QB or not QB

Watching Aaron Rogers, especially given the Raven offense's abysmal play on Sunday, makes me pine, like most, for better QB play. Aaron's a field general, a chess master and a pinpoint technician. All the things I wish Joe was but isn't. And the worst part is that I'm not sure whether we'll ever truly know if that's Joe's fault (i.e. he's just not good enough) or if Cam is holding him back to the point of failure. Either way, no matter where the blame lies, the facts are the facts. And the fact is that these are things you won't see Joe Flacco do (regardless of play call), that you should:

1) Call an audible - Last game was a perfect example. The Seahawks played mostly dime while mixing in some nickel and other formations. There were times when Seattle's defense had only five guys in the box with less than third down. If Cam's not going to be smart enough to call running plays, Joe's got to be smart enough to check into them.

2) Wear a wrist band - Apparently, wrist bands are simply fashion statements and have no use of any kind. That must be why every other QB in the league wears one, from Aaron Roger to Christian Ponder. Why do you need a wrist band when papa Cam can spoon feed offensive genius from the sideline?

3) Review game photos - I know you all think most QB's look at pictures from the previous drive while sitting on the sideline but that's a vicious rumor. That's not what the Mannings, Brees, Rivers, Ryan and others are looking at. Everyone knows, and you can check your DVR, that they're actually looking at porn, stills from Tosh.O and old Calvin and Hobbs comics. If you learn from you're near past, how can you be expected to repeat it.

4) Throw a guy open - Receivers must have a minimum of 5 yards separation so that by the time Joe decides to throw and releases the ball, the coverage is just not quite there to break up the pass. Anything less and it's an assured pass defense, if not an interception. What do you expect, this isn't the NFL.

5) Use a dummy snap count at the line (not including hard counts) - If I'm not mistaken, getting the other team to show their hand before the play goes off is illegal. I mean, that feels like cheating, doesn't it? I feel dirty just thinking about it.

6) Adjust protection to pick up a blitz - First you'd have to read the defense and/or recognize the blitz. Enough said.

7) Move off the primary read to a receiver not named Rice - Most plays are designed to have multiple reads. If the first receiver is covered as the QB moves through the progression, a well designed play will have a secondary option coming open and so on and so forth. However, in Joe's mind there are apparently only two options: a) primary receiver and b) Ray Rice. Could you imagine if Ray Rice wasn't Ray Rice? We'd be in a lot of trouble.

The fact is, if Joe were more of a leader/man/player/gamer/all around righteous dude, it wouldn't matter what poor play Cam called, because that bad play call would never see the field. The offense has to start and end with Joe Flacco. And, unfortunately, more often that not, it ends with him.

Seventh Level of Hell

Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Fox

It's about time for the All-star break, which means it's about that time in the baseball season when I'd typically lose interest in the O's. I thought this year would be different. I was wrong.

This team literally sucks right now. Watching them will suck the life right out of you.

As a testament to my stupidity, I actually allowed myself to get excited in preseason this year. We made some nice pick up, in my opinion, and things we looking up. The pitching staff was coming back with another year under their belt and riding a hot streak from the end of last season.

What the hell happened? Other than everything bad possible. Seriously, let's rip down the damn babe statue and scrap the fucker. There has to be a way to break what I can only assume is a curse on the city of Baltimore and their Baltimore Orioles.

Panic Button

If you were one of the few who was wavering with your hand hovering over that big red button, "emergencies only" written above it, go ahead and drop the hammer. It's official. Matusz is terrible. Whatever hope you had left, please leave it at the door on your way out, because just like the fans at Camden Yards, Matusz's stuff isn't coming back.

Trust me, I wish it wasn't true. But it's time to be honest with ourselves. His fastball was never great, but serviceable. Especially when you factor in his pin point accuracy and above average change-up to keep hitters guessing. The rest of his bag of tricks was pretty pedestrian but he didn't need it.

But that's all gone. These days he can't make anything work. It's harder to hit batting practice. And if he's really healthy, what the hell do you do? For me, I'd send him down to figure things out. Because, right now, he's not even giving us a chance. Considering his short run through the minors to the majors, he's got to have a couple options left. I never thought he'd be an ace. He just doesn't and didn't have that kind of stuff. But I never imagined it'd be this bad. Truly disappointing.

Notes:

Vlad needs to drop in or out of the lineup. He's not hitting for power and he's a double play machine. Enough said.

Speaking of double play machines - Hi, Adam. Hi, Nick. Hi, Andino. Is there anyone on this team that can hit with a man on base? That can hit situationally? That can hit with a man or two men in scoring position? It's bad enough when you make one out, much less two at a time. These 15 hit, 6 run or worse 8 hit 1 run games are really getting old.

Finally, can we get Riemold a few more at bats? At this point, Luke and Vlad are just road blocks. We've got to get rid of them, get what we can and open things up to players like Pie and Riemold. Let's let them bring some other team down. Sometimes I wonder what AM is doing/thinking. Even if you don't get anything for them, clearing their paycheck off the books would be reward enough.

Update: Matusz optioned to triple A. Ha!

A Mind is a Terrible Thing

Brian's brain still hurts. Obviously, that sucks. The procession of lead-off hitters Buck has inserted in his place haven't exactly lit the world on fire. In fact, they haven't even lit a match. As evidenced last year, Brian's an important part of this team - maybe one of the most important parts. Having him missing from the top of the order for even a short period hurts us on both sides of the ball. Add in the fact that the Orioles don't have a true backup worth a damn for the second base position and your talking about a recipe for disaster.

Andino's done his best but a) he's not a lead off hitter and b) his natural position is shortstop. There have definitely been times were he's looked out of place - not Wiggy out of place, but out of place non the less (see Britton pickoff attempt). Ryan Adams set the minor league record for errors - can you really trust him? Though I would like to see him get some playing time just to find out what they have in him.

Ed Norris, baseball expert, loves to imply that Brob is "soft". He'd probably tell you he's never said that but when you ask the same question every morning, people are going to pick up on your implications. While I don't think Brain is soft, his recent injury history is more that a little concerning. It seems like ever since that ugly arm injury sustained while covering first base a few years ago, it's been one thing after another. And the most concerning thing for me is this latest concussion or whatever it is occurred without him actually hitting his head. I didn't even know that was possible. I watched the replay a couple of times and his head hits nothing but air. When you can get a concussion without taking a blow, you've got problems. I wonder if the guys in the locker room hold their breath when he walks by?

So, the ultimate question: Is Brian a reliable option at second base moving forward and do the Orioles need to address the position from a standpoint of organizational depth? I want to have faith in Brian and believe that he can get passed this latest injury and contribute for the rest of the season. However, if the Orioles took a second basemen in the first or second round of next years draft, or traded someone like Luke for a deal that included a promising two bagger at the double A level, I wouldn't blame them.

On a positive note, the O's bounced back from two embarrassing defeats and won the final two games of the Nats series. See, I can be positive.

Wishful Thinking

via Bostonherald.com (Also, why God? Why?)

Just once, I'd love for the following scene to play out:

When asked by the reporters about a lack of run support, following an 8 inning one run allowed game, ideally Zach Britton (but not likely since he's a rookie) or more likely Jeremy Guthrie would answer, "Well, I know the team's not going to score runs when I'm on the mound, so I've just got to go out there and do the best I can for me. I can't worry about wins and loses. I'm out there for individual stats like ERA and WHIP. It is frustrating, sure, but I'm seeing a Buddhist about it, you know. I've also contacted Mike Mussina."

Throw the assholes under the bus, guys. Why not? Could they do any worse?

Bullshit Pen

Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images North America

A friend of mine from high school had a favorite saying: "The sun shines on a dog's ass every once in a while." Apparently, during the stretch between April 30th and May 8th the clouds broke and the sun shown for Mike Gonzalez. Unfortunately, as always, the weather changes, the clouds return and the sun disappears. And when the sun goes down for Mike, you wonder whether it'll ever come up again. The reasons I don't like Mike have been documented (see current 1.89 WHIP among others) and I won't rehash. However, I can say the bullpen's problems, as demonstrated by last night's performance, don't start or end with Mike.

Really, if you think about it, is there anyone in that bullpen that you trust with a lead? Most of them have been getting shelled lately and throughout the season. This bullpen that was supposed to be strength not one of the biggest worries. This bullpen with all the closer experience. Preseason, people were wondering who should be in the closer role. People are still wondering who should be the closer but for a very different reason.

Gregg's blown three saves, two of which resulted in a loss. Additionally, both the losses were to AL East opponents, compounding the problem. With a WHIP of 1.63, he's among the worst closers in the league in terms of putting people on base. Clean sheet is not in his vocabulary. He's a heart attack waiting to happen and I don't think that's changing.

Accardo's given up a run in his past five appearances and has only one clean sheet in the past 10. His ERA's a deflating 4.76 to go along with a 1.71 WHIP. Even those times when he does come in and gets a 1-2-3 inning, he'll come back out for the next inning and give up a couple hits and a walk leading to a run. He and Gregg look like carbon copies of each other. And that's not a good thing. They can both go back to Jays for all I care. (Sidenote: Both these guys were allowed to walk by the Bluejays. Shouldn't that have told us something? It's not like the Jays have a bullpen/minor league system that's bursting with pitching/closer talent.)

Then you've got Berken, who didn't pitch last night, but can you imagine if he had? Statistically, he's the worst out of all of them. He's the top of the WHIP ladder at 1.96. That's worse than the much maligned Gonzalez. In 6 out of his thirteen appearances this years he's given up at least one run. That's right, he's almost batting .500. Which is only slightly lower than his opponents batting average against him (I didn't really look that up).

Rapada's a left handed specialist who can't get lefties out and he's given up more earned runs than he's pitched (6 IP, 7 ER). That sweeping, bathtub flat whatever it is pitch at 77 mph must be pretty hard to catch up with.

Jimmy's been the only bright spot and even he's started to succumb to his brethren's disease, giving up a run in two of his last three games. But at least he hasn't gotten the walkitis like the rest of them. Koji's been reasonable too, but I think the stigma of that Arod homerun has stuck with him. Giving up a couple bombs this year hasn't helped to lay that to rest.

So what's the answer? Who knows. Matusz will be back soon, which will push someone out of the rotation. If it's Bergesen, they'll put him in the pen and send someone else down like Berken or Rapada - a course of action that I'm fine with. Originally, I would have been apprehensive about Bergy in the pen, since he's a sinker baller without overpowering stuff. But really, this year he hasn't been relying on the sinker, since it hasn't really been there for him, which makes him a better candidate. Tillman could also move to the pen but would you really trust him any more than the other guys we've got right now? Featuring a new 89 mph fastball, he's not the power pitcher he was and the control issues make him unreliable. However, at this point, I'd rather he stay up and go to the pen as opposed to being sent down to AAA. Let him sit in the pen and learn how to pitch to major league hitters. So few teams do this anymore and I have no idea why. That used to be the way. Most of the Oriole's greats pitched a season or two in the pen before moving to rotation. If we're going to bring back tradition, let's bring back that one. Duke coming back could bring about the same moves as Matusz. And then there's Simon, who will now go to trial in the homeland, making him a complete crapshoot. If he comes back (to the US of A) relatively soon, he might even be in the running to close depending on how he looked, but at this point it may not be in the cards.

Overall, I'm just really disappointed in this 'pen.  I drank the kool-aid and thought they'd more than get the job done. Unfortunately, they're not and there's not a lot of hope banging down the door.

What's in a Week

via Baltimore Sun

What a difference a week (roughly) makes.

Adam Jones' batting average on May 2nd: .228

Adam Jones' batting average today (May 12th): .286

Tillman and Hyde

(Icon Sports Media)

It seemed like last night, on my drive home from downtown (kickball not the baseball game), everyone wanted to talk about Chris Tillman. Surprisingly, even after a good performance against a weak lineup in the Mariners, it seemed like most people were still down on him. That is, except for Steve Melewski of MASN/105.7 who apparently thinks he's the second coming and was staunchly defending him. Obviously Steve and Keith Law don't see eye to eye on the current subject. Also, just as a side note, the people who call into 105.7 post game, pregame and pretty much all hours of the day, in general, are retarded. I know that's not politically correct, but I can't think of a more appropriate word to describe this group. So I'm going with it.

In reality, I'm not sure anyone knows what we've got in Chris. His stat line is a roller coaster ride. So far, when he's good, he's decent but not great. And when he's bad, he's really bad. Sitting on a 6.15 ERA and 1.54 WHIP, it's clear the bad games have more than hurt him.

Obviously, what you want out of a starting pitcher is consistency - to know that at the very least every time he takes the mound the team's got a shot to win. Chris has been the epitome of inconstant, but he's young, so let's forget about that because there's no debate there. What I'm more concerned about is the lack of velocity combined with a lack of command. You can lose one or the other, but if you don't have either, as Keith Law put it, "You're throwing batting practice" (Mr. Melewski suggested last night that you have to have command to be successful to which I will retort with Liriano's no-hitter the other night).

The fact is that Tillman sees himself as a power pitcher and has been pitching that way throughout his minor league career (when he had a mid to low 90's fastball). He's never been known for his command and, frankly, that's been one of the biggest knocks on him over the years. Too many walks, too many men on base. It's an odds thing. You keep spinning the cylinder and pulling the trigger, eventually that bullet is going to chamber. Chris only allowed 7 base runners in 6 innings last night by my count. He had his command. But I don't think it will last. A tiger's not going to change his stripes but on some nights he might wear a jacket.

So, when Chris steps to the mound for his next start and he doesn't have the best command and he's throwing 89 MPH straight as an arrow fastballs over the middle of the plate, what do you think is going to happen?

Premonothing

Photo: John Smierciak / AP

Jesus, O's. You didn't have to prove me right that quickly. 11 hits, 5 walks and only 2 runs. 16 total base runners and only two came across home. In the ninth. On a home run. By D Lee (maybe he reads here). 16 total base runners is normally a good night. 16 total base runners will win you most games. If you can hit situationally 16 base runners is plenty. We should have gotten at least 5 or 6 runs out of that. I'm not even going to get into Buehrle's numbers with men on base and in scoring position. Let's just say they were pathetic and we helped him out plenty last night. Needless to say, we should have won either via the big hit or smart hitting. Unfortunately we didn't. And Josh Rupe...ugh. Don't let the door hit you in the vagina on your way out (wishful thinking).

Spring Sweeps

With the birds on the verge of an elusive four game road series sweep (knock on wood), I find myself having to give them props (Do people still use that word? Just white people? Great.).  This weekends games featured good starting and relief pitching and, most surprisingly, the return of timely hitting. So many hits with two outs and men on late in the game it almost warmed my cold, shriveled little heart.

The O's have always been a team that played for the big inning and lately (read: the last 13 years) we just haven't been able to get it on a consistent basis. Personally, I've always found their reliance on the big inning to be a bit disturbing based on their inability to manufacture a run or two when times got tough. There are going to be games when you've got to play a little small ball and I'm not sure they're there yet. The guys aren't hitting situationally on a consistent basis but at least they're hitting. Don't get me wrong, I'll take a double to the left centerfield gap with a man on first and second anytime I can get it. Combined with their renewed emphasis on stolen bases  (or more appropriately any emphasis) and working the base path, I think things are turning around. Hopefully they can keep it going.

Speaking of base running, I've got to mention how much better the base running has been this year. I can remember times in the not-so-distant past where it looked like little-leaguer's running around out there. I swear they had no idea what they were doing. But this year I can't think of a blatant base-running error. Andino has been especially impressive (much like the rest of his game lately).

So, let me conclude with this: I'm actually excited to watch tonight's game. Sure, it's against a slumping team, but they've got players on the White Sox. It wouldn't surprise me if they went on a run sometime soon and started to turn things around. I don't think anyone believes the other Sox are going to finish the season 56-106. They'll start hitting and pitching sooner rather than later. So let's just hope they don't start tonight and we can hold them down for one more game.

P.S. After going off the gushing deep end, I do have one thing to say: Derek, if you could get a couple hits with runners in scoring position, that would be great. I gave you a pass for April as it was basically your spring training. But it's May now and it's time to get going. Full disclosure: My fantasy team would appreciate it.

Epic Flail

Dear Gonzo,

A. Shut up. I don't  need to hear about how good you felt out there while giving up runs in the course of recording one out. You feeling good makes me feel like shit. Seriously, you call that aggressive? The only aggressive thing you did last night was fall off the mound.

B. You suck. Just go ahead and make up some fake injury that prevents you from throwing the ball over the plate so we can DL you and forget you ever existed. You're taking up a perfectly good roster spot, not that we really have anyone to fill it, but anyone could go out there and flail around wildly while giving up runs. Hell, they'll probably be lucky enough to run into a few outs.

C. Speaking of luck. You must have had a horseshoe up your ass the day you got the contract you did from the O's. The fact that you're grossly overpaid is the only reason your still on this team. And frankly, I think it's time to suck up the pride and cut bait. Realistically, how long can this team go without a reliable lefty in the bullpen? I don't think the answer is very long. OT rant: How is it that the O's always sign the wrong free agent? We basically had our choice between Gonzo and Soriano. We pick Gonzo and he's terrible or "hurt" for the better part of a year and a half. Tampa Bay gets Soriano and he leads the league in saves. And that's just the latest in a long line. Does not the sun shine on a dog's ass every once in a while? I guess were still waiting for the clouds to clear.

Sincerly,

Ray