new functiOnality

hello. please feel free to play with new search deal. result page display leaves something to be desired but overall it works kind of in case there was some nugget that you simply must revisit. perhaps in coming days it can be improved but for now it is what it is.

meanwhile, team is playing baseball in detroit and they have 13 runs through five innings. perhaps they will even win. time will tell.

harvey kOrman

actors come and actors go but nobody ever made wayward o laugh like harvey korman.



and here's one more ...



rest in peace.

jeffrey maier i see yOu!

jay cOmes clean, kinda

on sept. 10 of this year, here is what wayward O said about jay gibbons:

wayward O wants gibbons to differentiate himself from this sorry lot by standing up in public like a man and giving a full accounting of his cheating ways.

and you could look it up. today we learn that gibbons has done some of that. here is what he tells the baltimore sun:

"I am deeply sorry for the mistakes that I have made," Gibbons said. "I have
no excuses and bear sole responsibility for my decisions. Years ago, I relied on
the advice of a doctor, filled a prescription, charged the hGH, which is a
medication, to my credit card and had only intended to help speed my recovery
from my injuries and surgeries. I hope that my family, teammates, fans and
[Orioles owner] Peter Angelos and the entire Orioles organization will accept my
apologies and that we can all move on."

so now what do we do? well, i think it's best to trade gibbons if some other team will have him. try to sell him as a reclamation project and give him away -- even if it means eating some of his contract.

because while most of what gibbons says is admirable, wayward O wonders about his stated motive for juicing ... and finds it difficult to swallow the notion that jay simply wanted to heal from an injury.

jay gibbOns' big chance

what do gibbons, rafael palmeiro, troy glaus, rick ankiel, jason giambi, sammy sosa, mark mcgwire, guillermo mota, barry bonds, gary sheffield, jason grimsley, countless minor leaguers, and so many others in the majors have in common? a couple things...

1) we're pretty certain they used steroids or hGH, maybe after it was illegal
2) they've been linked in some concrete way to said substances
3) so far, none has given a full, public accounting

there is a smaller group of players -- most famous among them david ortiz, miguel tejada and alex rodriguez -- who have been whispered about but who have never been linked to steroids and they are not part of this group.

so what does wayward O want from gibbons now that he clearly will never play in the majors again? wayward O wants gibbons to differentiate himself from this sorry lot by standing up in public like a man and giving a full accounting of his cheating ways.

don't do it for yourself jay ... do it for the thousands of screaming ten-year-olds who went to camden to root for you to hit home runs. when they're older they'll appreciate your candor.

wayward O is very sympathetic to players who used steroids and other now-banned substances before they were banned and sees no need to punish any such behavior. however, gibbons, it appears, continued to use and mask after baseball's wake-up-late policy was enacted.

on another note ... was it:

-- the new york times
--- espn
-- the daily news
--- the networks
-- and everybody else

who said george mitchell's little "probe" was impotent? yes. all of them...

the former senator from maine is the man behind the curtain, friends. he's getting it out there in ways no mere baseball player considered possible.

he got the irish to sit down and talk. did the meathead baseball players think they were going to outsmart or outlast him?

wild bill hagy, 1939 -2007

Os fan. cab driver. rally savant. baltimore legend.

Sun photo by Paul Hutchins

memories pour in to roch's blog such as:

It was the realization that fans could actually be heard on the field if they
spoke with one voice that spawned the many chants that followed, all dreamt up
by Wild Bill. A couple favorites of mine "C'mon Ken - hit it in the bullpen" and
"C'mon Lowenstein - hit the Busch Beer sign." Every time the O's would get a new
player Bill would have to quickly come up with a new chant unique to that
player.

and

As a young black kid in the late 70's and teenager in the 80's I remember
WILD BILL, he was the reason why you brought tickets in the bleachers at
memorial stadium, to cheer with him, catch a ball, and support a team that
had alot of african-americam talent,I miss that about the O;s and the team
should put out his name on the wall around Camden Yards.

and from the Sun coverage:

If ever an out-of-town fan happened into his cab wearing a Yankees hat, he
ordered it removed. If the person refused, he refused the fare.

and

In 1985, Mr. Hagy began a boycott of Memorial Stadium because he was no longer allowed to bring his own beer in a cooler.

many props to sun for solid coverage!

post-tradematic stress disorder

the wayward O was going over the roster this weekend and -- with many and heartfelt apologies to aubrey huff -- was noticing that Os don't have a BIG BOPPER

• boston has manny and ortiz
• toronto has vernon wellz
• tampa has um that young kid who's gonna be a big star one day
• yankees have a-rodious maximus

Os have a balanced lineup with 5 or 6 guys who will hit 20 hrs ... tejada, mora, huff, payton, the cake --- but do we lack the HULKING kent hrbek-like slugger who casts a shadow like the mountain at sunrise?

yes.

but all is not lost. because we have a LOT OF YOUNG PITCHING AND OUTFIELD TALENT. and we are going to PULL THE TRIGGER on a BIG TRADE like we did a few years back to get

WAIT!!!!

STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE DREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

they will not go away!!!!

mister angelos pleeeez don't trade any more of the kids it was bad enuf we sent maine to the mets for benson. maybe maine will be a harnish ... but WHAT IF HE'S A SCHILLING??????

WHO IS SCHILLING? IS IS MAINE? IS IT PENN? IS IT CABRERA? IS IT BEDARD? IS IS ADAM LOEWEN?

the baby birds are like little arrows haunting the wayward O's dreams.... keep them all. give them hot chocolate and as many marshmallows as they please. do whatever you can to keep them happy.

NO TRADESZZZZEEyAS

i think i need to go outside and see the sky. the planets. the natures. the trees. i will fly around the block six times and sit in the big oak tree to try and forget....