Earl Weaver Rules

The Orioles are right in that middle ground.  They’re not bad enough to where they’re going to lose a 100 games.  In fact, at this point it looks like even 90 losses isn’t in their future.  And while they’re not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, everyone knew back in July that the Orioles really had no chance.  The good thing is, it looks like the team might have something to build if they can keep this winning going.

Danny Cabrera really got the job done on Friday.  He and two relievers combined for a seven hit shutout. Cabrera struck out seven.  Ramon Hernandez had two hits and he scored two runs while Corey Patterson singled, doubled and scored a run.

Ramon Hernandez’s walk off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth was the difference in the Saturday’s game.  Nick Markakis and Jeff Conine (who was traded to the Phillies Sunday) both homered and Erik Bedard had a nice start.  He gave up two runs on eleven hits with six strikeouts in seven innings.  Chris Ray picked up his fourth win.

Yesterday’s game was a nice comeback.  Jeff Conine drove in tying run in the eighth and then Miguel Tejada had the walk off RBI single in the ninth to win it.  Adam Loewen was good but not great and Latroy Hawkins picked up the win.

The season rolls into it’s final month.  The Tigers locked up a winning season so I think that makes the Orioles stretch without the longest in the American League.  The Orioles roll into Texas starting on Tuesday.

You have to hand it to rookie Nick Markakis.  He was called up and since doing so has put up some nice numbers for a kid his age.  I like to hope this guy will be in an Orioles uniform for a long, long time.

Tuesday was his day.  He hit three solo homeruns to bring his season total up to eleven.  Combine that with a great start by Adam Loewen and it made for a 6-3 win over the Wild Card contending Twins.  Brian Roberts and Corey Patterson each went yard in the 6-3 win.

Unfortunately, it went downhill from there.  Rookie Matt Garza held the Orioles bats in check and while Rodrigo Lopez was okay, it wasn’t good enough.  Lopez dropped to 9-13 and Markakis drove in the only Orioles run of the game in the 4-1 loss.

Yesterday’s game was a beat down.  Kris Benson was gone before the end of the fourth and he took the loss.  Roberto Hernandez did go deep for the Orioles and he drove in the only two runs for them in the 11-2 loss.

Next up is about as unmeaningful of a series as you can get.  The Orioles play the Devil Rays.  It’ll be interesting to see what kind of draw they get at Camden Yards this weekend.

There’s no doubt that the Orioles need help, and it couldn’t come soon enough.  Billy Rowell was the Orioles top draft pick this year, and after a slow start, the third base prospect has been lighting up rookie ball.  While he hasn’t shown much with the glove, his hitting numbers stand at an impressive .308/.397/.474.  Not bad for a kid who was playing out his senior year a couple of months ago. 

And I know he’s far off, but Orioles’ fans have to have something to cling too.

Just to show you how bad the Orioles have been this year, they were the very last team in all of baseball to have a four game winning streak.  Not the hapless Royals or Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  Our Orioles just finished their first four game winning streak in mid-August.

Kris Benson has been pretty sharp since coming off of the DL and Friday was no exception.  He gave up two runs on only six hits with five strikeouts in seven innings of work.  He’s now 10-9 on the season.  Melvin Mora hit his 13th homerun of the season and he drove in four runs in the 7-2 win.  Nick Markakis had three hits and he scored twice.

Yesterday was a nice game.  Danny Cabrera pitched a five hit shutout in which he struck out ten batters.  More importantly, he walked only two guys.  In the meantime, the Orioles ran up the score on Shaun Marcum.  The Orioles set the stage with seven runs in the first and never looked back.  Final was 15-0.  Markakis, Miguel Tejada and Brian Roberts all homered in the win.  Kevin Millar drove in five runs and seven Orioles scored two runs a piece.

All good things come to an end though, and today our wall was Roy Halladay.  Miguel Tejada hit a solo homerun and Markakis drove in a run on a ground out to account for the only runs for the Orioles.  In the meantime, Erik Bedard was roughed up and he gave up seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in five innings.

Next up is three against the Twins.  While the Orioles may not be in the mix, they can definitely play spoiler and the Twins are just a game back of Wild Card. 

This was nice.  Wins mean little right now for the Orioles, but wins over the Yankees mean something just a little bit more.

Things didn’t start well though.  Latroy Hawkins blew a nice start by Erik Bedard in the 6-3 loss.  Kevin Millar hit homerun number ten for the Orioles and Brian Roberts and Millar each had two hits.

Loewen had a really nice start on Wednesday.  He gave up two runs on four hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings.  Ramon Hernandez had two hits and an RBI and Nick Markasis went yard in the 3-2 win.

Yesterday’s game was the most fun.  Rodrigo Lopez threw a solid game and the Orioles bats really took it to the Yankees.  Brian Roberts, Nick Markasis and Fernando Tatis all homered in the 12-2 win.  Markasis drove in four runs.

The season rolls on and it’s the battle of the birds.  The Blue Jays are pretty much out of it and that’s who we play next.  Nice meaningful series.

This might be rock bottom.  The Orioles dropped three straight games to the Red Sox and they’ve won only two of their last ten games.  Baltimore now stands only four games ahead of the last place Devil Rays.  While moving up in the draft is a good thing, this is getting ridiculous.

A seven run third inning put Friday’s game out of reach very early.  Six of those were credited to Adam Loewen, who now sports a 6.41 ERA.  Brian Roberts went three for five with an RBI and Corey Patterson hit his eleventh homerun of the season in the 9-2 loss.

Yesterday’s game was the closest although the Orioles blew a big lead.  They were up 5-1 and then 7-3 but the Red Sox scored four in the sixth to tie the game up.  Then in the tenth, Bruce Chen lost the game when he gave up a single to Manny Ramirez and Brandon Fahey misplayed it, allowing the go ahead run to score.  Brian Roberts and Chris Widger both had two RBIs in the 8-7 loss. 

It’s sad when you score nine runs yet still lose.  Danny Cabrera gave up seven runs in only four innings.  The Orioles clawed their way back but finished two runs short in the 11-9 loss. Each of the three Orioles relievers who came into the game gave up at least one run on top of the seven Cabrera gave up.  Patterson, Roberts and Kevin Millar all homered for the Orioles.

Next up is three against the Yankees.  I guess it can get worse.

This was a pretty meaningful series.  The Orioles have been out of the race for quite some time, and while the Jays are on the fringe, I really don’t like their chances. 

Monday’s afternoon game was a blowout.  Ortiz was smoked for six runs in three innings and all the Orioles could muster was a single run on two hits against some people I’ve never heard of.  The lone run came on Fernando Tatis’ RBI single in the third inning.

Danny Cabrera had a nice start in the lone Orioles win.  He gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk with seven strikeouts over seven innings.  He’s now 5-7 on the season.  Melvin Mora drove in three runs with a double in the seventh that capped off a four run inning and Nick Maraksis hit a three run shot in the eighth.  Miguel Tejada hit his 20th homerun of the season in the 8-4 win.

The rubber game was close, but the Orioles came up short.  They went down 4-0 early and crept back into it with two in the fourth and one in the fifth.  Their rally came up short though.  Erik Bedard gave up four runs on seven hits over seven innings as he was outdueled by Roy Halladay.  Markasis had another good game and he had two hits and a run.

Next up is three games against Boston.  At least the Orioles have a chance to leave their mark in the playoff picture. Kris Benson is still listed as Saturday’s starter, but he’s been put on the DL.

This is the part of the season that’s really tough.  Seems like 20 other teams are in the hunt for the playoffs, except for yours.  It’s always exciting when the Yankees roll into town though, and while the Orioles only took one game, that was one really good game.

Chris Ray dropped his fourth game on Friday.  He gave up a solo homerun that broke a 4-4 tie.  Bruce Chen was decent in his start.  He gave up three runs on nine hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings.  Fernando Tatis hit his first major league homerun since 2003 in the 5-4 loss and Miguel Tejada and Jeff Conine  both had two hits.

Saturday was Adam Loewen’s time to shine.  After a rough rookie year, Loewen threw 5 1/3 innings on one hit ball.  He and two relievers combined to hold the Yankees to a one hit shutout.  Brian Roberts drove in two runs and Miguel Tejada had three hits and two runs in the 5-0 win.

Jaret Wright shut down the Orioles yesterday.  In all, the Orioles managed only one run on six hits.  The lone run scored on Nick Markasis’ RBI single in the fourth inning.  By then, the score was already 4-1.  Rodrigo Lopez dropped to 8-12 with the 6-1 loss.

Next up is three with the struggling Blue Jays.  This series doesn’t mean very much unless you’re a Jays or Orioles fan.  Wednesday’s matchup of Roy Halladay vs. Erik Bedard should be a good one.

It’s going to take a very good stretch for the Orioles to finish .500.  With the two losses so far this week, they’re now 11 games below that threshold and at this point, they don’t have a whole lot else to play for.

Monday was pretty ugly.  The Orioles carried a 3-0 lead into the sixth inning when the flood gates opened.  Over the final four innings, the Mariners racked up ten runs and it ended up being a 10-5 final.  Rookie starter Adam Loewen gave up five of those runs and reliever Eddy Rodriguez gave up the other five.  The Orioles did hit three homeruns though.  Brian Roberts, Melvin Mora and Nick Markasis all went yard.

Rodrigo Lopez was en fuego yesterday.  He threw 7 2/3 shutout innings and he and two relievers combined for the shutout.  Melvin Mora singled home a run in the first and Markasis doubled home a run in the seventh for the offense on either side, and it was good enough for the win.

Erik Bedard got the job done today, but the bats didn’t provide him with anything.  He gave up two first inning runs and that was all Felix Hernandez and the Mariners would need.  The only run for the Orioles came on Josh Gibbons’ RBI single in the sixth.

Next up is the Yankees, so if you’re a Red Sox fan, the Orioles are your second favorite team this weekend.  Bruce Chen goes up against a very human Randy Johnson in the series opener on Friday.