Oh Those Poor Fans

The blogosphere was buzzing today due to the continued stupidity from the Seattle Mariners. After asking way too much at the trade deadline and failing to complete a deal to send #4/5 starter (at best) Jarrod Washburn and his $10+ MM salary to the Yankees, the M's got another chance. The Minnisota Twins claimed Washburn on waivers, and then reportedly offered Seattle 26 year-old pitcher Boof Bonser for him. Bonser is younger (and so may get better while Washburn will only got worse), cheaper (he's making the minimum), under team control longer (four more years), and - even ignoring all that - already a better pitcher: a 4.33 tRA for Bonser and a 5.16 tRA for Washburn. As dumb as it is for Minnisota to actually offer anything beyond salary relief (which, in and of itself, isn't the best decision) to Seattle, it's so very many times dumber for Seattle to say no. As a commenter on USSMariner put it:

"If the M’s turned down Bonser, they are dumber than a box of hammers. A box of really, really dumb hammers."

[Edit: It seems that Bonser was never on the table, though Washburn himself reacted in an amusing manner to the rumors. Washburn said: “If that was the case, how much more do you think you’re going to get? A young guy with a great arm who’s cheap.” That's good stuff; it's better player valuation than the M's front-office does. Still, the M's should have just cut the salary - Washburn isn't worth what he'll be paid, and it's pretty easy to find a pitcher to replace him.] Read more ...

O's-Twins, Home Run Outfielders

Garrett Olson will try to take the rubber-game of the series against Scott Baker and the Twins. That would be a nice way to start the roadtrip. [With the draft taking place today, I'm going to keep the commentary short here so that I can write both posts at once. Not that I think anyone would complain, as I'm generally long-winded during the O's games. I have to say, it is very nice the way MLB.com puts up video of the games shortly after they happen. That gives me the chance to see all of the stuff I miss when I'm busy or it's not on MASN2.]

Nick Markakis works Baker (who usually has very good control) for a one-out walk. It's good to see Nick hitting well and getting on base again. Baker is able to get out of the inning unscathed.

Olson is not so lucky, as Mike Redmond (in there for Mauer) drives a double to right to bring in Casilla. At the end of one, it's 1-0 Twins.

Millar goes the other way, with a ground-rule double to deep right-field, but he is also left stranded.

Delmon Young hits a one-out single, but then gets caught stealing. Man, can't run; can't hit for power; can't take a walk - at least he has a strong arm in left. That's all the action in the second.

The doubles to right-field keep coming; this time it's Brian Roberts hitting one out there. Attaboy, Nick. He hits one to right too, but it's a little higher and farther than the others. Two-run homer, and the O's take the 2-1 lead. The calender turns to June and Kakes starts swinging a hot bat. Baker once again retires Mora and Huff to end the inning.

Casilla decides to switch things up, and double to left instead. He is left stranded. Neither team is getting that runner in from second today.

Adam Jones singles to center, but it's sandwiched between a couple of K's. Still 2-1.

Another hit (single by Cuddyer) and another man left on. Both pitchers are really scattering their hits.

Here we go again - Nick Markakis (he is on fire) singles, but (can you guess what comes next?) Mora can't bring him in. Each team has five hits, but it's still 2-1.

Imagine that; Nick Punto doubles, and someone actually drives him in. Casilla gets the RBI, and the Twins threaten, putting another runner on (Redmond singled - he's picking up right where Mauer left off going 2-2), but Olson gets out of it. The game's all knotted up, 2-2.

That'll be it for Baker, as Brian Bass is coming in. For the first time in the game, the O's go down 1-2-3.

For the first time in the game, the Twins go down 1-2-3. Olson is still in there though.

This O's team is showing some pop in Minnisota. This time it's Adam Jones, taking it out to left. That puts the Birds back ahead, 3-2. After that, there's a whole lot more nothing. Bynum singles, but is erased on a double play off the bat of Brian Roberts.

With one out in the seventh, Olson walks #9 hitter Nick Punto. That's his final batter, with Matt Albers coming in to face the top of the line-up. Gomez gets a single to put two on, but Albers gets Casilla to ground into the inning ending double play. Both the top and the bottom of the frame ended that way. Nice job by Olson, going 6.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K. It wasn't that dissimilar to Daniel's line, but he was able to scatter the hits.

Craig Breslow comes in and finally Nick is retired on a swinging K. Mora tries to bunt his way one, but Breslow fields it and throws him out. Haven't you homered in the past two games Melvin? Huff works a walk, and Breslow's day is over. Jessie Crain gets Miller to flyout to leave another guy on.

JJ in for the eighth. Redman continues his great day with another single. Pitcher Kevin Slowey will pinch-run for him - that is ironic. A couple of flyballs to left from Morneau and Cuddyer bring Jason Kudel up as a pinch-hitter. He singles to center, and Delmon Young will sit back down in favor of Mauer. Johnson gets him to groundout, to leave the runners stranded. That was a bit scary after yesterday's game. Still 3-2 O's.

1-2-3 go the O's, and it'll be George Sherrill time in the ninth.

Good start, as he gets Mike Lamb swinging. Nick Punto doubles to left to put the tying run in scoring position. I though he was supposed to sick? Gomez flies out to left - two down. And Casilla goes down swinging to end it.

The O's win the game 3-2, and take the series from the Twins. I have to say that the Birds looked like the better team over these three games. They are 29-30 now, and look to get back to .500 against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Read more ...

O's-Twins, Four Innings Of O's Hitting

If Radhames Liz can shut this Twins team down, I don't see why Daniel Cabrera can't do the same. I feel good about the way the team is playing the last couple games.

Nick Markakis gets another opposite field hit batting from the two-hole. It seems that he can be a high-average hitter taking pitches the other way, or a high-slugging / high-strike-out player trying to drive the ball (though often also the other way). I'll take the latter if I had to choose, but I expect him to eventually be able to do both consistently. What the hell... another guy is picked off for the O's. Nick gets into a long run-down, but that rarely works out well for the runner. Now it looks especially bad, as Melvin Mora takes one out to left-field. 1-0 O's, but it should have been 2-0. Kevin Millar. What is this, yesterday? It landed in pretty much the same spot as Mora's, and that makes it 2-0. It should be 3-0 though. Aubrey Huff only gets a single to center. Glen Perkins isn't fooling anyone so far. Ramon lines a single up the middle. That's five hits for the O's in the inning, and Daniel may have quite a cushion to work with. Adam Jones flies out to right to end what could have been a much bigger inning.

Carlos Gomez tries to bunt his way on, but Mora makes a nice play to throw him out. Casilla flies out to Jay Payton in left, who continues to start against lefties. That would be fine, if he didn't play against righties too (he actually has more at bats against RHPs despite a .557 OPS, versus a .805 OPS against LHPs). Mauer grounds out to Cintron at short, and Cabrera has a very easy first inning.

Payton, true to form, hits one hard against the lefty. It goes off the wall in left, and Jay goes into second with a stand-up double. Cintron puts down a sac bunt. It's the second inning against a guy they are knocking around - why the frak are the giving away outs? Roberts singles up the middle to score Payton. 3-0, Birds. Markakis draws a walk, and the Twins bullpen is getting warm. The runners take off, and both are safe on the double steal. That is something we saw a lot last year - I believe 6 of Nick's 18 stolen bases last year were on the back leg of double steals with Brian Roberts. Mora gets jammed, and lines the pitch softly to Morneau at first. Millar grounds back to the mound, and the O's have scored just 1 run despite getting 6 men on base (discounting the two homers).

Morneau starts the Twins second with a "turf" single, grounding a ball up the middle that Brian Roberts probably would have gotten to on grass. Cuddyer takes a pitch off the left arm, and will walk to first with a grimace. Jason Kubel grounds a single up the middle, and then poor defense ensues. Cabrera couldn't get the ball (that was admittedly hit hard); Jones overthrows the cut-off man and has his throw to third pull Mora well off the bag; Mora's throw to second isn't in time to get Kubel; and the Twins have a rally going. Delmon Young lines one, but it's right to Brian Roberts, who tosses to Cintron at second to double off Kubel. With a runner on third and two down, Daniel bounces a pitch away from Ramon allowing Cuddyer to score. That makes it 3-2. Cabrera gets Lamb swinging to end the ugly inning.

Perkins sets the O's down in order in the third.

Cabrera starts the bottom of the inning with a three-pitch strike-out of Nick Punto. Cintron then makes a nice play on a Gomez grounder. Casilla singles. Mauer singles. Morneau gets hit in the leg. The bases are loaded for Cuddyer. Not a good position to be in. Daniel better give Melvin Mora a high five, because he just saved at least two runs. Cuddyer lined the ball to Mora's right, and Melvin dove and caught it for the third out. Great play.

Payton takes a close 3-2 pitch for ball four to start the fourth. Cintron pops out on the first pitch. Roberts hits one to center that Gomez dives for and misses. Young, backing the play up, can't get a handle on the ball, and Brian goes in to third standing up. Payton scores to make it 4-2, and Nick follows that up with a line-drive to center of his own. Gomez gets this one cleanly, but the RBI single give the O's a 5-3 lead. Perkins gets Mora and Millar to end the inning, but his day might be over.

Three groundballs, three outs.

At this point, I'm going to go lie down and fall asleep as I watch the O's beat the Twins. In yesterday's game, I doubted the outcome for about three seconds. After this inning, I'm pretty confident in another Orioles victory. Read more ...

O's-Twins, Thin Liz Not Wild One Tonight

Radhames Liz makes his first start of the season against aptly-named soft-tosser Kevin Slowey. He's not quite Jamie Moyer, but his 88-90 is pretty far away from Liz's 95-97.

After getting ahead 1-2, Slowey tries to get Nick to chase a high fastball. Markakis takes it, and then lines the next pitch (an off-speed offering) for a single. Huff hits the ball to deep center, but Carlos Gomez catches it just shy of the warning track. O's don't score in the first.

Good start for Liz, getting ahead of Gomez 0-2 before Carlos lines out to a sliding Markakis in right. The ump seems to have a wide zone, which should be a benefit to Rady (Radhy? Rad-Ham? OK, just Liz then). Alexi Casilla pops out on the second pitch. Two down for Joe Mauer, who inherited Brady Anderson's role of "best sideburns guy". Liz throw a nice slider over for a strike to him, but then can't find the plate with the fastball and walks him. Then he starts Morneau with two fastballs high. After Ramon was a talk with him, Liz settles down and ends up striking Morneau out swinging on a good slider (change-up? It looked like a slider to me, but Gameday has it as a change - whatever it was, it was good) down and in.

MILL-AH, as the say in Boston, gives the O's a 1-0 lead. Kevin's policy on curveballs is "you hang 'em, we'll bang 'em". (I'm sorry for that, but it's what popped into my head.) The Metrodome is not a homer friendly stadium, and that's Millar's first there in his career. Luke Scott hits a grounder up the middle that shortstop Brendan Harris dives to get, but Luke beat the throw to first. Jason Bartlett (traded to TBR for Harris & others) would have made that play. Razor keeps the hits coming, going with a fastball on the outside corner into right for a double. Two on with none out for yesterday's hero, Adam Jones. A flyball to center scores Scott, but Ramon gets caught between second and third trying to tag. More bad baserunning from the O's may cost them a run here. Bynum flies out to end the inning.

[While I have a minute here, I'd like to mention both my extreme sadness and my extreme happiness at the designation of The Pelican, Luis Hernandez, for assignment. If nobody claims him (and really, who would?) he will report to Norfolk. I'm sad that I won't have the opportunity to talk about the Pelican anymore (probably), but he has absolutely no place on this team with Cintron and Bynum already present and superior options. Neither guy is a major leaguer, but they are both AAA guys, where Luis is a AA guy. Fly free, Pelican, fly free.]

Liz can at least field his position OK, snagging a Cuddyer grounder and throwing him out at first. Three-up-three down go the Twins. Liz is still missing high a lot - I'm going to try to see if I can pick up why in his motion. Keep in mind that I am a horrible scout, regardless of how many times I see someone else do a break-down of a player.

1-2-3 for Slowey in the third.

1-2-3 for Liz in the third. Including a strike-out of Gomez. Ha - take that Slowey.

Touche, Slowey. Huff strikes out looking at the tailing "Maddux" fastball on the inside corner. Jeez, maybe I shouldn't laugh at the opposition anymore. Millar goes down swinging. He even outfields Liz, jumping to get a come-backer of the bat of Scott, and throwing him out.

"I'll see your inning, and raise you a three-pitch K of Casilla," says Liz. Morneau singles in the inning, but is left stranded. It was very good for Liz to have his first start against a generally free-swinging (and not very good) offense.

Adam Jones falls behind 0-2, fouls of a few pitches, and then takes a ball way down and away to center for a single. Then he gets himself into scoring position with one out by stealing second. Bynum flies out to center, and Jones feints going to third. Carlos Gomez has a cannon out there - maybe better than Jones'. Brain Roberts hits a high flyball to right, just over the glove of a jumping Cuddyer and off the baggy. Jones scores, and Brian goes into third with a triple. Nick smokes one, but it's right to Delmon Young in left. This Twins outfield is one of the best collection of throwing-arms around. Inning over, but the O's take a 3-0 lead.

Another perfect inning for Liz, including a looking K of Young. He threw a 95 mph fastball on the outside black.

Jeremy Guthrie is jealous, as Melvin Mora hits a solo homer to make it 4-0. That's it for the O's, but Liz is making four runs stand-up really well so far. This offense isn't particularly good, but they are showing some solid pop so far this year (4th in the AL in HR).

Nick Markakis makes a nice running catch in foul territory before being caught by George Sherrill in the O's bullpen area. Gomez lines a ground-rule double to deep left-center. Casilla follows it with a regular double, and there goes the shutout. Mauer doubles just inside the bag at first to make it 4-2. That'll end Liz's night, as Matt Albers will be coming in. While his control was a bit shaky, Liz pitched pretty well (5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K). I was especially encouraged by his ability to throw his off-speed stuff over. I think that with some work with Rick Kranitz, he should be able to improve his fastball command and become an effective starter. My earlier fears of him having to be relegated to the pen have been calmed a bit. Albers does his job, getting Morneau to pop-out and Cuddyer to K swinging.

Razor takes new pitcher Juan Rincon off the baggy in right for a double. A wild pitch gets Ramon to third with no outs. Jones fouls a pitch off his foot and goes to the ground. He gets up and promptly lines the next pitch up the middle for a single. 5-2 O's, but Adam is limping around at first. That's it for Rincon, as Craig Breslow comes in. He throws his own wild pitch, allowing Jones to get to second. Bynum drops down a "sac" bunt, but beats it out for a hit. Runners on the corners with no outs. Roberts flies out to center, but Gomez's strong throw keep Jones at third. Breslow picks Bynum off of first, gets in a run=down, avoids a tag, but eventually gets caught, all without Jones getting a chance to score. Now it'll take a hit from Nick to bring Adam in - or another wild pitch. He hits it hard to center, but Gomez is there. All that and they only get the one run.

Jason Kudel works a lead-off walk against Albers, who actually gets to stay in this game. He comes back to get Young swinging with a sinker boring in on his hands. Mike Lamb draws a four pitch walk. This pattern is OK, as he'll get the third K with the bases loaded but none in. Nope. Harris singles to center to make it 5-2. Gomez goes up swinging and lines the second pitch to Scott. Casilla grounds out to first to end the rally. Now Walker can pitch to Mauer and Morneau in the eighth, with maybe Bradford coming in for Cuddyer.

With two outs, Huff singles to center and then Scott beats out a slow roller to third. Breslow is out with Ramon coming up. Jesse Crain gets him to pop out.

It will be JJ instead of Walker despite the lefties. Mauer singles, but Johnson comes back to get Morneau swinging. Kubel draws a two-out walk, to put the tying run on for Delmon Young. JJ gets him to flyout to short center to end the inning.

Jones hits it into the left-center gap, but Young runs it down. Roberts hits a two-out double but is left stranded. It's George Sherrill time in the ninth.

Pop-up to first - one out. Slider bending over the plate for strike three - two out. Fly ball to right - three out. Thanks, George, for just getting it over with quickly.

The O's outhit the Twins 13 to 6, and get the 5-3 win. I'm very happy with what I saw all around. Liz looked (relatively) good, and the offense was (relatively) impressive, with everyone but Huff getting a hit and several balls being hit very hard. The team is back to one game below .500 at 28-29, and have a good chance to get even with Daniel Cabrera going tomorrow. Read more ...

Nathan A Rich Twin

The Twins have signed their ace closer Joe Nathan to a extension keeping him in Minnesota through 2011 (or 2012 if they exercise his option). The contract will pay Nathan an average of $11.25 million a year. There's also a limited no-trade clause.

It's not a bad deal for a closer of Nathan's caliber in general, as Fransisco Cordero (ERA+ of 150, 124, 136 the last 3 years with 3.1 K/BB over that time) just got a comparable deal from the Reds and Nathan is the better pitcher (230, 283, 165 ERA+ with 4.7 K/BB). The problem is that the Twins are a low-payroll team and so it doesn't make much sense for them to allocate such a substantial portion of their pay-roll to a pitcher who only throws 70 innings a year. It might have made more sense for them to add $50 million on to their contract offer to Johan Santana and then trade Nathan for prospects. With the players that they got from the Mets for Santana, they might have been able to get a similar return from a team in need of a closer. Read more ...