prOminence!

Look at news stories!! Team returning to prominence!!

Hahahah. Get it???

This is driving fans of Team to AIRWAVES to POINT OUT that Team cannot win baseball games as Team Returns to Prominence! Sometimes it's important to STATE OBVIOUS.

But look what Pete Schmuck said, which is true:

Cal Ripken Jr. "certainly has no experience in the kind of crisis management
necessary to turn around this particular organization."

Him, Owner and Blog all three! CRISIS MANGEMENT!!!!

Wayward O has different take. Blog thinks Ripken and Peter G. Angelos, attorney at law, have no intention of working together and Rip feels it's Angelos' duty to ultimately hand over keys and let baseball people take over.

Angelos could sell Team for $200 million profit!! But Petey doesn't need any more money!! He is RICH OLD MANG.

Angelos said Rip doesn't want a "baseball" or a "secondary" position. Rip wants to be the owner and or top dog!

Some say Rip doesn't have enough LOOT to be owner. But he could raise LOOT in about THREE WEEKS. And he's probably already got his MUNI BOND DOGS all lined up and ready to chase rabbit!!!

This is OPENING SALVO in DECADE-LONG struggle by RIP to TAKE OWNERSHIP CONTROL of Team. Will he succeed? YES. <--- (This is PREDICTION!!!!!)

As for RETURN TO PROMINENCE. Wayward O kind of thinks Team has enough talent to RETURN FROM BEING COMPLETELY TERRIBLE. As for PROMINENCE, that's another story.

Word is goodish on Brian Roberts. That's most important. Blog still holds out hope for Mike Gonzalez. Also sort of important. As for Koji Uehara, not so important; he has unfortunately become a BUST. Who else hurt? BLOG CAn'T REMEMBER RIGHT NOW! Tejada apparently not!

EASIER TO FIX OFFENSE THAN PITCHING. WE HAVE PITCHING!!! David Hernandez for CLOSER!!!!

sOurpusses

Nolan ohfer spring.
Weet swinging outside.
B-rob hasn't shown up yet.
Millwood and Guthrie stink.
Pete Schmuck feeling malaise.
Jones hitting a buck seventy-six.
Tejada starting awake with Bunt Sweats.
Meh.



Thus are you refuted.
Our boy will save us.

Of march and april

For Wayward O's money, these are best two months to be fan of Team. Spring is our time to dream of possibility, to measure talent and wonder if this is Year where talent translates to wins and wins translate to magic.

Heck, early promise could be over quickly: Team has 10-game road trip during second half of April in Oakland, Seattle and Boston. Then Team caps month hosting Champs for 4-game set.

If Team comes home from trip with hideous record, then gets pummeled by Frankenteam, then strap on Manager Firing Pants and get ready for long, messy year.

But for now. For now? Mostly we're focusing on aforementioned promise.

Many fans in many cities are in same boat. But some fans -- some fans simply choose to leave boat, reject hometown allegiances and root for whichever team has best chance of success.

Last week Wayward O was at poker table in Big Sky, Mt., and was talking with man wearing Red Sox hat, who disclosed he was from D.C. but could not root for Nats because they have "no chance of winning."

Wayward O couldn't tell if guy was completely serious -- but by his play it quickly became clear he was front-runner in all facets of life. Fold bad hands, play good ones. And, well, would YOU just don a Sawx hat on whim? No. No, you wouldn't. Not even if you were 2,000 miles from home.

Wayward O didn't bother to tell poker mate of Team. That would have engendered dreaded, shop-worn conversation about "how can you root for them?" Well, friend, sometimes it's fun to play losing hand. And sometimes, if you play it just right, it becomes winner!

And that's what we're all talking about in Diaspora these days. We know Team has talent and we know Team has desire. What we don't know is whether ephermal spark, X-factor, je ne said quois, or whatever one calls it, will join us for 2o1o campaign and, if it does, whether our young kids have enough brains and muscle to keep up elusive magic for six months.

Anyway, to all fans of Team, Wayward O says: Bless you and your loyalty. And enjoy next two months -- our time of promise. Maybe this is Year we extend Spring hopes into Summertime magic.

1 dOwn, 9 left

Team's 10-game winning streak began last night with VERITABLE TYPHOON OF MELMOSITY.


Don't try this at home
Good thing REIMOLD was GOOD LOOKING OUT and run home while Melv. was backpedaling toward visitors' dugout after

SUPERPALOOKA BATNUB RBI
For stat freaks in bloggussfer Memlo is LEAGUE LEADER in SuBaNuRBs!!

If what we hear is true then, fans it is incumbent upon you enjoy LATTER DAYS of Mora and Huffy-bear.

Also thank you David Hernandez for pitching baseball nicely!!

super reverse dOuble massacre

excited but tired Wayward O must head to work right now so not lots of time for long, glorious post last night deserves but:

-- felix pie is wild, young leopard
-- oscar salazar is hercules
-- matt wieters summoned HEALING RAINS

and rest of Team finally REFUSED TO LOSE against their tormentors! and finally got revenge on cool, moist night!

day game today: GO 3E!

high dudgeOn

phillies fans are mad about fact that wiggy didn't quite tag jimmy rollins yesterday during eighth inning.


Image: myphil17 via MLB.tv
rollins arguably would have scored (if you're into "what might have happened" scenarios) because next batter hit a double. that would have tied game.

but let's face it ... that's a vicinity play if ever there was one. he could have been called safe, it's true, but umpire has obstructed view there and would punch anybody out.

Opening day remarks

yerkee fans did NOT take over yard ... it's the ECON SQUEEZE son no extra loot

rich yankee first baseman was BOOed with venomous lust that lifted hearts across DelMarVa

izturis played sweet D, picked off nady and hit home run

adam jones went nutz and couldn't be contained

and MANHORSE came through late, putting game out of reach

overall it was a lovely day as team took down yankee fat ace

Team has old skool batting helmets again thank goodness

team v. nats .... thOughts

THOUGHT NUMBER ONE: adam jones looks like he is about to turn in a big year ... he's ripping through the k-zone with the bat. he just looks strong.

THOUGHT NUMBER TWO: aub. is showing no signs of any type of fall-off. and what a great quote he gave yesterday to the sunpape re: Big Bird:

I've told Daniel a thousand times: 'If I ever face you, I'm just going to stand
there. If you can throw three strikes, that's great. Then, just for fun, I'm
going to steal on the first pitch.'

and that's just what he did.

THOUGHT NUMBER THREE: team doesn't have best bench in AL East with Scott, Freel and Wigginton?

THOUGHT NUMBER FOUR: re thought number two, thanks you jebus we don't have to watch big bird walk batters any more

THOUGHT NUMBER FIVE: mlb.tv is loaded down with boner ads, wheelchair ads and other ads that suggest demographic skews long in tooth. there is video game ad though, which gives wayward o some hope

THOUGHT NUMBER SIX: chris ray --> young houdini --> sherill or some permutation thereof sounds like decent late-inning staff

THOUGHT NUMBER SEVEN: trembO seems very excited about team and there is a different vibe in camp this march and [BONUS THOUGHT] macphail seems loose and has good relationship with Petey the Greek aka Ol Man Jowls aka P.G. "Rated" Angelos

dreaded, endless mOnth

It is dreaded, endless month of March. March kind of reminds Wayward O of the FloMax TV spot narrated by the man with FAKE BOB UECKER VOICE: You want to enjoy it until you realize it's making you squirm.

Here are three more things about March that are eternal, expected yet painful nevertheless:

• trying to sign up with MLB.tv
• 18-degree mornings
• melvin mora in good mood

But enough about Month. Team reminds Wayward O of BACON-SAUSAGE TRAY at Huntley Lodge in Big Sky:


The boundless potential of grilled meat
Salty and inviting -----> BUT PROBABLY HEARTBURN-INDUCING!

Soon blog will make FUN PREDICTIONS. Stay tuned. Super hint: The Royale signed yet another reliever!

Also it is good to see Wayward O's personal favorite "pardOn their dust" gaining ground on "miracle in prOgress" in Sobriquet Search. The latter feels like it might be year early!!!

aubrey, manhOrse.

or more accurrately, he apparently has tattoo of manhorse on arm! wayward o can only wonder at what series of events resulted in such an inking.

also manager says memlO showed up ripped and ready to play beisbol!! it is silly but ....

roberts
markakis
mora
THE AUB
freel / scott
jones
zaun / matty weet weet
pie
izturis

looks like lineup full of speed, power and manhorse tats.

what if guthrie, uehara and hill are good pitchers? does this mean team will have a crazy outside shot at contention? yes! there is 12 percent chance of this!! probability of team being good is high but such a scenario would also depend upon yankee poorness and a tampa bay reversion to form.

complicating matters further is concept of yankee poorness. it's likely yankee clubhouse will be mess all summer long and they will all hate one another, however, there is so much free agent talent there now it may not matter.

further complicating already further complications is team's home court. unlike hideous devil ray stadium, for example, and fenway, apparently camden is friendly place for all comers. can anything be done about this?

and don't even mention red sox. they will again be good. that's your lock for 09.

still though ... it could happen. but it probably won't. and it's just likely to be the struggles of jones and pie as it is to be the pitching that give us nightmares all summer.

nevertheless, team is set up to score runs and even trade should such an amazing scenario come to pass.

wait ... it's not even march yet?????? march is longest, most dreary of months ...

wayward o is heading to montana for week of skiing. it will be the gayest of times!! a few posts from road might be forthcoming. or at a minimum perhaps the SUPERPALOOKA TEAMATRON will be updated with important INCITES.

have fun! stay warm! spring is on the way! Os fans love to chirp early and cry late....

a team transfOrmed...

well that poll got obsolete quickly, did it not? it appears diaspOra thinks koji oji oji is best new player ... not counting ty wigginton, rich hill or felix pie or ----- MATTY WEET WEET!!!! wayward O is considering a couple of sObriquets for 09 campaign. help us decide in new poll! if you don't like those ideas leave a suggestion in the comments. it is highly likley you will have better idea than tired wayward O who works for a living.


not very scientific. doesn't matter!!!

overall team has undergone major renovations! lots of suckiness has been taken out of the mix! some new suckiness might have been added -- we'll have to see -- but fully a third of opening day roster is likely to be new faces!


so many exclamation pointz!!!
uehara, hendrickson & hill ----> maybe an upgrade on balance over big bird, olson and burres

return of chris ray ----> should help bullpen

cesar izturis -----> clear upgrade at short

felix pie -----> maybe a gamble but not really considering we gave up little

aub. at 1b ----> a major upgrade over fat millar

chris gomez, ty wigginton, ryan freel -----> bench upgrades any way you slice it over dopes we had

and with blue jays having a downsizing offseason, there is a strong possibilty team won't end up in basement again. in fact, there is a small chance (4.3% to be exact)they could actually be ...


kinda good?!?!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA JUST KIDDING? RIGHT???? HAHAHA. Eh.

andy knOws best

they do this to us every year, no? but roster is looking young, athletic, balanced and talented.

if team was tv show it would be "andy knows best." now we see why team did not bother chasing yankees up idiot pole in teixeira sweepstakes.

($24 million tex .308 BA, 33 HR, 121 RBI vs. $8 million aub. .304 BA, 32 HR, 108 RBI)

and now we see plan. (assuming team doesn't deal b-rob for pitching, of course).

friend of wayward O (fowo) is in town and last night as we watched sad ravens lose we read about pie trade on MOBILE INTERNETS and posted to SUPERPALOOKA TEAMATRON at right but more thoughts:

• apparently felix pie's last name is pronounced "pee-aay" but wayward O has no intention of calling him that. his name is "py".
• hopefully his batting average will be somewhere around PI ---- .314
• and sad but polite luke scott will DH? Hmm. Things may need adjusting when we play against LHPs
• we wish felix's testicular region all the best; he had surgery last year
• we bid a sad farewell to garrett olson -- a classy, talented, serious guy who will make the Cubs a better team

Welcome to team, son
To recap: Team has catcher. Team has infield. Team has outfield. Team has no pitching!! OR DOOOOOo WEEEE?????

win tOtals

Wayward O did not come here to say all is crabcakes and lemonade in Land of Pleasant Living today. But there is a real statistical silver lining to team's achievements from 2008 lost seasOn.

No idea whether others have performed similar analysis, but here are baseball's divisions ranked in order of "average wins per team."

Average Wins Per Team By Division
1. AL East: 87
2. NL Central: 83.333333..
3. AL Central: 81.4
4. NL East: 79.2
5. AL West: 78.75
6. NL West: 75

This is clear indicator that anecdotes suggesting AL East is baseball's toughest division are true by long shot.

And here are your win totals for basement dwellers.

Basement Teams' Rank:
1. Detroit (74 wins)
2. Team (68 wins)
3. Pittsburgh (67 wins)
4. San Diego (63 wins)
5. Seattle (61 wins)
6. Washington (59 wins)

So of all six "last place" teams, Team -- largely devoid of free agent talent -- was 2nd in wins while playing in division where wins far and away are hardest to come by.

Wayward O isn't sure how this bodes for team but he is sure it bodes well for Daniel Cabrera. He thinks it bodes well for Team, too.

It's 11 degrees in New Yawk. Have nice hot stove day.

sO many things!

wayward O has been remiss. readers are owed many things:

• playoff postmortem
• traitor retirement postmortem
• brob/pie trade rumor hand-wringing
• entreaty to all mankind to sign young savior
• sarasota spring training facility updates
• andy macphail's many reasurring statements re: team
• musings on rafael palmeiro's viagrinal turgitude

and that's just beginning!

but alas things are so busy! this weekend no less so! wayward O will be at M&T Bank Stadium to see Redskins vs. Ravens. Wayward O grew up Skins / Os fan and that hasn't changed. GO SKINS!

In anyway, later in month Wayward O swears he will catch readers up on important events! in meantime, holla in the comments if there's something blog should be noting bene.

for

sOuthguts

one minute you're toiling in obscurity and the next you've one-hit old man vladdy and his angels over eight innings and you're flat brimming it with the big club.


Real Men of Genius
Chris Waters, the Wayward O salutes you.

it might be fluke (remember when Josh Towers started 5-1?) but even so you play great defense on hill -- kind of similar to that played by man to your left in the above image.

bOring text entry

just a couple four thingers this morning.

• good story in washpo about trade aspirations -- mlb teams no longer look to Os as dopey trade deadline palookas. Os have nice core and will ask for real value
• aubrey huff is golden deity, tied with alex r. in home runs but aub. had game-winner last nite and a-rod had a boo boo on his arm
• the ascension of daniel "big bird gotham" cabrera is reawakening like the c'thulu ... FACE THE THING THAT SHOULD NOT BE!
• kevin millar is wayward o's daddy
• robinson cano is a surly jerk who strikes out in big spots
• the tex trade makes it 6.3% LESS LIKELY he'll ever come to baltimore. current odds of team signing local boy stand at 12.45%. O's will offer carlos lee money; someone else will offer slightly less than a-rod money. in maryland we teach our kids to not give away $50 million just you know because maryland is so nice ... or do we? time will tell

dennis sarfate gets ball at 1 p.m. in da bronnix today. is sweep too much to ask? probably...

team interns are pOlite but penniless

this email exchange will SHOCK BASEBALL WORLD:

2 July 10:36 a.m.
to: Wayward O
from: team intern
Hi.
I am currently updating our email contacts list and I wanted to make sure that this is still your current email address. If you could please email the Baltimore Orioles PR Department back at this address: [redacted] and confirm that this is still your current email ... that would be very helpful.
Thank you and have a pleasant day.
[redacted]
PR Intern


2 July 6:01 p.m.
to: team intern
from: Wayward O
Hello [redacted].
Yes, this is correct e-mail address of Wayward O.How are you today? Do you get free Dip n Dotz as MLB intern?
All the Best,
-- t.w.o.


2 July 6:53 p.m.
to: Wayward O
from: team intern
i'm good. thank you for your response. no, unfortunately, to the free dip n dots.


3 July 8:42 a.m.
to: team intern
from: Wayward O
I urge you to hold out for free Dip n Dotz. Think of future interns! Viva la Revolucion!

imagine TOILING AWAY in summer heat knowing delicious cold treat is available on ALL CONCOURSES and yet not having FUNDS to AVAIL ONESELF! pure torture. everybody knows dip n dot prices FLUCTUATE with other commodities such as BRENT CRUDE and COTTON CANDY.

welcOme news

HEY THAT'S FREEBIE!!!!!!!!


Up in Yer Big Leagues
Throwin you OUT!
HE WILL SAVE US, B'GOLLY! Two for two so far!!


Playmaka Control!
Such a good day for Os fanz!

yOur starting lineup

It's shameful that TIKE REDMAN has to leave team today. But team is lucky he cleared waivers, in Wayward O's opinion...

Brian Roberts - 2B
Melvin Mora - 3B
Nick Markakis - RF
Kevin Millar - 1B
Aubrey Huff - DH
Ramon Hernandez - C
Luke Scott - LF
Adams Jones - CF
Luis Hernandez - SS
Jeremy Guthrie - SP

Could be worse. And if Luke Scott flubs a few more ballz in left, you'll be seeing Tike soon enough.

herO insurgent bird

look at this guy!



New York Times photo
kind of reminds wayward O of when he goes to see team play in bronx. well, sort of...

It came down to the ground and, without ceremony, pecked at a piece of banana.

no bananas for sale at Yankeezeera HQ however, one may eat...


read full accounting here of real, actual Wayward Oriole bird, who is HARBRINGER OF GLORY FOR TEAM, who has taken up residence in Manhattan. this is normal range of Scott's Oriole.

i did an Orbit!

blog turns one years old today! and what a year it's been. and so much positive things said from so many quarters it's almost too haptastic! this year we're looking forward to many improvements to site (assuming we can slog them together) such as:

• box score widgets? how you do that?
• haikurls for (almost) all gamez ...
• polls, tunes, and many other web-2.0 dingdongz
• by popular demand, MORE SCREENSHOTS of AMBER
• full MLB preview with playoff predictions coming in march

not to mention endless Optimism as the lost season gets under way....

crazy like a fOx

not big post with world-beating perspicaciousness today from wayward O; merely note for trembO supporting decision to make baez closer -- manager sees bullpen in tatters under any other scenariO and essentially puts it on his player to step up.

a solid decision that shows manager is in touch with reality as Orioles try to parlay their newfound sense of pride into an inspirational stretch run that, if it continues to succeed, will

• get team stoked for 08 playoff bid, and
• make it clear to free agent batters baltimore isn't black hole
• define danys' future role with team

here's hoping danys baez finds form that made him tempting as a free-agent buy in first place.

abOut last night...

Wayward O was surprised the papes didn't mention last night was Orioles first return to Fenway since MOTHER's DAY MIRACLE MASSACRE. Apparently team forgot too. After loss to Yankees, Orioles went up to Boston and handed out some more pain to division leaders.

Game was Os at their best; from opening pitch home run off bat of the Diminutive Dazzler to Jamie "Grizzly Juice" Walker's save it was a tense affair but Baltimores weren't fazed, crazed or dazed. Wayward O was so excited about win he um took a spin around Internets and found a few photos from Associated Press to display here. Wayward O loves Associated Press! He feels guilt about displaying these picture but excited dwarfs shame right now!!

TrembO is dead ringer for Shatner

Bedard was all sick but still nasty

Corey is vacuum cleaner in CF


Manny is goofball!

There were so many more tidbits from last night to savor. How about the Young Savior going two rows deep in stands near Pesky Pole and stealing foul ball from like eight Red Sox fans? How about effective performances from Rob Bell and Chad Bradford?

How about Danys Baez not being in ballpark at all? Coincidence? Wayward O asks you...

nevermind the answer, what's the questiOn?

riding high on monday ... shot down in may. that's life!

wayward O doesn't like losing to mariners anymore but big vacation is on way. blogging will be light.

sometimes after a few days away from workplace, wayward O has deep thoughts. for example:

What is meaning of life?

much like late douglas adams in his book 'hitchhiker's guide to galaxy,' orioles beer man has come up with likely answer:



that's right. six times seven is forty-two. forty-two is answer. now what is question?

while you are working on question, please take to heart another important beer man quote:

"Keep th' party goin, man"

it cOuld happen...

so thrilling that agent steinz first printed below entry complete with key illustrationz -- wayward O will guest bog for you any times!! entry re-printed below for sake of posterity but you should not read here. should read on steinz's blog ... SO MUCH BETTER THERE.

wayward O had epic, feature-length dream! -- set just weeks in future and ending in early october 2008 -- in which he was back living in DC.

wayward O was driving to camden for baseball game! honda was cruising north on bw parkway, a/c battling late july heat. orioles had just traded fireballer daniel cabrera to texas for mark texeira throwing in jay gibbons and $3 million to play string at first base for rangers.

buzz was loud in crabtown!

puffy clouds danced over dundalk!

my friend todd was sending absurd text messages about how great owner angelos now is!

not even peyton manning showing up at minicamp could bump baseball from radio!

then bulletin came over airwaves ... orioles had made yet another deal, this time with nationals: orioles were sending melvin mora and first-round draft pick matt wieters to nationals for ryan zimmerman. mora waived no-trade clause because of proximity of dc club to quintuplets and desire to play head-to-head against other venezuelan third baseman in NL East, miguel cabrera, in order to finally find out who's real hugo chavez of hot corner-istas.

with adam loewen coming back, the rent-a-pen finding its feet and with orioles lineup now including zimmerman and texeira, orioles were starting to hammer on all cylinders at end of 2007 and ... wow the future was bright for 2008.

even corey patterson was getting on base!!!!

like wayward O said, this was a dream...

wayward O's dream extended into off-season and more surprises were in store: washington nationals' newly healed first baseman nick johnson and 2007 comeback player of year dmitri young holed up in a super-intensive baseball & fitness camp and both came back ripped, taut and ready for 2008 DC campaign. also ross detweiler made huge strides in offseason, john
patterson spent winter in mothering hut and came back ready and chad cordero decided nationals' baseball was in his blood and decided to sign, flat brim and all, for another contract go around.

as wayward O snoozed away, and 2008 season started in his dreamz, things started to get interesting. orioles were hammering away at hideous, depleted yankee organization, hanging tough with boston and finally getting interleague wins.

even more of a dream-land surprise were nats, with melvin "something to prove again" mora playing hard, nick and dmitri hitting home runs and pitching staff locking down games, nats were out to a hot start vs. oldsters on mets and phillies and also holding own with rest of National League.

regular season interleague matchups between the two teams were getting lots of play in national media! FOX even took on on television! there was a BIG TO-DO over an alleged "hand gesture" mora may or may not have made at the fans way back in section 80 of camden after chants of "melmo" reached peak during rubber match.

by july 2008 it was really starting to get a bit crazy in the bw corridor. all-star game featured many orioles and nationals! brian roberts, young, texeira and patterson to name a few. Os were solidly ahead in AL East and looking to cruise into playoffs. and nats too were walking on air, well
ahead of weak NL East competitors and thinking about october. manny acta and dave trembley were pleasant surprises and cultivated aura of pride and winning.

spots yackers tony kornheiser, tom boswell and peter schmuck were all terrified to even mention the possibility .... of a fall classic featuring each heretofore lowly team.

only downside from Os perspective of sending wieters to nats was wieters was proving himself to be a natural. if ramon hernandez weren't having a big walk year, disappointment would be palpable in land of pleasant living. nevertheless there was lots of grumbling from Os curmudgeons on roch kubatko's blog!!

wayward O starts awake as horn honking rattles brooklyn street ... drinks blue gatorade and promptly falls back asleep a few weeks later on in dream...

dream picks up with Os having vanquished mariners in wild card, a la 1997, and having topped angels in epic ALCS that went six games and featured nick markakis in a night-time mission to have special tzadziki plate blessed by greek gods and feeding magic sauce to pitcher erik bedard, who K's sixteen angels in amazing game four in anaheim, putting Os up three games to one. but that's not all, mora and his amazing nationals dispose of milwaukee brewers in first round and then melvin bats .430 in NLCS vs. hated marlins with four home runs and 12 rbis to propel nats to sweep. and now, in dream of course, there is only one thing left to come....

BALTIMORES MEET WASHINGTONS IN WORLD SERIES.

fox sets up cameras. jeannie zelasko puts chopsticks in hair to affect
new-style look. kevin kennedy sets up shop at top of waterfront marriott
with case of bourbon and dominos hotline and amber theoharris' head
continues to grow physically larger with each passing moment as baseball
world turns laser focus on

HIGHLY IMPROBABLE FALL CLASSIC

john "kick 'em when they're down" kruk says world series is "illegitimate" and refuses to anchor baseball tonight desk until yankees and cardinals start winning again.

(nobody misses him)

angelos is finally seen in public for first time since 1998. he orders "SHOTS for everybody" at harborplace philipps crab restaurant but then refuses to pay bill, saying outburst did not amount to binding, legal contract.

sure enough ... on 4 october 2008, the first pitch in the Baltimore Orioles vs. Washington National World Series is thrown!

wayward O wakes as alarm clocks sounds ... and dream vanishes like a genie who's just been insulted by an upstart bottle-rubber. he rubs eyes, pours cup of coffee and wonders ....... WHO WOULD HAVE WON?

tell 'em wayward O sent ya

orioles are battling hard!

ump made a bad call sunday as mora snuck under tag versus angels. but jay payton was probably late to base on bunt single. so wayward O supposes calls cancel out. anyway it was just latest bad call that went against team and cost them a win.

sunday's game at camden was exciting, fun and well-paced. not to mention beautiful; golden sunlight and blue sky; puffy clouds dancing over the land of pleasant living. and word is organization has dialed back beer prices slightly. not so much for dippin dots; tasty but pricey!

AP photo shows determination on jay's face!

then last night bedard struggled and right after wayward O lost WHFS signal (all the way up in New Jersey, can you believe it?) Os fell behind chisox and wayward O wondered if all the bad calls were finally catching up with team again and demoralizing them.

it was not until a bit later when wayward brO sent text message that wayward O suspected something was up. and sure as you're hatched, Os finally finally made late-inning comeback and put one more nail in Ozzie's coffin on south side of chicago.

cOrey patterson has to be player of game last night. get on base and keep on running dood! wayward O just hopes somehow corey can pick up the pace enough to have Orioles keep him on team. he's really something in center field.

and the closer too ... capped off a great night monday night by bullpen. chris ray probably sat down, watched 'caddyshack', and found his eternal consciousness.

so he's got that going for him. which is nice.

things we knOw

1. orioles are playing fine without tejada; his injury is blessing in thin disguise. hopefully he's still part of team next year. in 3-hole with a real slugger backing him up he'll be fine. and he'll also be more apt to take days off or DH and that will keep him hitting.

2. game should have been called before jeter's at-bat last night. even so, orioles still have chance to sweep "series." orioles have been jobbed worse. remember the satan-boy in the 1996 playoffs? so last night's anti-oriole bias was minor in comparison.

3. yankees are done. they would need a 16-game winning streak to even get within sight of wild card lead. think that will happen? what was jeter so happy about after he hit his double? he ain't going nowhere.

4. macphail and trembley both have been at best impressive and at worst serviceable right out of the gate.

how's all that for positive? why don't you hit the comments area and tell wayward O what else we know. wayward Oriole is quite tired today.

it might be wOrse

wayward O counts blessings and drifts off into a summery evening dreamland. he thinks of things to be happy about as team quits one third of way through season in what surely is a new low for bunch that apparently has not yet hit rock bottom. those who have been to rock bottom tend to caution outsiders rock bottom is not for the outsider to gauge. only the subject can know when toes have touched murky lakebed. and so, without further ado, at least...

You're not rooting for him.
OMG can you imagine?

And at least...

We got rid of this palooka
Sure he wins games but c'mon.

And maybe...

The Old Savior's boredom quotient
will start to increase
after he gets his HOF laurels
and the trumpets fade...

and also...

The emperor wears no clothes.

Maybe that last bit is wishful thinking. Maybe it's all wishful thinking.

Put on the colors!
Stuff some tibacky in yer cheek
And put the fear a Jesus into these lazy lugz!

and wayward O almost forgot!

Since we're gonna need a pitching coach, too.

clearinghOuse

it's been a crazy road trip. wayward O needs a day off just as bad as brian roberts' ham. no lie too. emotions have run high. here are some things wayward O has said in recent weeks:

must. sweep. kc.
angels… we know about them.
and seattle is a VERY under-rated AL squad.
-- on loss column board

Seattle Mariners: These guys were supposed
to stink last year and though they finished
last, they did win 78 games. First-place
Oakland won 93. The M’s made some
decent moves in the off-season, picking up
Joses Vidro and Guillen from the Nationals.
Add those guys to Ichiro, Beltre and Sexson
and [wayward O] says you’ve got offense.
Will Guillen’s bat put them in the playoff hunt? You betcha!
-- 14 march baseball preview on another site

so really -- no big surprises on road trip. just one big letdown. if perlozzo leaves in guthrie sunday vs. angels in ninth. or if chris ray gets it done. or if perlozzo makes vladdy face chad bradford. or if [fill in blank]. then orioles are home after a 6-4 road trip and things look peachy. but oh these bloody sundays. and you cannot tell wayward O it's not about coaching and managing. it most certainly is. that said, sammy perlozzo did a nice job yesterday at safeco as daniel cabrera was on the precipice of a nervous episode. he pulled him aside and said, man you got to step up right now. nice. sam's body of work, in wayward O's opinion, is lacking. but the man has his moments. it's up to the players, we suppose, to communicate to the team management if he's the guy they want to play for next year.

wayward O thinks gary sheffield should come dh in baltimore because we have BLACK BALLPLAYERS and could use some more.

and wayward O recently watched an encore presentation of the 1969 world series and noticed orioles had many great black ballplayers and their blessed blackness struck a chord that seems to have grown quiet in modern baseball.

but sheff must NOT SPEAK TO MEDIA if he comes to balto. to hit baseballs a million feet. and he must not ever put on glove and take field.

wayward O wants to give freddy bynum a nickname. f-bee? frisbee? the carolina flash? help us out with your ideas in comments.

yOunt

brettpharve: dudeman
the wayward O: dude!
the wayward O: dude guess what i saw all over nyc this weekend
brettpharve: can you stop them?
brettpharve: um
brettpharve: brewer caps
the wayward O: brewer lids!!!
brettpharve: ha -- yep
the wayward O: wOrd
brettpharve: bandwagon is closed
the wayward O: i am jealous of your spring fling
brettpharve: shit
the wayward O: may it become a hot summer love affair
brettpharve: it aint a fluke -- gonna be fun
the wayward O: they're already getting called out by fat sports yakkers
brettpharve: you see, they got this kid who's cecil's son !
the wayward O: ha.
the wayward O: only thing he needs to do is act like he's been there
the wayward O: yeah
brettpharve: aws


from the wayward Os photo vault. 27 september 2003 @ l'estad de janqui:

an april pOem

wayward O confesses he did not watch yesterday's game but when his text alert hit his cellphone he felt such excitement!! a 7-3 meant that trachsel didn't melt down and team offense continued. it was not easy going outside and enjoying weather when wayward O knew he should have been watching team dismantle canadian rivalz.

shOw toronto the door. don't get lost on the JFX!! blue jays are now angry and will go to boston and teach red sox that not all is cake and candy. you don't get to play old, beat-up yankees every single day!! blue jays manager is getting close to an elia rant.

"they're really really behind ya around here"

wayward O knows the feeling! like when you sit in section 80 at camden and there's angry red sox fans who act like you're in their house!! that's why now blue jays will get hot!

this is not a time to talk about how Os are doing it. this is a time to enjoy, and wayward O offers the following mantra for fanz to chat before drifting off into dreamland:

dear baseball godz...
let bedard strike out crisp
and let markakis come to bat with RISP
let payton play left
and of hits let cOrey not be bereft
let tejada's streak grow long
and let aubrey hit 30 dongs
let perlozzo avoid the Evil One's Fury
and let Os escape in-Jury
oh and a little something for the kids in china too.

a day Off

Orioles -- sans ramOn and cOrey and paytOn --- three big Os as you can see :) :) :) get a day off today to consider what they've achieved so far. after being swept in three games by twins (who happen to be the best team in the AL at least at this point) this was a team looking down the barrel of a trebuchet loaded with cow poop.

but then they went 3 up and 3 down vs. detroit and yankees (giving up two grand slams in the process) and feasted on KC and tampa, winning 5 of 6.

not a huge set of data but we are seeing the early makings of a pattern: the depleted Os team currently on the feld -- jon knott? freddy bynum? -- struggles against top teams and easily beats bad teams.

it seems strange, but this is a really positive sign. cOrey of course wasn't injured. he was at a family funeral. paytOn appears to be ready to suit up for friday's tilt. ramOn seems to have an injury reminiscent of Bedard 05: i'm fine i'm fine i just can't play is all.

the season will hinge on whether the team can stay healthy -- or in the case of ramOn -- GET healthy.

win tOtal

yes. there are like 5 million season previews. they all say Os are going to stink. let's focus on two of them:

peter schmuck of baltimore sun, he of shooing away pesky parrots and whatnot, says Os will win 78 gameZ. but he allows for more, or fewer. t.w.O. likes p.schmuck.

murray chass, a very nasty man who writes for the new york times, says:

The Baltimore Orioles have fortified their bullpen with the addition of Danys Báez, Jamie Walker, Chad Bradford and Scott Williamson, but the additions to their starting rotation are New York castoffs, Jaret Wright from the Yankees and Steve Trachsel from the Mets. Little wonder that the Orioles are headed for their 10th consecutive losing season, a period the franchise last experienced when it primarily played as the St. Louis Browns.

no link for you! murray chass hates orioles with a bitterness that only belies his age; he clearly remembers the most recent bygone era and fears its return.

wayward O finds his "preview" insulting because it's not a "preview"; it's a perfunctary dismissal Os offseason signings -- some of 'em -- followed by a nasty remark. wasn't trachsel like 15-8 last year? didn't Os get wright straight up in a trade for chris britton? seems like a steal where we sit. just to save you the time: britton doesn't appear on janquis opening day roster. it's a wonder the murray chasses of the world still have work; even great papers forgive laziness after a while t.w.O. guesses.

wayward O says maybe Os win total will be around 78 (he thinks it will be higher) but entire AL East will be a grindhouse this season. division winner may have a low 90s win tote. in 2005 a weaker Os squad had its way with division until injuries hit (hard, damn hard) in june. it might happen again.

in the meantime, please help wayward O think of a nickname for murray chass...

cocky red sox fan

Scott Ross: Fourth
The Wayward O: f*ck deadspin
The Wayward O: f*ck cnnsi
The Wayward O: f*ck espn
The Wayward O: f*ck them all
The Wayward O: wins and losses
The Wayward O: don't worry. i'm at my most annoying every march.
The Wayward O: i calm down after Os go 7-15 in april

duquette on ny air

vp of baseball ops jim duquette is on blimp, er, mike and mad dog today. here are some quotes:

• "we're expecting a lot of good things [from tejada] ... he was embarrassed by the way he played defensively, especially the first half last year ..."
• demurred on gibbons
• trachsel and wright "have been spotty" "we may end up going with 13 pitchers to start the season" because of wright's shoulder issues
• "i really thought the mets would have [chad bradford] back"
• "we overpaid [danys] baez" but had to, to get him on the roster
• perlozzo "he's still a work in progress"
• on Os having to play Red Sox, Yankees, "we've had a pretty big turnover in the roster ... i don't expect [losing mentality] to be an issue this year"
• on MASN, "it's the only way ... to compete" with big-market clubs
• he did not attempt to push back when mike & mad dog implied Orioles have no shot at post-season
• on Yankees, "we catch them the second series of the year. maybe we can take advantage" of weaker rotation
• what's a good year for Os? "i think .500" "we'd sign for .500 right now" "maybe you're in the hunt middle of the year and make a trade"

the wayward O is not overly impressed with his performance. whatever. everyone sez Os will be better. the only thing that matters is wins and losses.

adam LOewen

six innings, three hits vs. twins today.

who is "yan ruddy?" it's funny listening to out-of-town announcers struggle with other teams' spring training rosters.


by the way, hayden penn is a great kid. they sent him down to the minors and he was all, "hey it's cool." he's 23 and very mellow. just a little wild on the hill.

ps. another day, another home run for the young savior.

the yOung savior

blogger sucks.

the young savior already has two HRs vs. dodgers today and he's pulled one back.

in budgetary terms that's a total of three HRs in two innings.

plus he's a handsome bastard:

sports illustrated says Os have no shot at postseason and baseball prospectsuck apparently says they will finish behind devil rays.

the wayward O begs to differ.

dodgers' rafael furcal got hurt on the first play of the game.

parrish and yan and pray for flan

wayward O hasn't posted in a few days. a few weeks. but the only real development has been more spring games, which mlbtv isn't showing a lot of 'em. and happy fun spring winfest kind of ended as O's record evened out. but as mets broadcaster keith hernandez might say, 'look at my hair. back in my day. i should like a coffee.' oh. wait. he might say... man is he a terrible announcer. i dont' know how the other guy puts up with him. last years keith almost got fired. i think he gets bored. that's when he's at his most dangerous.

last night the wayward o watched Os vs mets and he concluded that john parrish still isn't very good and ruddy yan isn't very good either -- unless you like to see karate kicks in center field instead of guys running down fly balls.

also it's time for t.w.o to weigh in on a weighty issue: the spring training hats. wayward o think they're fine as long as they stay in flarda when the teams come north.

steaming viddy O

folks have been getting their mlb.com re-up emails this week. despite being a longtime customer, wayward o did not receive his.

last year the wayward o did not know mlb would automatically renew subscription to gameday audiO. so wayward o went ahead and re-subscribed. then wayward o was charged twice!!! wayward o chirped and chirped but nobody would listen. wayward o ate the extra charge just like that. it made wayward o think of his favorite movie poem:

fifteen bucks, little man
put that shit, in my hand
this year wayward o is more wary. he calls mlb.com friday and waits on hold for 35 minutes. he gets a customer rep on the line, who explains the site isn't re-upping automatically this year because of the firestorm the automatic re-ups created between the 05 and 06 seasons. apparently t.w.o. wasn't the only sucka who got billed twice.

wayward o suggests to the customer rep, let's sign me up for a package over the phone just to make sure we don't have repeat of the double-billing fiasco. sure, says mlb.com rep ... let's do that.

but wait ... despite the fact that wayward o can log in to the mlb site, customer rep has no information on file about wayward o. rep explains, 'our database only goes back six months.' rep also says wayward o's current subscription is valid until march 31 2007. rep makes these claims despite the fact that wayward o CAN login but CANNOT listen to audio streams.

wayward o points this out, rep confirms, rep has no explanation. wayward o says to rep, 'i know this isn't your fault, but your system is really awful. just terrible.' rep says, more or less, 'yes, yes it really is...'

meanwhile, springtime happy winfest is going on as they speak. and wayward o wishes to harness the power of the internets and watch said happy spring winfest. so what does wayward o do? he signs up for the mlb tv online package and says, in effect, damn the torpedOes.

wayward o remarks to a friend at the office: they got what i want. and there's not a damn thing i can do about it except pay the money and wonder how many times they'll charge me this year!

on a postive note, the signup was easy and within seconds of handing over the wayward credit card number t.w.o. was streaming friday's game.

just to recap:

--- mlb.com's customer interface is an unmitigated disaster
--- and it's not a secret to them
--- they may or may not bill you twice
--- you won't know until you are billed twice
--- it takes half a day just to get someone on the phone
--- if you do get them on the phone, it won't help
--- they will take your money, however, without any problems

i guess that's what happens when you deal with the monopoly.

blOwing the mets away...

wow -- what a spring so far for orioles young studz!! it reminds me a little of 2005 except this time let us pray erik bedard doesn't come down with a trick knee. and let us assume ramon hernandez will keep his hands away from 95-mph pitches and avoid a dumb javy lopez-type injury.

today the wayward o got a look at the birds vs mets on nyc cable. it warmed my birdie heart to see the orange and black all rarin' to go even if it was the 2nd string at best ... who is ruddy yan? and how come he can't catch a fly ball?



oh man cabrera can bring it. looks to me like he's taken some of the herky-jerky out of his windup and tightened down the whole deal in order to get the ball over the plate. his line was something like: 3 innings, 1 hit, 4 Ks and no walks ...... yawsome.

btw --- el duque um looked kind of rusty and old. he literally threw a 48-mph curve ball. he wasn't fooling anybody. a young birdy in training named donachie (DON AH CHEE) took him wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy downtown.