varaven45

Exactly. Its the antithesis of the "West Coast effect in the NFL: teams from the West usually lay eggs on the East coast. Of course, The Os having had 13 consecutive losing seasons doesnt necessarily strengthen the argument. Just sayin.... As a matter of observation, this is one painfully mediocre team. We could go winless on this entire West Coast swing and end up 60 and 102 for the season, or split the rest of this road swing and end up winning 70-75 games. Neither would surprise me. Winning more than 75-80 games, or less than 60 games would.

Crav, This is BS. Since we have a lockout, all the so called NFL pundits and deadbeats like Dukes are desperately bored and looking for stuff.

Yep. We met our goal and expectation- .500. A week or so ago, crav, we were tested by the Bosox/Yanks. We didnt pass the test and hada couple meltdowns. Now we have the West Coast swing. Lets see where we are after the road trip.

This team is in funkorama. Get smacked around by Bosox and Yanks. Lose hangover game to Nats by 2 TDs on Friday night, then turn around and win final 2. Winning w/o BRob and Lee; go figure. Maybe this is our identity; win 2 of 3, lose 2 of 3, lose three in a row after a meltdown, win 2 or 3 aginast sisters of the poor. Looking like a 65-70 win team, maybe 75-80 if Matusz returns, Britton stays effective, Guthrie maintains and Arrieta/Tillman hold their own. Oh yes, and if the planets align.

Crav, Is getting Gaither back a foregone conclusion ? I thought he was testing FA ?

Max, No Os... no Ravens ? Dont lose hope' there's always NASCAR ! There always looking for a few good rednecks that like booze and fast cars. So you see, since the Os are on track for another sub 70 win season and the Ravens (NFL) season is in jeopardy, there's still hope, man !

Crav, Maybe we just simply call it: Orioles Collapse = Gonzalez In all fairness, if you cannot score a single run with runners on 1st and 3rd w/one out against the Yankees against a very mediocre relief corps (after Rivera), its not all on Gonzales. Gonzales wasnt the cause of the loss. He is simply a painful reminder of just how pathetic our bullpen is.

Crav, This game sort of reminds me of an early season game about 5 yrs ago @ Fenway. It was the same deal - we were playing fairly well, had a ninth inning lead, and Armando Benitz gave up a 3 run tater (or maybe grand slam). The team, which I think was managed by Lee Mazilli ?, never recovered and began a season long free fall. So yes, lets hope its not a season changer. Maybe Buck's preseason little snips at the Yanks and Bosox (in ESPN) are now biting him in the buttocks. Maybe he should spend a little more time managing his team (and bullpen) rather than giving AL East foes some bulletin board material.

Well, you start with a 6-0 lead (which should have been 10-0 with all the stranded baseruners in the first 5 innings). Insert your absolute worst relief pitcher - either Gonzalez or Rapada - to help squander the lead. Then put in your next worse relief guy and, while crossing fingers and holding breath, hope he dont blow the whole lead. Now, after the entire momentum has clearly shifted, put in your closer and hope he preserves the lead in the 9th. Yep, that ought to do it !

Crav, Lets reconnect after we duke it out with Bosox and Yanks this week.

Crav, Tough to do dude ! Someone has to explain why/how in the world we took this game to xtra innings. Case in point: After taking lead in the 8th, following AJones single, we have 2 on - 1st and 2nd - and nobody out, and Weiters up to the plate. Instead of moving (bunting) the runners over, Weiters fails to bunt and fouls out to to left. Then Reynolds, as is his custom, naturally ends the 8th with a DP. Instead of snagging an insurance run - which would have been critical in the 9th - we take a slim 1 run lead into the 9th. A similar situation occured in the 12th. Jones and Pie on 1st and 2nd, no outs, and Weiters up. He flies out, Reynolds strikes out, Hardy gets in field single, then Roberts goes down. Another wasted opportunity. Can Weiters not bunt at all ? Unless not, I highly question these moves by Showalter and am starting to see him as more of the same we've seen in the past 15 years. LIke I said, football is just around the corner

Max, The sky has officially fallen. Worst in the majors in batting and pitching (maybe not statistically but might as well be). I cant see any real difference between this year and last years squad. Thank God football season is only 3 + months away. Wait, there on strike ! Damn !

I wonder how they proved it ? I heard they just asked him, "where's Dave man" ?

I like the schedule -its more favorable than in the past. The bye is a bit early. Of course, we may not realize a bye at the rate of the current CBA negotiations. Before all is said and done, we may end up having a helluva bye !

Good point Crav ! BTW - I agree with Cleetz that Ryan appears more natural and at ease in the pocket. However, I do wonder how he would hold up aginst the AFCN 2x year.

Is it me or are the O's making every MLB pitcher look like Cy Young ?

Glad to hear he's staying in shape - maybe that will help keep his mind off the contract stuff!

Dang Crav, I didnt think these guys could even practice w/o CBA. Who the heck is he going to throw to ?

Buck will be the man if it works. If we win, he looks good. If we play like the past 13 seasons, he looks like every other losing manager since Davey Johnson. Lets see how the team responds

The NFL, especially in the Goodell (Badell) regime, is truly reconfirming itself as the "No Fun League".

Good for him. The guy has a life outside of football.

Crav, I like what I see too. But there has still been a hesitancy, a reluctance by Joe to cut it loose. Maybe its the OL, the play calling by Cam, Joe's periodic inability to read the D at critical junctures of the game, crappy WR route running, or lousy running game (this past yr). Whatever the case, Joe could have done better but now the FO/Coach is saying they are cutting him loose ? I find that very mysterious, intriguing. What are they envisioning this season that we have lacked in the past ? But we'll see. I do like the direction Joe is going.

Lets see if words = actions this season. With Cam in the picture, I have my doubts. Why didnt they remove the handcuffs from Joe last season? They are all of a sudden going to remove them in 2011 ? My take: Its a last ditch effort to salvage Cams job as OC. If Joe doesnt have a huge year, Cams gone.

Get Stony Case. Get Scott Mitchell. No, Eric Zeier. Nah, Joe's OK. Get him a freakin OL, better running game, and WR corps that can run routes and a burner and he'll be fine. He aint going to be Brady or Peyton, but he's good enough.

I trust Ozzie and Co have a good plan. If McGahee goes (for good), we should resign McClain. If both walk,however, that could be a positive by giving us an opportunity to bring in a "hammer" - which we havent had since JLew. Yes, much of our running deficiencies are OL (the Gaither effect) related, but we have missed a smashmouth runner for at least a few years. We dont & I repeat we dont need another scatback - Sproles or another might mite. We need a bonafide backfield with some strength, power, speed and durability. Rice gives us some power and speed. We need some strength and durability to pound the dang rock and win games in the 4th Quarter. Plus, we need to better protect Joe w/ a better running game. If I were GM , I would keep either Willis or LeRon and pick up a young power runner - a "hammer" - via draft or FA.