Milledge and Dukes

While most of the local baseball talk so far this offseason is about the probable trades the Orioles will make with Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada, the only real action has come from the Nationals. The Nationals haven't made any blockbuster moves, but they did make two that will draw a lot of attention to the team.

The first trade was with the Mets, with Lastings Milledge coming to DC and Brian Schneider and Ryan Church heading to NY. Milledge might be considered a bit of a gamble, but a pretty safe one in my opinion. He has gotten a bad rep so far for trying to play himself off as a rapper, before he even establishes himself as a baseball player. He was the youngest player to reach the majors in 2006, and only played sparingly in 2007 with the Mets as well. He will turn 23 right about the time the season starts this year, so the Nats did get younger with this move. He hasn't particularly wowed people with his play, but he did improve from an average of .241 to .272, and an OBP of .310 to .341. That is only a one year trend, but I figure it is a good sign. He is still extremely young, and with some maturing I think he should be a great player in a few years.
Losing Brian Schneider in the deal might hurt some in the short term. He appeared to be a likable guy and a capable defensive catcher, but he is getting up there in terms of catcher age. Replacing his production shouldn't be too hard. Church is a good player, who probably won't max out his stats far beyond where they are now. He will probably have a good career in the Majors, but he isn't a potential star.


The other big name the Nats picked up was Elijah Dukes. This kid is another young guy(23 on opening day) with amazing potential. However, the baggage he brings is more severe than Milledge. He didn't play most of last season because of a domestic incident with his wife, that led the Devil Rays to inactivate him. Demonstrating physically aggressive behavior is certainly a warning sign, but the Nationals seem willing to give him a shot. He did hit 10 homeruns in just 180 at bats for the Rays last season, but his average was below .200. If he can get his head on straight, in terms of his personal life and baseball, than he may be a huge steal for the Nats. They only had to give up one minor leaguer in this deal, a player who hasn't yet gone above A ball. So even with the risk of Dukes self destructing, there doesn't seem to be much loss here.

There seems to be some cultural awareness with these moves that the Nationals have made. The team has brought in two young African American players to introduce at their new stadium that is mostly surrounded by African American neighborhoods. In addition to making baseball sense, the club seems to be considering the demographics of their locale, and are making an attempt to connect with local residents. Dmitri Young has already gained some popularity in the city for his recent performance, and with his publicized personal struggles and journey to overcome them, I think he will be looked upon by others to be a guide for Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes. Time will tell how these two moves pan out for Washington, but I admire the team for taking some good chances. This might not be the big name offseason move that people are used to in Boston or NY, but its a pleasant thing to see for a team that is reintroducing itself to the city this season.

Long Time No Post

So I had a pretty good rate of posting I thought over the summer, but with my work kicking back in and other personal things going on...I haven't been able to put my thoughts out that often. So here I go with a little bit of rambling about whats been going on lately.

The baseball season is over...well atleast locally. The Nats did a good job to finish above expectations in the NL East. It still isn't fun cheering for a loser though. There should be a lot more excitement with the opening of the new stadium next spring, and hopefully the team makes some moves to improve the club as well.

The Orioles had their usual 6 week collapse to end the regular season. After Erik Bedard went down with his injury, there really wasn't anything to get excited about. Their pitching was absolutely horrible over the last month, with guys who were signed just to get them through the rest of the season. The bright spot for the O's was Nick Markakis. He finished top 10 in RBI for the year, and improved upon his rookie year. The Orioles seem to finally have an up and coming star, and hopefully they can develop a few more players sooner rather than later.

Football is in full effect now. The Redskins got off to a great start at 2-0, and then blew their perfect start with a depressing 2nd half against the Giants. It seems like fans are waiting on the Detroit game this week to see if the Redskins' season will be heading up or down. I'm happy with where the team is right now, especially with how Jason Campbell has played. He hasn't been amazing, but he is consistent and has a great attitude when he is on the field. I like him as a leader for this team.

The Ravens have gone 2-2, and look to be struggling a bit more. Steve McNair is frustrating to watch, because he seems to be past his time. His nagging injuries won't keep him off of the field, but his passing ability isn't where it should be. The stats aren't awful, but the plays just aren't being made on the field when they should be. Meanwhile the defense is struggling. Adalius Thomas was obviously a big loss, however, the whole scheme seems to be off. Plays that used to be made in the backfield are happening 4 yards down the field, and thats what separates a middle of the pack defense from a top 5 D.

And finally Maryland football has my attention. Well I try to give it my attention, but its hard to see a live game on TV. Of course the die hards make it out to the stadium, but I'm not that lucky. Rutgers was the first game I was able to see live this year, and that was only because the Knights were somehow ranked 10th in the nation. Maryland played great to beat them, and would be in a nice spot right now if they hadn't dropped their game to Wake. I watched most of that game...on Comcast about 5 days later. The Terps truly gave away a game against an ACC opponent. That one hurts, but atleast the Terps bounced back well.

All Stars Announced

So the All Stars were announced yesterday evening, and the Nats and O's each got just one lone representative. This really isn't a surprise for two teams who are way below even through the 1st half of the season. Dmitri Young is a decent choice for the Nats. Obviously there won't be any pitching representatives from this team with its awful staff. So an everyday player makes the most sense. Ryan Zimmerman is a player I would argue could have made it over Dmitri Young. He has more RBI and runs, which I feel are the most important stats for an offensive player, but he is only batting .245. Young's .340 batting average is a lot more impressive, and he is slugging over .500 as well.

Brian Roberts definitely earned his place for the Orioles. He is one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball, plays good 2nd base, and leads the league in SB. Miguel Tejada was another possibility before his injury, but it would be odd to see him rewarded in somewhat of an off year. There is also a lot more competition for the All Star spot at SS then there is at 2B. Erik Bedard and Jeremy Guthrie are having good years pitching, but neither has too much of a track record, especially Guthrie. Bedard's strikeout totals are impressive, but there are too many players with a better win-loss record and superior ERA this year in the AL for Bedard to get a spot.

Memorial Day Wrapup

Well Memorial Day weekend is over, and the summer tourist season is officially under way. The standings in baseball are beginning to separate the contenders from the back of the pack. Currently the Maryland area's 2 teams are both outside of the contender region. The Nationals have been playing their best lately, but still can't make any headway in the standings. They have won 10 of 14 games, but still find themselves last in the NL East, 12 games behing the Mets. They are also 3 games behind the Phillies for the next spot in the standings. So the Nationals right now appear to be headed to another season in the cellar. I truly hope the team is able to make some big moves this offseason in anticipation of the increased revenue from the new stadium.

The Orioles are 2nd in the AL East. The problem is that 2nd in the AL East doesn't appear to signify what it has for the last decade. The O's are 3 games under .500, and are barely performing better than the other mediocre teams in this division. Two days of play could easily put the O's last in the division. So the current 2nd place standing is not much to cheer about. The O's are currently 5.5 games back in the Wild Card after Detroit was swept by the Indians, so while they are not out of conention, they certainly have a long way to go as well.

It was a good thing to see the O's score 8 runs in 3 straight games over Memorial Day weekend. Hopefully the Royals continue to play like the Royals against Baltimore, and the O's can even themselves up in the standings this week.

Baseball is On...Everything else is Off

At this time of year there really isn't much going on in sports in this area besides baseball. The biggest news recently in local football is that Clinton Portis thinks its acceptable to hold dog fights on private property...even if it is a felony. Clinton should have went with a "No Comment!" when asked about Mike Vick, and went on planning what he will do during his weekly news conferences this fall.

The Ravens are having a mostly quiet offseason...except for Steve McNair getting into a little trouble with his brother in law. Can't wait to see if Willis McGahee can really bring some explosion back to Baltimore's running game.

I watched the NBA Draft Lottery last night expecting to see the Wizards represented. With the way they finished their season, they felt like a lottery team. The Wizards greatly need an impact player, especially down low. Hopefully they can find that player outside the lottery, and don't keep drafting projects like Andray Blatche and the 2 Russian guys they selected and haven't even signed yet from 2006. The Zards are a playoff team, and need help now...not 5 years down the road. I'd much rather have a solid player who has proven himself in the NCAA than a guy who is playing in some obscure foreign league or not living up to his potential in college.

The Nats are proving to be irrelevant this year. Even with their winning ways of late, they are still 5.5 games behind the 4th place NL East Phillies. Ryan Zimmerman has been heating up lately, but nobody else on that team really interests me much.

The Orioles lost to the Jays again last night. O's are really bumming me out right now with how they are playing, because each loss seems to be by just 1 or 2 runs. They are capable of winning these games, but are really not coming through in tough spots. Particularly disappointing is Miguel Tejada. Not only is he not hitting homeruns(2), but he isn't hitting anything for power with just 6 doubles on the year. I love the high average, but he is supposed to be an RBI guy for this club. Not an average guy.

O's Beat Nats 5-4

So the O's are up 1 to 0 in the Battle of the Beltways. A win is a win, but the box score still scares me when I look at the bullpen. Danys Baez managed to get his 10th hold of the year, but he did so while giving up 2 runs in 1 inning of work. Another long ball surely isn't giving me confidence in his abilities, especially with a 5.31 era next to his name.
And while Chris Ray didn't give up a run in earning his 9th save, he did give up two walks. This isn't a good sign in his first game since the Boston debacle last Sunday. Hopefully he gets his control in order, and resumes his normally dominant role.

The number of base runners for the O's was also a good sign tonight. I wish they would have scored a few more runs with how they were getting on base, but atleast they were creating opportunities. Brian Roberts' 4 hit night is great to see. It seems he has had an ordinary beginning to the season so far. He is doing decently as the leadoff man, but has yet to be spectacular.

For Saturday I hope Jeremy Guthrie is able to repeat his performance from Sunday against Boston. It would be great to see him emerge as a guy who can get innings as a starter for this club. Meanwhile the O's luck out by not having to face Jason Bergmann. He has had an amazing start to the year(.162 BAA, 1.00 WHIP), although the Nats putrid offense wouldn't reflect that in his wins. The O's instead get to face Mike Bacsik...a guy who last pitched in the majors in 2004, and has a career 5.88 era in less than 100 innings pitched. If the O's don't put some runs on the board tommorow, I will be greatly disappointed.

O's Swept

I feel like I might have to stop writing about the O's until they start winning. Things are too frustrating right now, especially during their 5 game losing streak. They have lost 4 games by 5 runs. They've given up less than 4 runs a game during that time, so its not like pitching has been the problem. The O's offense is struggling. Among their regulars, their best OBP is just .375(Millar). They don't get on base well, and that means that when Kevin Millar hits a homerun like last night...its just a one run shot. It seems teams like the Yankees always seem to be hitting 2 and 3 run homeruns. One reason is they have 5 guys getting on base at better than .390. The Orioles as a lineup are struggling. They have gotten impatient and look to be frustrated. With a pitching staff that seems to have improved itself, the O's batters need to have confidence that they can get things done. I don't see that confidence right now, and that makes this team hard to watch.

So what will help get the Orioles out of their funk. Hopefully the O's remind the Nats this weekend that Washington is the worst team in baseball. However, the Nationals have not played like that recently. They are currently winning while pitching excellently. That doesn't bode well for the Orioles' quiet bats...especially with the NL batting rules.
Following this weekend's series the Jays come back to B'more. The schedule looks to be matching Cabrera and Litsch up again, which would be an interesting matchup to watch again. Hopefully another strong outing from Cabrera will help the O's get back on track.

Lousy Opening Day

I had a lot of excitement going in to today's Opening Day of baseball. I work 2 jobs but am lucky enough to have off for both of them today. So that meant I was able to watch baseball throughout the whole day. My wife is a big baseball fan, and was excited as well. She also gets a little excited wishing that she was at a ballpark somewhere, so she had me pick up hotdogs for lunch as the afternoon games started.

So the hotdogs were consumed as the pre game shows were ending. I went with MASN for the Nationals pre game coverage for a bit, and MASN has room for a lot of improvement. The graphics, camera work, and on-air personalities are all below par. I guess that fits well with the Nationals stadium and roster.

The highlight of the Nationals game for me was seeing the 2 F-18s flyover the stadium on TV, and then heading outside to watch them fly over head a minute later. Living right up the Anacostia River I was pretty sure I would get to see them before they headed back to the airfield they came from. After that the game really wasn't worth watching. John Patterson, who is supposed to be the only decent starter for the Nats, was awful. Dontrelle Willis, who is fun to watch just like Ken Griffey Jr. was 15 years ago, pitched well for the Marlins. Throw in some great hitting from Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera, and this game soon became boring. I'm watching the Angels-Rangers game right now, and the commentators were commenting about how they can't imagine how many games the Nats could lose. Its exciting to have baseball back in DC, but ownership better make a huge effort to build a competitive team next offseason or the effect of having a new ballpark won't last long.

With a boring game on MASN, I watched a lot more of the D-Rays - Yankees game on ESPN. I was hoping Scott Kazmir would upstage Carl Pavano, but he just didn't have it today. The Yankees starting Pavano on opening day is a joke, but they still manage to pull out a win. I've been sick of the Yankees winning ways for a long time, but they are going on 9 years as AL East Champions. The last time anybody else finished in first place was 1997 when the O's went wire to wire. That has been way too long, and it pisses me off that they are so much weaker than before yet still better than anybody else in the division.

The focus of my day though was definitely the Orioles playing the Twins at 7. I didn't have high expectations for a win with Santana on the mound, but I was hoping for an upset. 4 runs in 6 innings against Santana was a great result for the offense, but unfortunately Erik Bedard let the O's down with a turly disappointing start. I know he will get it things together and have a great year, but its a downer not to have a good result on Opening Day. One of the great things about baseball though is that there isn't a lot of time to get down. There is usually a game the next day to give you new hope, and I'm hopeful that Daniel Cabrera will have a better day tommorow night than Boof Bonser. BOOF! This guy must not take anything seriously with a name like that.

Opening Day

Opening Day is tommorow for the O's and the Nats, and its still strange to have 2 teams in the area. It will be an adjustment trying to catch the O's on MASN, but atleast the Nats will consistently be on TV now as well. I don't get the chance to make it out to the games as much as I'd like, but by following the games on TV it is possible to really get a feel for the players. I've never really gotten into the Nats yet because they were never really on TV. It will be interesting to see if people start to connect to the team a little more now that they have a good TV deal in place.

I'm not quite sure how to feel about the Orioles this season. They made some improvements since last season by adding Bradford, Williamson, Baez, and Walker to the bullpen. They also added some talent to the lineup with Jay Payton and Aubrey Huff. (Note to self...Don't name your next son Aubrey.) However, when you look at the team as a whole its hard to see them being much better than last year. Will the bullpen help really lead to more wins? Its hard to judge that.
I think the most important thing for the Orioles will be how Adam Loewen and Daniel Cabrera will perform. Each had great outings last year that really made them look like potential difference makers. However, both of them could also be counted on for some off days, especially Cabrera. I think Loewen will do very well after making his debut last year. Hopefully he got a taste of what to expect, and can be trusted to go deeper into games.
Jarret Wright and Steve Trachsel are veteran newcomers, that have looked shaky in spring training. However, I have faith that they can't do worse than Rodrigo Lopez and Bruce Chen pitched last year. Hell...if either of them wins a game he will have done better than Chen!

So...the pitching looks to have improved. Huff and Payton came in to bolster the lineup, while you didn't lose much production from last year with your core guys coming back. I think a full year of Nick Markakis in RF is extremely exciting. He could challenge Miguel Tejada as the best hitter on the club in 2007. Overall the O's should be a better team. The question in my mind is how much better can they be. Will they be a more respectable 4th place club in the AL East, or can they possibly catch NY, Boston, or Toronto? I really can't tell at this point, but I'm definitely excited for the season to get started on Monday night.