Whether you loved or hated him, “The Boss” always knew how to make a big splash. He knew how to make a big splash during his years of overspending in the big apple. He knew how to make a big splash in free agency. His comments, over the years, were Page 6 worthy time and again in a city that feeds on the celebrity persona and glorifies the idea that bigger is better. Steinbrenner came along in a time where Television was really just beginning to overtake radio as the main outlet for America’s pastime and, there was no better owner to assist in this transition than “The Boss”. From his multiple firings of Billy Martin, dislike of long flowing locks and decade long feud with Yogi Berra, Steinbrenner was one of a kind.

The simple fact is that, as the most polarizing owner in American Sports history, Steinbrenner thrived in the New York spotlight more so than any other athlete or celebrity really has in the 37 years since he purchased the Yanks for a mere $10 Million dollars. He has turned the Yankees Franchise into the most valuable in American Sports and has done so by shaking the foundation of the game in every way shape or form possible. He was made for New York and New York was made for him.

Free agency wouldn’t be what it is today without “The Boss”, for better or for worse. The way in which media and sports figures interact today has changed, greatly, due to Steinbrenner’s flair for the spotlight. George Steinbrenner modernized not just baseball but, the way in which Professional Sports, in general, operated in these United States.

To get back to that $396 Million…due to a National Loophole, there is no such thing as an estate tax at the current time. This time next year, the tax would have been 55% and, in reality, George’s family may very well have had to sell the team. So, I guess in death, George wins again. He goes out saving his family millions via a loophole. He goes out on the same day as the Major League Baseball All Star Game taking center stage yet again. He goes out the year after his team wins a world series. He goes out with his beloved Bronx Bombers currently sitting in first place (by the way, a World Series win this year would still technically give him 8 as he was the owner of the team on Opening Day).

I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’ll miss you George. As much as I’ll miss you for your passion to win and your desire to be the best, I’ll miss you just as much for your antics over the years which turned into things of legend. From illegal campaign contributions to paying Gambler’s to dig up dirt on Dave Winfield to the comedic Seinfeld episodes revolving around your likeness, I will miss you.

And as always, on this special night in baseball, you will make one last big splash and take center stage during an event meant for players but, ultimately, built for you.

It’s been a tough week for Yankees fans but, I’ll sleep well at night knowing that you’re off somewhere firing Billy Martin for leaving a pitcher in too long in an Old Timers Softball game.

~Tim Rescigno

Here are my thoughts on the first two months of the Major League Baseball season:

Surprise leaders have some staying power:
Anyone out there who had the Reds, Padres, Athletics and Braves leading their respective divisions(although the Reds are in a tie with the Cardinals) after two months of the season, please come to Las Vegas with me the next time I go, because you have to be the luckiest person in the world. I know there are 4 months left in the season, but I believe all of these teams can hang around and have a good shot at not only getting the wild card, but winning their division. The reason is a simple one: Pitching.

The Braves, A’s and Padres are all in the top ten in the league in ERA and that should keep them in contention for the whole season. The Padres are second overall with a team ERA of 3.00 while the A’s 3.79 ERA ranks them 8th and the Braves are 10th with a 3.83 ERA. Of those teams the Braves are the only one with a potent enough lineup to combat pitching struggles which are almost inevitable at some point this season. Oakland and San Diego will need to continue their stellar pitching if they want to stay at the top of the standings.

The Reds are in 21th overall in pitching, while the team they a tied with atop the division, the Cardinals, are 1st. The Reds however should get a boost in their rotation when Cuban flame thrower Aroldis Chapman makes his major league debut at some point this season to provide some support for surprise rookie Mike Leake. The Reds lineup provides the pitching with the run support it needs, so if the Reds can stay between 15th and 21st in the majors in pitching, they should remain in contention all season.

The Padres, A’s and Reds have been major surprises this season and I expect all of them to stay in contention throughout the whole season, but I give the Reds the best chance of winning their division. The Braves were my preseason pick to win the NL wild card, so while I am surprised they lead the division, I am not surprised to see them playing this well. Atlanta will be in the playoffs but it will likely be as the Wild Card not as the division winner. And if the Reds can reach 88 wins, they will win the NL Central.

How do you spell Cy Young? U-B-A-L-D-O
Never in the last 20 seasons has their been a pitcher as dominant in his first 11 starts as Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies. At 10-1 and a 0.78 ERA Jimenez has been the most dominant pitcher in the game for the first two months of the season and is poised to win his first Cy Young award. To say Jimenez has been good would be a major understatement, he has been special and it should continue. Jimenez has 70 strikeouts in 80.1 innings pitched this season with a WHIP of 0.90. In addition to that he has the luxury of facing some anemic lineups in the National League West and the whole National League overall. Certainly he is going to a have a bad start or two that will inflate his ERA but in my mind, he already has the CY Young locked up and he will lead the Rockies to the playoffs and possibly the World Series.

The long ball makes the Jays a legitimate contender
No team in major league baseball has more homeruns, 89, then the Toronto Blue Jays, and they are on pace to shatter the single season record. Jose Bautista leads the Jays, and all of the majors in homeruns with 16 while teammate Vernon Wells is in the top five in the American League with 13 homers. Aaron Hill and Adam Lind, who were the Blue Jays best power bats last season, only have 15 combined, so even if Bautista Gonzalez and Wells can’t keep their numbers up, Hill and Lind will likely pick theirs up and both will be between 28-32 homeruns at season’s end. More importantly is that Toronto has the lineup to compete in the American League East. Their 89 homeruns are 20 more then the Red Sox, 32 more then the Yankees and 43 more then the Rays. Toronto is more then capable of scoring five or six runs a game, which is what they need to have success in the East. They have played the fewest games against the division thus far but have series coming up against the Rays, Yankees and Red Sox which will determine their place in the AL East hierarchy. The Blue Jays are in the third place in the American League East and they may well slug their way to the top. If their pitching keeps throwing the way they have been, the Blue Jays are legitimate contenders for a Wild Card and possibly the division.

There are still 109-111 games left for every team in baseball so things are sure to change from the way they are now. Baseball is a grind and pennants are won in the second half of the season. That being said, some of the current “surprises” will remain in the discussion come August. The cream should rise to the top in the AL and NL West with the Rockies and Angels emerging as Champions but the Reds and Braves will be in the race in their respective division throughout. The Blue Jays will not win the East but they should be in the Wild Card hunt and could spoil the playoff chances of the Red Sox, Yankees or Rays. It has been an exciting first two months of the season(except for my beloved Orioles) and there should be a lot of story lines this summer.

Picking up as many Blue Jays hitters as possible for my fantasy teams- The Little Roman

First Base in Major League Baseball is defined as the biggest power position of any of the eight fielding positions. Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez are just of the same of the power bats that define the position. This season, every Major League team except for one, the Baltimore Orioles, has at least one home run from their first base position. The combination of Garrett Atkins and Rhyne Hughes has yet to produce one single round tripper twenty nine games into the season in a combined 153 at bats. Not only have they failed to hit a home run but they only have nine extra base hits and 10 runs batted in combined. Suddenly, Aubrey Huff’s 72 home runs in three and half years in Baltimore, doesn’t seem so bad.

Prior to this season Garrett Atkins had a nine home run, 48 rbi campaign for the Colorado Rockies. His reward, was four million dollars and the starting 1^st base position for the Orioles. By no means was Atkins the long term answer at 1^st base for the team, and nobody expected him to be, but his declining numbers, in the thin air of Colorado, should have been a sign that his better days were behind him. Atkins hit 29, 25,21 and nine home runs in his last four seasons in Colorado and got benched during the 2009 season.  Colorado is known to be a hitter friendly ball park and Atkins had a lot of protection in the Rockies lineup. Those things could not be overlooked as major contributors to his stellar home run and RBI numbers in the three seasons prior to the 2009 season. Huff on the other hand, played in Camden Yards, which is not as hitter friendly as Coors Field and he had no protection in the Orioles lineup. What exactly did the Orioles thing Garrett Atkins could give them that Huff couldn’t? Moreover, what distinguished Atkins from the likes of Adam LaRoche and Russell Branyan who had better seasons, on worse teams and in tougher ballparks? 

Would the Orioles offense be a juggernaut with LaRoche, Huff or Branyan? Certainly not, but they definitely would not currently be the only team in baseball without a home run from their first baseman. 

Andy MacPhail has made a lot of good acquisitions during his tenure in Baltimore, but paying Garrett Atkins four million dollars to play first base for the Orioles this season, was not a good one.

The days of Boog Powell are long, long gone, but given Atkins ineptitude this season, Orioles fans like myself are longing for the days Aubrey Huff. Something I am sure nobody though they would say.

The best thing you could do Garrett is to give back you four million dollars so the Orioles can use that to sign Prince Fielder or Adrian Gonzalez, but instead, I am sure you will continue to pick up your paycheck in a ski mask, because you are robbing the Orioles.

Where’s Aubrey Huff when you need him? 3,000 miles away playing for a playoff contender, that’s where. 

Starting a collection to raise enough money to bring in a legit first baseman- The Little Roman

Growing up in Maryland my whole life I rooted for two baseball teams: the Orioles and whoever plays the Yankees. For years I have watched Yankees fans invade our city and then watched their team defeat the Orioles in every which way possible. When Jeffery Maier stole that home run from Tony Tarasco in the playoffs and then was virtually given the key to the city, I never thought I could ever hate another team or fan base more then the Yankees and then the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004.

Prior to 2004, the Red Sox were the loveable losers that had not won a World Series in 86 years. Their fan base was rabid, but they pretty much stayed in Boston and did not migrate to our city. After the bloody sock incident and coming back from down three games to none and then sweeping the Rockies in the World Series, Red Sox fans came out of the wood work. After that moment, everyone was suddenly a Red Sox fan, despite the fact that they had lived in Essex, Baltimore or any other Maryland town their whole life.

“I have always liked the Red Sox, even before they won the World Series” is a phrase that I hear every time someone from Northen Virginia or Pennsylvania comes to Camden Yards in a Jacoby Ellsbury jersey. These are the same people that can’t tell you that Jason Varitek was acquired from the Pirates, David Ortiz from the Twins and that Hanley Ramirez was the key piece in the Mike Lowell and Josh Beckett deal. But of course, they are hardcore fans, obviously.

I am going to make it simple for all of “Red Sox Nation”: if you do not live in a New England and have never even ever been to Boston(which is 95 percent of you) then you CAN NOT BE A RED SOX fan, and certainly, not a credible one.

Last summer at the beach, my cousin, who had spent the entire 33 years of his life living in Middle River, but happens to be a Red Sox fan, got an update about a trade on his phone. He told me the Red Sox traded Mark Kotsay, but he pronounced his name like COAT-Say, and then he asked the following question to me “ Is he any good?”. Obviously I jumped at the chance to correct him on how to pronounce the name a player on his favorite team and then answered his question saying that Kotsay was decent. To make things worse, his five year old son then started a “Lets Go Red Sox” chant. At first I was surprised then I just realized this is standard operating procedure for everyone who is a part of “Red Sox nation”. Download a Red Sox screen saver, buy a David Ortiz jersey, sing Sweet Caroline till you’re blue in the face and be totally clueless about the franchise you support. The Orioles may be the laughing stock of baseball, but they have my support no matter what. That is what makes a real fan, not just attaching yourself like an amoeba to a franchise just because they have won two world series in the last six years.

I have developed such disdain and hatred for everything about the Red Sox and the city of Boston that I have grown to hate them way more then the Yankees. Every time I hear “Sweet Caroline” or see a group of girls in Ellsbury jerseys talking trash when they have no idea who Bill Buckner is, I get sick to my stomach.

I would tell you to go back to New England and stop coming into my city, but I know you couldn’t even tell me what state Boston is located.
I just hope that when they don’t make the playoff this season, you all break your leg jumping off the Red Sox banwagon and hoping on the Rays banwagon.

My name is Marco Romanell, and I DESPISE RED SOX NATION!!!!

Go back to Boston and don’t pronounce R’s at the end of your words- The Little Roman

I know we’re currently in a football haze here in the middle of April but, I just wanted to take a brief moment to write an open letter to the biggest fraud in the history of baseball.

Dear Mr. Ortiz,

How dare you flip out at reporters, a few weeks back, for questioning your productivity. You are a fraud in every sense of the word and, even as a die-hard Yankees fan, I feel for the Red Sox fans who have had to stand witness to you every day since 2003.

While other athletes whom have admitted to or been proven to have taken PED’s have continued to achieve high levels of success since their admission and,  likely, ceasing of use (i.e. Alex Rodriguez or Barry Bonds before him), you have proven to be exactly “who we thought you were”, in the famous words of Dennis Green. You are a below average player who has no right in lashing out at anyone questioning your ability.

The stats above don’t lie and where I would usually write something witty here to continue my rant, I will simply say shame on you and shame on those in the media who haven’t beaten you up about this topic more. Alex, Barry, Mark and Roger have all had to go through deserved hell because of their actions yet, you’re still just “Big Papi”. You’re still that larger than life character that everyone is supposed to love.

I want you to write a letter apologizing to the 26^th man on each Red Sox Roster from 2003 to Present day…you know, the guy who got cut because of you. Explain to him how you became “Big Papi”. The character of a man is defined by how he acts in the face of adversity. You have zero character. Bash the others all you want for their use of PED’s, at least they’ve admitted it. I look forward to your next trip to Camden Yards where you can lash out at me for being critical of your productivity. I’ll be the guy putting up a backwards K each time you strike out looking to Kevin Milwood (Ouch).

Sincerely,

Tim Rescigno

Rick Krivda, Rocky Coppinger, Daniel Cabrera, and Matt Riley are just a few of the “can’t miss” pitching products that were supposed to make the Orioles legitimate contenders in the AL East. However, these guys were more known for their inability to pitch at the major league level then for their success. These guys are not alone, not just for the Orioles, but for all of baseball, as we have seen prospect after prospect not live up to the hype. The problem is obvious. Certainly these guys have the stuff to make it to the major league level, but most lack the most important thing required to make it in the major leagues: mind set.

Brian Matusz has been touted as the next future ace of the Orioles rotation, and has been impressive since he came up last season. While Matusz has the raw ability and stuff to make it in the major leagues, the most impressive aspect about him is his mind. He pitches, he doesn’t throw; and most importantly, he doesn’t let mistakes by his team in the field or struggles by his offense effect the way he pitches.

Matusz won his first start of the season and then took a lead into the 8th inning before giving up a few runs and watching the bullpen fail to bail him out. In most cases, losing a lead like that and ending up on the short end of the stick would phase young pitchers, but not Brian Matusz. Instead, he toed the rubber on Sunday in Oakland with his team enduring a nine game losing streak, and he dazzled.

The Orioles found numerous ways to lose games during their nine game losing streak, so people would have understood if Matusz came out tight, felt the pressure, and just tried to the throw the ball by hitters. However, Matusz pitched. He changed speeds, challenged hitters, worked inside and out as if he was pitching for a team that was 11-1 instead of 1-11. With a 6-3 lead in the game, Matusz induced a lazy fly ball that should have been an easy out. However, a misplay by Adam Jones caused the runner to reach with a single. With two men on base I texted some of my friends, saying “here we go again” as I fully expected that mistake to open the flood gates to a big inning . However, I forgot who was on the mound. Matusz didn’t let that mistake phase him and he got another out before eventually being pulled.

Numerous pitchers have come up with lots of fan fare only to be gone before anyone even knew their name. Pitching is more then just about how good a fastball or change-up or slider you have. It’s about your ability to pitch with the pressure or battle when things aren’t going well. It’s more mental then anything, and that is where Brian Matusz excels.

His mind, not his arm is why Brian Matusz is going to be so good.

My food tasted better this morning thanks to that O’s win- Marco “ the little Roman” Romanell

During the first couple years of the Andy MacPhail tenure, we heard that wins and losses don’t matter, but rebuilding the team the proper way does. This season however, MacPhail publicly stated that this season, the team, and Dave Trembley would be judged on wins and losses, and that was the only thing that mattered. Eight games into the season the Orioles stand at 1-7, and are already five games behind the division leading Blue Jays. I know it is only the second week of the season, but given the Orioles tough schedule for the rest of April and the first couple weeks in May, it does not look like it is going to get better any time soon.

So when will MacPhail reach his breaking point and start letting go of people who aren’t producing? Who knows, but at the rate things are going, it may be sooner than expected. If the Orioles are 5-25 thirty games into the season or somewhere in that neighborhood, expect MacPhail to start cleaning house before he loses whatever fans the Orioles still have left. Even it does not change anything, it will at least show he is making a legitimate effort to win.

Why isn’t Dave Trembley managing like his job is on the line?
Someone may need to alert Dave Trembley that his job is to win baseball games, and if does not start doing that soon, than he will be out of a job. Certainly he can make excuses and point to the fact that Brian Roberts is hurt, the middle of the lineup isn’t producing, and the bullpen has blown four games this season. But, it is his job as the manager to fix these things and push the right buttons. If the lineup is not producing, shake it up. Move people up and down in the order, bench players, send a message that says you are in it to win it and won’t tolerate poor performance. If you do this and the players don’t produce, it is on them, not you. If your 12 million dollar closer is not producing, why continue to bring him in the game in the 9th inning when you have other pitchers who are having success?

Trembley is managing by the book and playing it too safe. The Orioles do not have the horses to compete with the top teams so shaking things up may be a way to compensate for that. I would have more respect for Tremblay if he made a major shake up that didn’t work, than just seeing him trot Albers out in the 7th, Ohman out to face a lefty, Johnson in the 8th then Gonzalez in the 9th and listen to him say “it’s not my fault the players couldn’t get their jobs done.” If you’re going to accept this kind of managing, you might as well just run a contest that lets a different fan manage the team each game, or hire a 12-year-old like the Twins did in the movie “Little Big League” because when you manage by the book, it doesn’t really matter who is at the helm.

Comments:

You can’t just assume the Orioles offense is going to turn it around:
Prior to the season, Oriole fans exuded a ton of optimism about this version of the Baltimore Orioles. The main reason for this, as many stated, was because of the offense. The statement “I am not worried about the offense” was seemingly uttered from every person who called into any sports talk radio show. Outside of Nick Markakis and Miguel Tejada, who has a track record that shows they are going to consistently produce? And can you rely on to hit that 3-run homer late in the game, when the Orioles are down by two runs? Nobody.

As much as I love Adam Jones, Nolan Reimold and Matt Wieters, I will not be ready to anoint the Orioles offense as a strength until they show me they can consistently put up numbers. Another problem is that your two most proven hitters, Markakis and Tejada, will likely produce the fewest number of home runs of any #3 and #4 hitters combined in the division. To make things worse, the Orioles table setter Brian Roberts, and his 50 doubles and 25 stolen bases a year, are sidelined for at least the next two weeks. This will probably mean that the heart of the order will often come to the plate with nobody on base, leaving very few RBI chances. Hitting solo home runs won’t win you many games. This will be even more evident when the Orioles face the Yankees ,Rays, and Red Sox and score three runs on nine hits while those three teams will hit two home runs with runners on base, and win the game.

I don’t believe the Orioles offense will be this anemic all season, but I believe runs will be at a premium for 162 games, especially if Tejada is the home run and rbi leader.

The bottom line is that another season is already getting away from the Orioles. Can the Orioles heat up and compete over the next month? Will the O’s be 10-15 games below .500 by May 15? Should Tremblay just quit and save himself from further disgrace?

Marco Romanell – good thing Ryan is betting on these jerks and not me.

Masters: Which do you think is the better story: celebrating the victorious return of a golfer that left the PGA tour because he cheated on his wife, or celebrating the 3rd green jacket for a player that left the tour to be with his wife while she battled breast cancer?

I think it was divine intervention at Augusta this past weekend. Phil Mickelson played some of the best golf I have ever seen in my life. His shot during the final round on the 13th hole was epic. Phil not only handled the pressure, but thrived and conjured up his best play.

The whole world had to be extremely moved as “Lefty” hugged his wife after walking off the 18th green a winner. In my Masters preview, I was hopeful that Tiger would use spite as a catalyst for success. However, the real emotional story was Phil Mickelson and his wife. It seems like only yesterday that Phil was labeled as the best player “never to win a major”. Moreover, how many affluent, country club and silver spoon individuals can capture the affection of so many Americans that otherwise typically embrace the blue-collar underdog?

NHL: The Washington Capitals won the first “Presidents Cup” trophy in franchise history by posting the best regular season NHL record. The 121 points earned by the Capitals is the most EVER for a non Original-Six hockey team. The Caps will play Montreal in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and this is the million dollar question: Do the Caps have the defense and goal-tending required to hoist the Stanley Cup?

UFC: Dana White is furious in the aftermath of UFC 112. After watching Frankie Edgar pull off a historic upset to capture the UFC lightweight crown, White sat and watched Anderson Silva prance, dance, and run from Demian Maia in a battle for the Middleweight championship.

This is my take on both fights: B.J. Penn must have been injured before his loss to Frankie Edgar. B.J. was not himself, and entered the ring with a wrap on his knee. Because he made excuses following the “Grease-gate” loss to St. Pierre, I am sure Penn was reluctant to bring up the injury at post-fight interviews for fear of being criticized again. I will tip my hat to Edgar for being quicker, and for putting together a good game plan; but he shouldn’t have beaten a healthy B.J Penn. The Lightweight division will get interesting in the next 18 months, as one of my favorite fighters, Kenny Florian, will certainly get the first shot at the title. Can you say Florian vs. Penn II in late 2011?

This is my take on the Anderson Silva debacle: most fans think that Silva should apologize to them and Dana White for “The Spider’s” ridiculous display on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi. I think the UFC should apologize to Silva for failing to produce even one fighter that can remotely challenge him at all. Maia had ZERO chance of threatening “The Spider”, and I think that he is simply bored and irritated that over the course of his Octagon career, not one single fighter has given him a real fight. Chael Sonnen, a friend of the show, will likely get the next shot at Silva and the Middleweight belt. Reached for commentary post-fight, Sonnen said that it was his “moral obligation to beat up Anderson Silva.” Sonnen is a warrior and will not be afraid to stand and bang with “The Spider”. Hopefully he can present Silva with a viable challenge, so that fans get to see Silva perform at his best. Sonnen has been very outspoken and critical of Silva, so it should give “The Spider” a reason to give his best. If Silva moves up to Light Heavyweight full time, it is conceivable that a bigger fighter with heavier hands could stun him with a shock knockout. But I doubt it….

MotoGP: Nine-time champion Valentino Rossi won the 1st race in the 2010 Moto GP season with a victory in Doha, Qatar. Australian Casey Stoner, who has won this race the last three years running, crashed out after grabbing the lead 10 laps into the race. The race was tightly contested, but Rossi remained undaunted and made no mistakes in taking the checkered flag. Americans Nicky Hayden and Ben Spies (the latter is in his first year on the GP circuit), each put forth a great showing and just missed the podium, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

MLB: Last but not least, the Orioles are just AWFUL. Mike Gonzalez took ALL the wind out of this team’s sails, and the Birds are now 1-5 and facing the most difficult stretch of their season. The O’s may very well be 10 games below .500 by mid-May. New faces, new expectations, new Spring training facility—same old results.

And for those of you that think the Orioles have good offense, think again. Let me reiterate that Toronto walked our #3 hitter to get to our clean-up hitter! What a joke…This team has ZERO power, and will have to win National league-style games with suspect pitching and erratic defense. The O’s cannot hit with runners on base, and Tejada offers ZERO protection to Jones & Markakis, who are both off to horrible starts themselves.

By the way, how do you feel about Jones blowing a bubble right before he dropped the ball in the 1st inning against Toronto, on Opening Day?
Typical O’s.

Woodman – at least I have the NHL playoffs & NFL draft to cheer for

I would be remiss if I didn’t write an interactive piece regarding Oriole closer Mike Gonzalez. The new orioles closer seems to be a magnet for 9th inning drama. Oriole fans used to call former closer George Sherrill “Mr. Excitement.” Maybe fans should call Gonzalez “Mr. Heart Attack.” I have seen Melrose Place season ending episodes with less drama.

Can someone please figure out who scouted this guy? I don’t like his stature, his demeanor, his delivery, his stuff, or his velocity. Frankly, I don’t think the guy is any good. A quick peek at his career stats startled me for a moment: 2.62 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, more strikeouts than innings pitched (333-282), and only 1 walk allowed for every 2 innings pitched. However, last season as a closer for the Braves, Gonzalez blew 7 saves in 17 attempts. Regardless of what his history would suggest, he doesn’t attack the strike zone, isn’t intimidating, and gives me zero confidence that he can do the job of a major league closer.

While I am piling on the O’s, can I please reiterate my skepticism regarding the Oriole offense? Last night the Rays walked Markakis to get to our clean-up hitter. Think about that for a second…..I know it created a righty/righty match-up, but would the O’s walk Zobrist to get to Longoria? How about walking Teixiera to get to A-Rod? Tejada hitting clean-up for the O’s is a complete joke. Hopefully if Atkins or Reimold can continue to produce, they can give the O’s a lift in the middle of the line-up.

On a positive note, top of the rotation starters Kevin Millwood and Jeremy Guthrie gave the Orioles a chance to win in their respective season debuts. Future ace Brian Matusz uncharacteristically walked five batters and struggled to get through five innings. But, even when he was not at his best, Matusz still struck out seven and surrendered only two hits and two runs in collecting his first win of the season. Also, Matt Wieters seems to be picking up where he left off last year and is on track for a very good season. This town needs one of it’s young stars to live up to the hype! The bullpen aside from Gonzalez has been solid, and the Orioles defense (aside from not having a 100% healthy left fielder) has been good. Matusz picked off two runners with the help of solid 1st base play from Garrett Atkins. I still have my doubts about Atkins, but he has played well this season including a big two RBI single yesterday which broke open the game. Furthermore, Oriole fans shouldn’t worry about Nolan Reimold duplicating his offensive output from last season. Reimold can flat out rake.

The Orioles open their home schedule today against the Blue Jays with Brad Bergesen on the hill. Hopefully the Oriole bats will come to life so Gonzalez won’t have to close another tight game. My heart can’t take it.

What are your first impressions of the O’s this season?

Woodman – diehard O’s fan for life.

The anticipation and excitement of Opening Day has been hanging in the air for months. Oriole fans want, need, and expect this year to be different from the last 12; but after watching the game last night, maybe Oriole fans should prepare for more of the same.

The Oriole hitters produced 3 solo home runs, but went 0-11 with runners in scoring position.

Kevin Millwood produced an excellent first start as an Oriole and got outstanding bullpen help, until new Oriole closer Mike Gonzalez blew the save by allowing two runs in the bottom of the ninth.

Garrett Atkins failed to deliver an RBI with runners on 1st and 3rd and no outs, and later tried to score on a ground ball from third with one out and was thrown out at the plate.

As much as Oriole fans want this year to be different, I am nervous that it will be more of the same. If an Oriole starter does well, the bullpen will blow it. If the Oriole bats are hot, the pitching will give up 10 runs. This franchise needs a definitive moment to usher in a new era. The Oriole roster is full of players that make it worthwhile to make a trip to Camden Yards, but whether that translates into wins remains to be seen.

Ten Things for 2010:

10. Over/Under on Jeremy Guthrie remaining in the Oriole starting rotation after May 31st?

9. Over/Under Miguel Tejada hitting 10 Home Runs. By the way, he is the Oriole clean-up hitter. I am going with under.

8. Over/Under 11 wins for future Oriole Ace Brian Matusz? Will Matusz win AL Rookie of the Year?

7. Over/Under 2 the number of Oriole hitters that will have an .400 OBP?

6. % that Dave Trembley will be the Oriole manager after 2010.

5. Over/Under 12 blown saves for Oriole closer Mike Gonzalez? Over/Under 30 blown leads by the Oriole bullpen?

4. Over/Under 4 the number of Orioles who will hit 20 or more Home Runs?

3. % Garrett Atkins is even on the Oriole roster August 1st?

2. Over/Under 27 road wins?

1. Over/Under 74 wins for the season?

The Oriole season is one day old and I am already sick to my stomach. Maybe the Mayflower vans that moved the Colts in 1983 should stand by to move this garbage Oriole squad out of Charm City.

The Orioles have the most difficult schedule in MLB the first 40 games of the season. Oriole fans know that the team will swoon and lose 40 of 45 in August/September. We can only hope that last nights game will not be an indication of the month to come.

Woodman – crossing my fingers, but not expecting much