in five at-bats for the Orioles in 2009. He spent most of the season at Double-A Bowie and also played 18 games at Triple-A Norfolk, batting a combined .244 at the two levels. If he returns, he would serve as a minor league reserve.

The Orioles are continuing the process of roster management.

Within the next week, outfielder Adam Jones and pitchers Koji Uehara and Brad Bergesen will be transferred from the 60-day disabled list back to the 40-man roster.

The day after the World Series ends, pending free agents have 15 days to declare for free agency and four Orioles are expected to do so: third baseman Melvin Mora, catcher Chad Moeller and pitchers Danys Baez and Mark Hendrickson.

Once they declare, each can be removed from the 40-man roster (but then must be added again if he re-signs).

Given those moves, the Orioles would have 33 players on their 40-man roster before adding any minor leaguers who would be eligible for the annual Rule 5 draft.

Those who are expected to be placed on the big league roster include first baseman Brandon Snyder, third baseman Josh Bell and pitcher Brandon Erbe (McDonogh). Others who must be added or would be exposed to December 10's Rule 5 draft include pitchers Steve Johnson (St. Paul's), Luis Lebron, Jim Hoey and Pedro Beato and infielders Pedro Florimon, Ryan Adams, Blake Davis and Rhyne Hughes.

Triple-A third baseman Scott Moore, who agreed to a minor league deal with the Orioles this offseason, also could be selected in the draft. The reserve lists for the Rule 5 draft must be set by Nov. 20.

"buying title #27"

JeffO — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:55:37 GMT

Jim Litke: Yankees on verge of buying title No. 27

By JIM LITKE AP Sports Columnist

Updated: 11/02/2009 08:51:57 AM EST

PHILADELPHIABrian Cashman leaned against the wall just outside manager Joe Girardi's office as the best players money can buy milled about inside a quiet, but quietly confident, clubhouse.

The longest-running gripe in baseball is the Yankees have so much cash that only they can afford to bury their mistakes, and since 1998, the still boyish-looking general manager has been the guy wielding the shovel.

Late Sunday night, with New York just 27 outs from winning its 27th World Seriesbut first since 2000the small smile that creased Cashman's lips was part relief, part I-told-you-so. It seemed to say, "You have no idea how hard it is to get value for your dollar."

Cashman has shelled out more than $1.6 billion in salaries since a broken-bat single by Arizona's Luis Gonzalez looped lazily over a drawn-in infield and ended the Yankees' last dynastic run as the calendar turned over on a new century.

Since then, he's lavished some of it on ballplayers who were great before they arrived in New York, and a few who were great after they left town. But he conceded that for all the time, research and cash invested in the process, he still hasn't figured out exactly why some thrive there and others leave town with tails tucked between their legs.

And pitchers, he added, remain the most mystifying purchase of all.

"But they're the key to the kingdom," Cashman said. "The last five, six, seven years have proven that beyond a doubt."

The play that put the Yankees back within striking distance of another World Series championship, though, had nothing to with pitching.

No. 2 hitter Johnny Damon singled with two outs and the score tied 4-4 in the top of the ninth of Game 4 off Phillies closer Brad Lidge. On the first pitch to Mark Teixiera, the next hitter, Damon took off for second. When a low throw from catcher Carlos Ruiz briefly handcuffed third baseman Pedro Feliz covering the bag, Damon popped up and alertly took off for third. A double by Alex Rodriguez put New York back in the lead, then Jorge Posada's two-run single provided more room for error than closer Mariano Rivera would need while shutting down the Phillies 1-2-3 to end the game.

The reason the Phillies had no one even close to the base at third on Damon's romp is because they were overshifted on the left side of the infield to deal with Teixiera, a switch-hitter who was batting left-handed against the right-handed Lidge. Few players command that kind of respect, but Teixiera is one of them.

That explains, in part, why the Yankees acquired him before the season and will pay Teixiera an average of $22.5 million this year and for seven more. And after batting in front of Tex and seeing teams employ the shift for an entire season, Damon knew he only needed a moment of daylight to know if the coast would be clear to keep running.

"What I had to see before I could start running to third was how Pedro caught the ball," he said. "So I knew it drug him off some.

"I'm just glad," he added, "that when I started running, I still had some of my young legs behind."

Damon was a star in Boston, but in New York he's just a small piece of the puzzle. He's only the fifth highest-paid position player on their team, but at 35, few clubs could justify paying a player his age the $13 million Damon collects annually in New York. Those same clubs would have to scrimp and save for three years to buy just one player like Teixiera. But he was one of three stars the Yankees added this seasonalong with staff ace CC Sabathia and No. 2 starter A.J. Burnettfor $423.5 million.

Burnett takes the mound Monday night, like Sabathia a day earlier, on three days' rest. His job is to buy the Yankees bats enough time to build a lead, then turn the game over to the middle relievers and eventually Rivera, arguably the most reliable final act in sports. If Burnett fails, the series shifts back to New York and the Yankees' new $1.5 billion baseball palace for Game 6, where the task falls to Andy Pettitte.

That formulagreat starting pitching, timely hitting and Riveraproduced four championships from 1996-2000. Only four players from those teams are still wearing pinstripesDerek Jeter, Rivera, Posada and Pettitteand maybe it's just coincidence, but all four bubbled up from within the Yankee organization.

That foundation has given the Yankees the luxury to reload rather than rebuild. There are plenty of players whose skills might earn them a spot on one of the biggest stages in sports, but only a few with the toughness and desire to hold on to their places for long.

Cashman has scanned the globe and spared no expense trying to find them. He knows only too well how rare those guys are. Toward the end of an interview, Rivera's name comes up and the GM's tone shifts almost to reverence.

"A guy we gave very little money to, who came out of a small village in Panama and moved to the big city without ever once stumbling or losing his footing. For him to do what he did for as long as he has," Cashman said, "is incredible."

Hendrickson wants to return

Meg — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:58:32 GMT

Hendrickson hopes O's won't wait

Agent: Pitcher wants club to take advantage of exclusive negotiating window

By Jeff Zrebiec

When the World Series ends, the Orioles' exclusive 15-day negotiating window with would-be free-agent pitcher Mark Hendrickson will begin. And while that period usually comes and goes for most free agents without any serious negotiations, Hendrickson's agent is hopeful that his client's experience with the Orioles will be different.

"We won't wait just for the purpose of waiting," said Joe Urbon of CAA Sports. "They have an exclusive window to talk and try to get something done, and I would hope that they'd use it because I know that's what Mark would like.

"There have been indications and a vibe that there is an interest in the Orioles in having him back, and Mark has made it clear that he has an interest in staying. It has to work on both sides. That includes fit and role and economics. I don't see any reason that all three things can't be accomplished."

Impressed with Hendrickson's versatility and leadership on a young pitching staff, Orioles manager Dave Trembley has advocated for the return of the 35-year-old left-hander.

Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said this week that while he has not had contract talks with Urbon, he would be open to negotiations.

"We don't have an issue with starting at any time," MacPhail said in an e-mail to The Baltimore Sun.

Hendrickson, who signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal last December, went 6-5 with a 4.37 ERA in 53 games while playing several different roles for the Orioles during the 2009 season.

Hendrickson started the season in the rotation and then moved to the bullpen, where he was used as a long man and as a situational lefty. He rejoined the rotation in September and made four starts after rookie Brian Matusz was shut down.

While Hendrickson went at least six innings and allowed three earned runs or fewer in his final three starts, he was clearly more effective working out of the bullpen. He went 4-0 with a 3.44 ERA in 42 relief outings and compiled a 2-5 record with a 5.40 ERA in five starts. If the Orioles were to re-sign him, it would almost certainly be as a reliever.

"There really hasn't been a game plan in that area," Urbon said. "It's still early. We're still shaking up the effects of the season. There isn't a set schedule, but there may be an opportunity to" get something done.

Loewen update

Meg — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:56:17 GMT

From a blurb in the Sun about the Arizona Fall League:

Former Orioles starting pitcher Adam Loewen was 1-for-3 with a strikeout for the Desert Dogs. He played left field in the game.

The 25-year-old outfielder is hitting .171 with 17 strikeouts in 10 games for Phoenix. Four of his six hits came in one game against Scottsdale on Oct. 15.

Meg

Roster Updates

nothingman — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:39:05 GMT

Per Roch:

Quote:

The Orioles have outrighted pitchers Rich Hill, Bob McCrory and Alfredo Simon to Triple-A Norfolk, removing them from the 40-man roster.

All three pitchers cleared waivers. Hill and Simon were reinstated from the 60-day disabled list. McCrory recently underwent surgery on his right shoulder.

More Roch:

Quote:

The Orioles have named Jeff Datz as bench coach, decined their options on Melvin Mora and Chad Moeller, outrighted Jeff Fiorentino, Chris Lambert, Jim Miller and Guillermo Rodriguez, and lost Sean Henn to a waiver claim.

I like Jim Miller and hope he doesn't leave as a MIL free agent. And whither Fiorentino?

O's officially decline to pick up Mora's option

JR — Thur, 29 Oct 2009 22:39:44 GMT

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bal-melvin-mora-orioles-1029,0,160072.story

baltimoresun.com

Orioles decline Mora's 2010 option

Expected move likely ends veteran third baseman's tenure with club

By Jeff Zrebiec

jeff.zrebiec@baltsun.com

3:28 PM EDT, October 29, 2009

The Orioles announced today that they won't exercise third baseman Melvin Mora's $8 million contract option for the 2010 season, an expected move that likely ends the tenure of one of their most productive and popular players over the last decade.

In a series of roster moves today, the Orioles also declined the $850,000 option on catcher Chad Moeller, who hit .258 with two homers and 10 RBIs in 30 games while serving as rookie Matt Wieters' backup; and outrighted outfielder Jeff Fiorentino, pitchers Chris Lambert and Jim Miller and catcher Guillermo Rodriguez after each cleared waivers.

Reliever Sean Henn, who appeared in six games for the Orioles late in the season, was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Orioles could attempt to resign Mora at a lesser rate, but that is unlikely with the veteran third baseman coming off one of the worst offensive campaigns of his career, and both sides seemingly ready to head in a different direction. In declining the option, the Orioles will pay a $1 million buyout and look to add a third baseman this offseason either via a trade or free agency.

The Orioles also could use Ty Wigginton at third until they deem Josh Bell -- the prized prospect who was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in July in the George Sherrill deal -- is ready to make the jump to the majors.

In his ninth full season with the club, Mora, who will turn 38 before the 2010 season, batted .260 with eight homers and 48 RBIs in 125 games, and clashed with manager Dave Trembley.

Mora had been the longest tenured Oriole, having played 1,256 games for the franchise, which acquired him in a trade with the New York Mets in July of the 2000 season. During that span, he went from a valuable utility player to a two-time All-Star third baseman. He is in the top 10 in franchise history in hits, home runs, RBIs, runs scored, doubles, total bases and at-bats, and played more games at third base than any other Oriole except Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson.

Mora also holds the team record for best batting average in a single season as he hit .340 in 2004. That was the season in which he also collected 27 homers and 104 RBIs while establishing himself as the Orioles' everyday third baseman.

Mora also developed into one of the faces of the organization for his work on and off the field. His wife, Gisel, gave birth to quintuplets during the 2001 season at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and the family established Harford County as their year-round home and became involved in numerous charities in the area.

Mora further endeared himself to the fan base by being the only current Oriole to attend the memorial service of former player and longtime coach Elrod Hendricks, who died in December 2005.

About a month after Hendricks' passing, Mora was instrumental in helping arrange a phone call between star shortstop Miguel Tejada and club vice president Jim Duquette that led to Tejada rescinding his request for a trade. Mora has said on numerous occasions that the franchise would always maintain a special place in his heart.

"I'm always going to love the Orioles. Whatever has to do with the Oriole community, the Baltimore, I will do it," Mora told The Baltimore Sun during the second-to-last week of the season. "My babies, they're from Baltimore. No matter what, everything I do in my life will be related to Baltimore."

Still, the end of Mora's tenure with the club was a rocky one, both on the field and in the clubhouse. A season after hitting .285 with 23 homers and 104 RBIs to reverse downward trends in his numbers, Mora played his customary solid defense but never found his stroke at the plate. He went a career-high 50 games during the 2009 season without hitting a homer before connecting off the Toronto Blue Jays for a game-winning shot on July 11.

His criticism of Trembley, peaking before the Orioles' Aug. 2 series finale against the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards, rankled several of the organization's decision makers. Out of the lineup for the third time in four games, Mora claimed that he wasn't angered by his reduction in playing time, but said he was annoyed with what he perceived as Trembley's excuses for not having him in the lineup.

"I don't appreciate the disrespect, because I've been playing hurt for a guy who won't respect you. I don't deserve it," Mora said at the time. "Whatever he wants to do, he can do it. But like I told you before, I need to have my respect. This is not a guy who just came to the Orioles. This is a guy who's been here for nine years busting his butt for the organization."

Mora went as far to say that he'd be fine with getting released by the Orioles. He met with Trembley after his comments, but by then, their relationship had been irreparably damaged.

The Orioles opted to let Mora play out the season as they had no young and major league-ready third baseman at the upper levels of the minor leagues, and they also didn't want to end his highly productive tenure with the organization on such a bitter note. Mora, who had a blanket no-trade clause, gave the front office permission to trade him, but the Orioles never found any suitors.

In likely his final game as an Oriole, Mora went 0-for-2 before being removed from the game for a pinch hitter. Following the bottom of the sixth, Mora was shown on the stadium Jumbotron and the salsa tune that he's had as his at-bat music over the past several years was played. Mora stepped out of the dugout and acknowledged the standing ovation, tapping his heart. He later admitted that he was moved by the display.

Now, Mora will become a free agent, and for the first time in his career, face some uncertainty about where he'll be when another baseball seasons begins.

"Wherever I'm going to be next year, I'll never get tired of thanking the Orioles, because I made my career here," Mora said in mid September.

Where he ranks in O's history

Here's a look at Melvin Mora's career numbers with the Orioles and where he ranks on the club's all-time list:

Hits: 1,323 (9th)
Runs: 709 (9th)
Total bases: 2,073 (8th)
At-bats: 4,733 (10th)
Doubles: 252 (7th)
Homers: 158 (9th)
RBIs: 662 (8th)
Extra-base hits: 422 (10th)

Koji to close?

nothingman — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:28:44 GMT

Over at the Orioles website, Spencer Fordin answers some questions. Like with MASN, I always struggle to figure out what he is being told by the Orioles and what (if any) are his own opinions. Anyway, the latest edition has some interesting nuggets:

Quote:

Koji Uehara had a rough year injury-wise, but we have seen how well he does the first time around a lineup. Could he possibly be in line for a setup or closer job next year?
-- Will S., Alexandria, Va.

That is indeed the plan for Uehara, who developed hamstring and elbow ailments over the course of last season. The Orioles hope to convert the veteran back into a late-inning reliever, a role in which he enjoyed some success toward the end of his tenure in Japan. That, in turn, would allow Jim Johnson to work the eighth inning more often.

And another:

Quote:

Is there any chance we could see Nolan Reimold give it a try at first base, potentially solving part of the power shortage in the infield and as freeing up time for Felix Pie and maybe Lou Montanez?
-- Dean S., Columbia, Md.

Sure, that could definitely happen on a limited basis, but I think it's far more likely you'll see Reimold and Pie continue a time-sharing arrangement in left field. Pie will also play center field on occasion and Reimold should see time at designated hitter, but the Orioles are fairly happy with letting them jockey for position in left

World Series Predictions

Meg — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:18:49 GMT

So who do you like? Yankee$, who have home field advantage, or the Phillies?

I'm picking the Yankee$ but rooting for the Phillies.

Meg

The myth of "Parity" in baseball

Meg — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:07:05 GMT

Kerry and I were talking about this topic sometime in the last couple of weeks. And now I read this column by Peter Schmuck that also addresses the subject.

Kerry and Craig are off to JSB Baseball Camp today but I'm sure Kerry will chime in on the subject once he's back.

Meg

OT: Soupy Sales dies at 83

JR — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:10:48 GMT

Posted on Thu, Oct. 22, 2009

Pie-splattered comedian Soupy Sales dies at 83

DAVID N. GOODMAN

The Associated Press

DETROIT - Soupy Sales, the rubber-faced comedian whose anything-for-a-chuckle career was built on 20,000 pies to the face and 5,000 live TV appearances across a half-century of laughs, died Thursday. He was 83.

Sales died at Calvary Hospice in the Bronx, New York, said his former manager and longtime friend, Dave Usher. Sales had many health problems and entered the hospice last week, Usher said.

At the peak of his fame in the 1950s and '60s, Sales was one of the best-known faces in the nation, Usher said.

"If President Eisenhower would have walked down the street, no one would have recognized him as much as Soupy," said Usher.

At the same time, Sales retained an openness to fans that turned every restaurant meal into an endless autograph-signing session, Usher said.

"He was just good to people," said Usher, a former jazz music producer who managed Sales in the 1950s and now owns Detroit-based Marine Pollution Control.

Sales began his TV career in Cincinnati and Cleveland, then moved to Detroit, where he drew a large audience on WXYZ-TV. He moved to Los Angeles in 1961.

The comic's pie-throwing schtick became his trademark, and celebrities lined up to take one on the chin alongside Sales. During the early 1960s, stars such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis and Shirley MacLaine received their just desserts side-by-side with the comedian on his television show.

"I'll probably be remembered for the pies, and that's all right," Sales said in a 1985 interview.

Sales was born Milton Supman on Jan. 8, 1926, in Franklinton, N.C., where his was the only Jewish family in town. His parents, owners of a dry-goods store, sold sheets to the Ku Klux Klan. The family later moved to Huntington, W.Va.

His greatest success came in New York with "The Soupy Sales Show" , an ostensible children's show that had little to do with Captain Kangaroo and other kiddie fare. Sales' manic, improvisational style also attracted an older audience that responded to his envelope-pushing antics.

Sales, who was typically clad in a black sweater and oversized bow-tie, was once suspended for a week after telling his legion of tiny listeners to empty their mothers' purse and mail him all the pieces of green paper bearing pictures of the presidents.

The cast of "Saturday Night Live" later paid homage by asking their audience to send in their joints. His influence was also obvious in the Pee-Wee Herman character created by Paul Reubens.

Sales returned from the Navy after World War II and became a $20-a-week reporter at a West Virginia radio station. He jumped to a DJ gig, changed his name to Soupy Heinz and headed for Ohio.

His first pie to the face came in 1951, when the newly christened Soupy Sales was hosting a children's show in Cleveland. In Detroit, Sales' show garnered a national reputation as he honed his act , a barrage of sketches, gags and bad puns that played in the Motor City for seven years.

After moving to Los Angeles, he eventually became a fill-in host on "The Tonight Show."

He moved to New York in 1964 and debuted "The Soupy Sales Show," with co-star puppets White Fang (the meanest dog in the United States) and Black Tooth (the nicest dog in the United States). By the time his Big Apple run ended two years later, Sales had appeared on 5,370 live television programs , the most in the medium's history, he boasted. He had a pair of albums that hit the Billboard Top 10 in 1965; "Do the Mouse" sold 250,000 copies in New York alone.

Sales remained a familiar television face, first as a regular from 1968-75 on the game show "What's My Line?" and later appearing on everything from "The Mike Douglas Show" to "The Love Boat." He played himself in the 1998 movie "Holy Man," which starred Eddie Murphy.

He joined WNBC-AM as a disc jockey in 1985, a stint best remembered because Sales filled the hours between shock jocks Don Imus and Howard Stern.

Sales is survived by his wife, Trudy, and two sons, Hunt and Tony, a pair of musicians who backed David Bowie in the band Tin Machine.

tired of Umpires having to admit blown calls

JeffO — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:26:06 GMT

Replay Replay Replay

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/10/21/umpire-in-game-4-admits-he-blew-calls/

Just wondering...........Split screen replays for tag ups on fly balls
Those are two different cameras. How do we know that the two replays are exactly synchronized?

Phillips still trading

JeffO — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:14:05 GMT

http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2009/10/21/steve-phillips-brooke-hundley-affair-leads-to-reported-espn-susp/?icid=main

A-Rod

Meg — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 04:39:17 GMT

I'm willing to be that he's a "real Yankee" now!

But if I'm the Angels, I don't ever let Brian Fuentes face him again. 2-3 with 2 HR is not the kind of record I would mess with.

Meg

The Braves are ruined now

Meg — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:06:55 GMT

Just read that Tony DeMacio is going to become the head of the Atlanta Braves' scouting department. They should know him, though. He's been with them since 2006, following a two-year stint in Pittsburgh.

Meg