I know that I haven't blogged anything recently, and that has mostly been due to the busy schedule of a college student, but partially because of my main motivation as a sports writer hasn't been there.
One of the reasons I started this page was because I was a frustrated member of the Baltimore community. As an avid watcher of ESPN's SportsCenter, I am often frustrated with the lack of national attention that Baltimore teams receive (I mean for God's sake, the Raven's Steelers game was briefly mentioned while Tony Romo's 2 interception performance in a loss required 20 minutes of discussion every hour). Furthermore I am often frustrated by Baltimore's unique condition of sports bipolar disorder. Every fall Friday the city is proudly wearing their purple, yet every Sunday evening (win, lose, or draw) the game was never good enough for Baltimore. This is never more evident then when listening to 105.7 The Fan on Monday's. I swear to God that Joe Flacco could throw for 5 touchdowns, 350 yards, and the Ravens could win the game 35-7, and everyone will call in Monday morning bashing on Flacco for the one interception he threw, or the one sack he took on third down. And if the "fans" aren't bashing on Flacco, I promise Cam Cameron did something wrong (probably calling a run play on 3rd and 9 with 1:32 left in the game, which was won long ago, thus giving the ball back to the opponent). So with this in mind, Baltimore sports 'fans' have riled me up once again, and because of that I decided to write this post.
Today the Ravens lost a close game to the Redskins, which caused Baltimore to come out calling for the heads of offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and defensive coordinator Dean Pees, and of course, quarterback Joe Flacco.
Lets put this into perspective. Flacco threw for 3 touchdowns, the second most of any quarterback this week. He also had a rating of 121.4, the second highest of any qualifying quarterback. Yes, he did have an untimely red-zone interception, but you could easily blame that on the lack of time provided by a subpar O-line. So I can't see any blame landing on Flacco this week.
Secondly, Cam Cameron has received a lot of blame for an 'underperforming' offense. However I don't see the underperforming part at all. The Raven's offense ran for 178 yards on the leagues third best rushing defense, who previously allowed only 91 yards per game. They also scored 28 points today. Of the 15 games played so far this week, 28 points would have won 10 of those games. And I don't think it is far to include the Giants and Seahawks into this equation, but I did anyway. They also tallied 359 yards on offense, more than 19 of the 30 teams to play this weekend. Also, they had a 3rd down efficiency of 50% and a RedZone efficiency of 75%. All of these factors would lead to a win 9 times out of 10. One of the final criticisms I've heard most about Cam Cameron this week is that fan's are asking why he did not play Ray Rice more throughout the game. Ray had 20 carries for 121 yards, while Pierce had 8 carries for 53 yards. That means Rice was a part of 71% of all rushing plays today, a pretty high percentage for someone who apparently didn't touch the field according to social media.
Now lets move on to Dean Pees, our defensive coordinator. With all the stats just mentioned for the offense, it is easy to blame the defense for stumbling in the 4th quarter and costing us the victory. But I will not sit here and say that it is in any way Dean Pees's fault, and anyone who does needs to rethink their decision. If all players were healthy, are starting middle linebackers would be Ray Lewis and Dannell Ellerbe, with McLain receiving playing time. Today are starters were Jameel McLain and Albert McLellan (normally and outside linebacker). But not to worry, McLain received a neck injury late in the third quarter and was replaced by Bynes, who was subsequently injured. So for the game tying and game winning drives, our middle linebackers were Brendan Ayanbadejo and Albert McLellan, neither of which normally play the position. This is of course not to mention the fact that pro bowler Suggs is out, Webb has been out for several weeks, and 2nd string CB Jimmy Smith is still out. This leaves Dean Pees with out 6 of his 11 starters, and he lost 2 players who had been playing well in the game. So to blame Pees for this loss is unacceptable,
In my opinion there are two types of band wagon fans. First the common bandwagon fan, Skip Bayless for example. This type joins the fan base of any team doing well. This year that would mean someone not from the greater DC area all of the sudden becoming a avid Redskins fan. These types of fans are annoying, but at least understandable, I mean, it is only natural to root for a team that is winning and fun to watch. But then there is the 2nd type of band wagon fan, the much much worse type. This is a fan who has been a proud supporter of a team for many many years, but the second they lose a tight game in a rivalry match up, that fan bashes on his team and 'disowns' them, so pretty much any fan of any Philly based sports team. To me this type of bandwagon fan is unacceptable, you are either a fan of the team or not. The reason I bring this up is because it truly upsets me that so many people in Baltimore can complain that a team, who is 9-4, is probably going to the playoffs for the 5 straight year, has had a rough two came span, losing by a combined 6 points, both on last second or overtime field goals. Especially when its the same Baltimore fans who stood by the O's through 14 straight losing seasons. If you are a Baltimore Fan, I can only say this one way, GROW UP. You have been privileged to watch a great team play football in Baltimore for the past 5 years. No, they may not have won or appeared in a Superbowl in those 5 years, but hey, there are 30 teams that miss out every year. At least we can say we were close, unlike the Browns, Bills, Dolphins or Jaguars.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Nate The Great
Game 4 of the ALDS between the Yankees and the Oriole's was as exciting as advertised.
The pitching matchup is not as intriguing as a typical post season matchup, Phil Hughes of the Yankees was taking on Joe Saunders for the Orioles.
Phil Hughes is a typical number 4 for any organization, but Joe Saunders would fit into most teams minor league systems. Saunders does not have a particularly quick fastball, he does not have any spectacular "strike-out" pitch, he is by many standards, average. But how he uses his pitches, his command, and his experience were all the O's needed. Saunders pitched the Orioles to victory in the Wild Card game, and facing elimination, all they needed was a repeat performance, shouldn't be too hard right? Well maybe not, but with the Yankees, nothing is easy, especially not in the post season.
At the start, everything seemed to be going the Orioles way, McLouth led off with a walk, and Hardy attempted a sac-bunt to move him over. But Hardy's bunt rode the foul line all the way to the bag, staying just far, allowing Hardy to reach safely, and Hardy to advance. But Hughes was able to rally for three straight fly-outs to end the O's early chance.
Saunders settled into the game nicely, not allowing a hit until the 3rd. In the 3rd, Hughes walked the lead off man for the second time, Machado was able to draw the walk, and McLouth quickly doubled to right to advance Machado all the way to third. But then Hardy grounded to short, and Machado was thrown out at home. So just like the first inning, the O's went quietly after a quick start.
Now fast forward to the top of the 5th, and McLouth is lead off man again. McLouth had walked and doubled in his two at bats so far, and he wasted no time adding to an impressive game. McLouth his a solo HR to break the ice and give Baltimore a 1-0 advantage in the 5th.
After an impressive HR, Saunders walked the Yankees lead off man, and quickly struck out a struggling Granderson. Jason Nix stepped up with one out and a man on first, and he hit the ball hard to deep left field. McLouth, who had just hit his home run, made a leaping catch up against the wall, and had the presence of mind to get the double play at 1st, ending the Yankee's chances in the 5th. However the Yankee's were eventually able to score on an RBI single from Jeter in the 6th.
With the game tied at 1-1, and the endless parade of match-up relief pitchers, the game was now in the 13th inning, the second straight extra inning game, and the first time in league history the same post-season series has gone more than 12 innings in back to back meetings. With most of their match-up pitchers already used, both managers had to turn to their long relievers. The Orioles went with red hot O'Day and then followed with a well rested Pedro Strop. The Yankees went with Joba Chamberlain, but then quickly had to bring in Phelps, (due to an elbow injury to Chamberlain) and eventually Clay Rapada.
In the top of the 13th, Clay Rapada gave up a lead off double to Many Machado, McLouth grounded out to second advancing Machado to 3rd. Hardy came up with one out and a runner on 3rd. All night the O's went hitless with runners in scoring position, but a quick look to the jovial O's dugout gave you the sense that this would result in a different story. Hardy hit the ball hard to deep left, where it dropped in just in front of the fence, giving the O's a 2-1 lead with Hardy on 2nd.
Jim Johnson came on in the bottom of the 13th, and did what he does best, retire the side.
The O's were able to pull out the victory in Game 4, just past midnight eastern time. This forces a Game 5 to be played this evening, with a first pitch scheduled for just past 5. This gives coaches and players just about 17 hours to recoup from last night and get ready to play again. Both teams will pitch the same pitchers from Game 1, meaning Hammel for the O's and CC Sabathia for the Yankees. This marks the first time since the beginning of the divisional series that all 4 series will have a game 5. Both the Orioles and Yankees will be looking for the opportunity to take on Detroit in the ALCS with a win tonight.
Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below, and please share this with your friends!
The pitching matchup is not as intriguing as a typical post season matchup, Phil Hughes of the Yankees was taking on Joe Saunders for the Orioles.
Phil Hughes is a typical number 4 for any organization, but Joe Saunders would fit into most teams minor league systems. Saunders does not have a particularly quick fastball, he does not have any spectacular "strike-out" pitch, he is by many standards, average. But how he uses his pitches, his command, and his experience were all the O's needed. Saunders pitched the Orioles to victory in the Wild Card game, and facing elimination, all they needed was a repeat performance, shouldn't be too hard right? Well maybe not, but with the Yankees, nothing is easy, especially not in the post season.
At the start, everything seemed to be going the Orioles way, McLouth led off with a walk, and Hardy attempted a sac-bunt to move him over. But Hardy's bunt rode the foul line all the way to the bag, staying just far, allowing Hardy to reach safely, and Hardy to advance. But Hughes was able to rally for three straight fly-outs to end the O's early chance.
Saunders settled into the game nicely, not allowing a hit until the 3rd. In the 3rd, Hughes walked the lead off man for the second time, Machado was able to draw the walk, and McLouth quickly doubled to right to advance Machado all the way to third. But then Hardy grounded to short, and Machado was thrown out at home. So just like the first inning, the O's went quietly after a quick start.
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| Nate McLouth homers to take the lead in the 5th |
Now fast forward to the top of the 5th, and McLouth is lead off man again. McLouth had walked and doubled in his two at bats so far, and he wasted no time adding to an impressive game. McLouth his a solo HR to break the ice and give Baltimore a 1-0 advantage in the 5th.
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| McLouth saving a run with his spectacular catch and double play in the 5th |
With the game tied at 1-1, and the endless parade of match-up relief pitchers, the game was now in the 13th inning, the second straight extra inning game, and the first time in league history the same post-season series has gone more than 12 innings in back to back meetings. With most of their match-up pitchers already used, both managers had to turn to their long relievers. The Orioles went with red hot O'Day and then followed with a well rested Pedro Strop. The Yankees went with Joba Chamberlain, but then quickly had to bring in Phelps, (due to an elbow injury to Chamberlain) and eventually Clay Rapada.
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| Hardy with a stand up double to score Machado in the 13th |
In the top of the 13th, Clay Rapada gave up a lead off double to Many Machado, McLouth grounded out to second advancing Machado to 3rd. Hardy came up with one out and a runner on 3rd. All night the O's went hitless with runners in scoring position, but a quick look to the jovial O's dugout gave you the sense that this would result in a different story. Hardy hit the ball hard to deep left, where it dropped in just in front of the fence, giving the O's a 2-1 lead with Hardy on 2nd.
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| O's celebrate an extra inning victory to force a game 5. |
Jim Johnson came on in the bottom of the 13th, and did what he does best, retire the side.
The O's were able to pull out the victory in Game 4, just past midnight eastern time. This forces a Game 5 to be played this evening, with a first pitch scheduled for just past 5. This gives coaches and players just about 17 hours to recoup from last night and get ready to play again. Both teams will pitch the same pitchers from Game 1, meaning Hammel for the O's and CC Sabathia for the Yankees. This marks the first time since the beginning of the divisional series that all 4 series will have a game 5. Both the Orioles and Yankees will be looking for the opportunity to take on Detroit in the ALCS with a win tonight.
Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below, and please share this with your friends!
Monday, October 8, 2012
Birdland Woes
Sunday promised to be an exciting day for sports fans across the nation, but a special note went to the fans in Baltimore. Across that nation there were great match ups across the board in several sporting events, the NFL and MLB took center stage. Brady vs. Manning is an intriguing match up at any point in any season, especially when its been more than a year since the two have met. Andrew Luck leading a comeback against Aaron Rodgers, a match up featuring two quarterbacks facing the same role, following a legend. Drew Brees completing a touchdown pass for the record breaking 48th time. And of course, you have the MLB playoffs.
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In Baltimore, The Orioles were playing their rival The Yankees in Baltimore, and the Ravens were taking on the Kansas City Chiefs, two exciting games for the city of Baltimore.
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| Ray Rice powering for a first down in Sundays victory. |
For the Ravens many will call it a disappointing game. One of the top five offenses in the Ravens were going up against a 1-3 Chiefs team. It certainly was not a pretty game. The offense went 3-11 on third down, notching just under 300 total yards. The defense gave up 214 rushing yards, 140 of them to Jamaal Charles. But as Ray Lewis said, "The ones that count the most are never the prettiest. The ones that count the most are the ones that you have to fight through. Anybody on each side of the ball will tell you they'll take a 'W' before anything."
The Ravens did come out victorious, winning on 3 Tucker FG's, 9-6, and at the end of the day, the Ravens are 4-1, and in control of the AFC North. The few bright spots of the game were Ray Rice and Paul Kruger. Ray Rice rushed for 102 yards on the day, and racked up 6.0 yards per carry. Ray was able to power his way for a few 3rd and 1 type rushes for 1st downs. Kruger came up big in the 2nd half, having 3 tackles for a lose, and many more big time run stops.
Moving on to baseball, The Orioles vs. The New York Yankees. This game ultimately was to be decided 6 and a half hours after the schedules first pitch.
Both CC Sabathia and Jason Hammel started well for their respective teams, but eventually Hammel would have to give way to the bullpen, while Sabathia made it 1 out away from a complete game.
Hammel pitched strong through 5.2 innings, but the pitch count would bring his night to an early end. Patton came on in relief and got the O's out of jam to end the 6th. After Patton struggled early in the 7th, O'Day came on to keep the game at a 2-2 draw. Matusz came on in the 8th and pitched spectacularly. Both O'Day and Matusz were able to get out of their innings hitless, setting up Johnson to pitch in the 9th.
The O's were able to capitalize early on the rare Yankee's mistakes to take a 2-1 lead. Eventually it would be a 2-2 tie entering the 9th. Johnson came on trying to preserve the tie for the O's offense in the bottom of the 9th. Unfortunately that is not at all how it went for Johnson. This season he has struggled in non-save situations, and that is the position he was in last night. Johnson gave up 5 hits and 5 runs, leading the an Orioles 7-2 loss.
Fans in Baltimore were quick to blame Buck Showalter and Johnson today, but I am not here to do that. I think it was a well managed game, against a truly special pitcher. Sabathia threw a gem of a game against the Orioles, and maybe we just have to tip our caps in respect, and look for a win tonight. Many fans in Baltimore will panic after going down 0-1 in the series, but I promise you no one within the organization will. As Buck always says, our number one pitcher is the guy pitching that night. Well tonight that is Chen, who lead the team in wins and ERA this season. The Yankees clear number one pitcher is Sabathia, and it is all down hill from there for the Yankees. The O's were able to get 7 hits off Sabathia, they just weren't able to get him to break with runners in scoring position. With a little better discipline at the plate tonight, they will be able to do just fine against Pettitte. The O's were 3-3 agains the Yanks in Baltimore this season, and they will look to go 1-1 in the post season. Should the O's win tonight they will go to New York tied 1-1. The O's were 6-3 in New York this year, so I will take our chances if we go to New York tied.
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Friday, October 5, 2012
BOHlieve
15 years since the Orioles last playoff birth.
Joe Saunders went 9-13 this season.
The Orioles did not waste time, getting lead of hitter Nate McLouth on with an error. After stealing 2nd, Hardy brought home McLouth on a single to center field. The Orioles had a 1-0 lead early.
Texas will be left with many questions tonight and in the coming days. Center Fielder, and power hitting Josh Hamilton is now a free agent. A team that was coming off of two straight World Series appearances, and was 5 games up in the division with 6 games left, will now be watching the rest of the playoffs from their couches.
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| Saunders being congratulated for his performance Friday night. |
Texas has played in the last two World Series.
Joe Saunders went 9-13 this season.
Yu Darvish went 16-9 in his rookie season.
Joe Saunders was 0-6 lifetime when playing at Texas.
Yu Darvish was 10-0 when facing a team for the first time.
All stats logically lead to a Rangers victory, but as Chris Berman always reminds us, "thats why we play that game."
The Orioles did not waste time, getting lead of hitter Nate McLouth on with an error. After stealing 2nd, Hardy brought home McLouth on a single to center field. The Orioles had a 1-0 lead early.
Sauders struggled at the start, walking Ian Kinsler, and then giving up a single to Elvis Andrus. Hamilton then grounded into a double play, but not before the Rangers scored Kinsler making it a 1-1 ball game.
The game was a pitchers duel from here on out. Saunders matched Darvish out for out into the 6th inning. He did what many people were considering the impossible, he gave the O's a chance to win. In the 6th, Adam Jones hit a sacrifice fly to deep right, scoring JJ Hardy, giving the Orioles a 2-1 lead. O'Day came on with two outs in the 6th and pitched great. O'Day pitched 2 full innings, giving up just one hit and no runs. With Hamilton coming up to bat, the O's brought in lefty specialist Matusz, who struck out Hamilton on three straight pitches.
Through the innings, the O's were able to add some insurance runs to make the game 5-1 in the bottom of the 9th. Closer Jim Johnson came on, fresh off his 51 save season, trying to close out his first post-season save. Of course this could not be done simply, thats not the Orioles way. Johnson loaded the bases off a single, walk, single. With two outs and the bases loaded, David Murphy came up to pinch-hit. Murphy was one of two players to hit a home run off of Johnson this year. Fortunately for the O's, Johnson got him to fly out to left field, securing a victory for the O's.
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| Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton console each other after a heart break 5-1 lose. |
Texas will be left with many questions tonight and in the coming days. Center Fielder, and power hitting Josh Hamilton is now a free agent. A team that was coming off of two straight World Series appearances, and was 5 games up in the division with 6 games left, will now be watching the rest of the playoffs from their couches.
The Orioles will now come home for the American League Division Series against the Yankees. This will be a best of 5 series, playing the first 2 in Baltimore before heading up to New York for the remaining 3 possible games. The Orioles and Yankees split the season series at 9 a piece, setting up a great story line for a rival match-up.
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| The Orioles celebrate their 5-1 victory in Texas. |
Thursday, October 4, 2012
The Post Season
For a few teams, these next few days and weeks will be the fulfillment of a life long dream. For a few teams, they have reasserted their annual dominance in baseball, for others, it has been a long time since the last time they have taken part in the joyous post season.
First lets look at the National League
Friday St. Louis will take on the Atlanta Braves, both had interesting stories last year. St. Louis won the World Series against all odds, twice getting down to the last out before storming back to win. On the other hand, there is Atlanta. The Braves just barely missed out on a wild card birth last year. At the beginning of this season, respected veteran Chipper Jones announced that this would be his last year. The Braves gave him everything he could have asked for this year, giving him the chance to go out on top, on the biggest stage.
The rest of the NL playoff picture is filled out with San Francisco, Cincinnati and Washington. The SF Giants endured a season of ups and downs to quietly make it to the playoffs, as did the Reds. Most of the NL drama unfolded through the Washington Nationals. This team endured tough decisions about ace pitcher Strasburg, deciding to shut him down during the season. The Nationals were still able to make the playoffs for the first time since moving to Washington.
Now we take a look at the American League.
In what proved to be a wild Wednesday night, The A's came out the big winners. The A's completed a sweep over their division rivals, the Texas Rangers. By sweeping the Rangers, The A's were able to take 1st place in the division, and knock Texas down to a wild card team.
Next the Red Sox played the Yankees. The Yankees were in control of their own destiny, win and they would win the AL East, and that is exactly what they did. The Yanks left nothing up to fate, they took an early lead in the game and never looked back, eventually winning 12-2.
With the Yankees win, the Orioles could only be a Wild Card team, win or lose. But they still had motivation to win. If the Orioles won, they would have had home field advantage for the wild card game. Instead they lost to Tampa Bay 4-0, and have to travel to Texas for a one game showdown in Arlington on Friday night.
The post season, like so many before it, promises to be exciting.
On the not so good side are the teams that missed out. Tampa Bay was one of three teams to have their third straight 90 win season, along with Texas and the Yankees. Unfortunately for Tampa, this did not result in a post season birth. In Boston, a disappointing season led to the firing of first year manager Bobby Valentine. Valentine struggled right from the beginning, being micro managed by the front office, and was never able to gain the respect of the players. All of that culminated in his being fired just a few hours after the last game of the season.
First lets look at the National League
Friday St. Louis will take on the Atlanta Braves, both had interesting stories last year. St. Louis won the World Series against all odds, twice getting down to the last out before storming back to win. On the other hand, there is Atlanta. The Braves just barely missed out on a wild card birth last year. At the beginning of this season, respected veteran Chipper Jones announced that this would be his last year. The Braves gave him everything he could have asked for this year, giving him the chance to go out on top, on the biggest stage.
The rest of the NL playoff picture is filled out with San Francisco, Cincinnati and Washington. The SF Giants endured a season of ups and downs to quietly make it to the playoffs, as did the Reds. Most of the NL drama unfolded through the Washington Nationals. This team endured tough decisions about ace pitcher Strasburg, deciding to shut him down during the season. The Nationals were still able to make the playoffs for the first time since moving to Washington.
Now we take a look at the American League.
In what proved to be a wild Wednesday night, The A's came out the big winners. The A's completed a sweep over their division rivals, the Texas Rangers. By sweeping the Rangers, The A's were able to take 1st place in the division, and knock Texas down to a wild card team.
Next the Red Sox played the Yankees. The Yankees were in control of their own destiny, win and they would win the AL East, and that is exactly what they did. The Yanks left nothing up to fate, they took an early lead in the game and never looked back, eventually winning 12-2.
With the Yankees win, the Orioles could only be a Wild Card team, win or lose. But they still had motivation to win. If the Orioles won, they would have had home field advantage for the wild card game. Instead they lost to Tampa Bay 4-0, and have to travel to Texas for a one game showdown in Arlington on Friday night.
The post season, like so many before it, promises to be exciting.
On the not so good side are the teams that missed out. Tampa Bay was one of three teams to have their third straight 90 win season, along with Texas and the Yankees. Unfortunately for Tampa, this did not result in a post season birth. In Boston, a disappointing season led to the firing of first year manager Bobby Valentine. Valentine struggled right from the beginning, being micro managed by the front office, and was never able to gain the respect of the players. All of that culminated in his being fired just a few hours after the last game of the season.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
What to Expect
Heading into the last games of the regular season many things are left undetermined, especially for the AL East.
After last nights stellar pitching performance in Tampa, the Orioles remain one game back of the Yankees.
Tampa Bay's James Shields not only had a career night, he also pitched for a franchise record. James Shields gave the Rays one of the best pitching performances they have had this year, and in their franchise's history. Shields struck out 15 batters last night, and didn't walk a single batter in a complete game. Unfortunately for Shields, not everything went this well for the Rays.
Two of the Oriole's greatest success stories paired up last night, to provide the Orioles with a much needed victory.
Miguel Gonzalez started the year in the Red Sox organization. After being cut before the regular season started, Gonzalez was left contemplating what to do with his career. Gonzalez was set to move back to Mexico and pitch for a Mexican league, until the Orioles gave him a call. Gonzalez then was given an opportunity to pitch in the big leagues due to the Orioles' starting pitching struggles. Gonzalez took that opportunity and ran with it. He has had a spectacular season, getting 9 wins and only 4 loses in 15 starts. Last night Gonzalez pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing just 2 hits and no runs. Setting up Matusz, O'Day, and Johnson to pitch a scoreless rest of the game. Johnson also recorded his league leading 51st save last night.
Gonzalez would need a little help from the offense of course, which would not come easily. As I said above, Shields pitched a spectacular complete game, making only one mistake. Unfortunately for him, that mistake came against red-hot Chris Davis. Shortly after finding out that he had been named Co-AL player of the week, Davis hit his 7th home run in 6 games. That was Davis' 33rd home run of the season, passing Jones for the team lead.
The team improved to 74-0 when leading after the 7th inning, and to 29-8 in one run ball games.
Looking ahead to tonight and to the playoffs leave several questions to be answered.
Currently the Orioles would have the top Wild-Card spot, which (due to season series records) would leave Baltimore traveling to either Oakland or Texas (depending on which teams wins the head to head match up tonight) for a one game Wild Card match up.
If the Orioles win and the Yankees lose, there would have to be a one game playoff to determine who wins the AL East. This playoff game would be held Thursday in Baltimore. The winner of that game would win the division, while the loser would have to travel to Texas or Oakland on Friday.
ESPN and MLB analysts both agree that the Orioles are in a better spot than the Yankees should they have to go through this series of one game playoffs. The Oriole's do not have to rely on one great starting pitcher, rather a relatively solid starting rotation to carry them through these games. Should the Yankees have to pitch their ace in a playoff on thursday, they would be left helpless in a wild card game (Should they lose).
No matter what, the Orioles have one thing on their mind. Chris Tillman vs. Jeremy Hellickson. The Orioles want to win tonight, and let what ever happens happen. Manager Buck Showalter continues to preach his one game at a time mentality, while admitting that their ultimate goal is to win the AL East.
After last nights stellar pitching performance in Tampa, the Orioles remain one game back of the Yankees.
Tampa Bay's James Shields not only had a career night, he also pitched for a franchise record. James Shields gave the Rays one of the best pitching performances they have had this year, and in their franchise's history. Shields struck out 15 batters last night, and didn't walk a single batter in a complete game. Unfortunately for Shields, not everything went this well for the Rays.
Two of the Oriole's greatest success stories paired up last night, to provide the Orioles with a much needed victory.
Miguel Gonzalez started the year in the Red Sox organization. After being cut before the regular season started, Gonzalez was left contemplating what to do with his career. Gonzalez was set to move back to Mexico and pitch for a Mexican league, until the Orioles gave him a call. Gonzalez then was given an opportunity to pitch in the big leagues due to the Orioles' starting pitching struggles. Gonzalez took that opportunity and ran with it. He has had a spectacular season, getting 9 wins and only 4 loses in 15 starts. Last night Gonzalez pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing just 2 hits and no runs. Setting up Matusz, O'Day, and Johnson to pitch a scoreless rest of the game. Johnson also recorded his league leading 51st save last night.
Gonzalez would need a little help from the offense of course, which would not come easily. As I said above, Shields pitched a spectacular complete game, making only one mistake. Unfortunately for him, that mistake came against red-hot Chris Davis. Shortly after finding out that he had been named Co-AL player of the week, Davis hit his 7th home run in 6 games. That was Davis' 33rd home run of the season, passing Jones for the team lead.
The team improved to 74-0 when leading after the 7th inning, and to 29-8 in one run ball games.
Looking ahead to tonight and to the playoffs leave several questions to be answered.
Currently the Orioles would have the top Wild-Card spot, which (due to season series records) would leave Baltimore traveling to either Oakland or Texas (depending on which teams wins the head to head match up tonight) for a one game Wild Card match up.
If the Orioles win and the Yankees lose, there would have to be a one game playoff to determine who wins the AL East. This playoff game would be held Thursday in Baltimore. The winner of that game would win the division, while the loser would have to travel to Texas or Oakland on Friday.
ESPN and MLB analysts both agree that the Orioles are in a better spot than the Yankees should they have to go through this series of one game playoffs. The Oriole's do not have to rely on one great starting pitcher, rather a relatively solid starting rotation to carry them through these games. Should the Yankees have to pitch their ace in a playoff on thursday, they would be left helpless in a wild card game (Should they lose).
No matter what, the Orioles have one thing on their mind. Chris Tillman vs. Jeremy Hellickson. The Orioles want to win tonight, and let what ever happens happen. Manager Buck Showalter continues to preach his one game at a time mentality, while admitting that their ultimate goal is to win the AL East.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Hunt For an Orange October
I was about to write this post earlier today, but I decided to wait until the conclusion of the Angels Rangers game, and I am so very glad I did.
The Orioles came out of the gate today, acting like they had something to prove. Nate McLouth (left) started the bottom half of the first inning with a lead off home run. This was the one and only "lead-change" of the game. With a 1-0 lead the O's never looked back. By the end of the 1st inning it was 3-0 Orioles. From here on out Boston was playing damage control, trying to limit the Orioles offense, while praying their own could catch fire. It simply did not work that way for Boston's starter Zach Stewart. Hardy lead off the 3rd inning with another solo home run. With two outs in the 3rd, Jim Thome singled, scoring Adam Jones, and that was it for the struggling Boston starter.
Boston homered in the 4th, making it now a 5-1 game in favor of the O's. But the Orioles quickly responded in the 5th with Chris Davis' 5th home run in the last 4 games, and 31st of the season. Boston would try and mount a rally in the 7th, but would ultimately fall short again. Jim Johnson (right) came on in the 9th to seal an O's victory, and his 50th save of the season. Jim Johnson is only the 10th player in major league history to have 50 saves in a single season. Jim Johnson, along with the rest of the O's bullpen has been instrumental in the success of the Orioles this season.
To go along with Jim Johnson's history making performance, this weekend would set several new land marks for both teams. This loss clinched a series sweep for the O's, the 10th time they have done that this season. It also was the 90th loss of the season for the Red Sox, their first 90 loss season since 1966, obviously a disappointment. Back to the bright side, this weekend's attendance rates boosted the O's over the 2,000,000 mark for the first time in a season since 2007. Over the past 4 games the O's offense has exploded, scoring 31 runs, 24 of them off home runs.
Now as I alluded to in the opening, I am extremely excited that I waited until after the Angels Rangers game.
The Angels lost game 2 of their double header with the Rangers tonight, which means for the first time since 1997, the Orioles have clinched a playoff birth. Obviously the team will celebrate their success tonight, but Manager Buck Showalter is not the type of person to take his foot off the gas pedal. The Orioles begin the final series of the season tomorrow against Tampa Bay. The Orioles are pleased with a playoff birth, but they will not be truly happy until they have clinched the AL East pennant. BUCKle up everybody, Baltimore is in for one crazy ride these next 3 days!
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| McLouth teeing off in the 1st to start the O's in the right direction early. |
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| Jim Johson celebrating his 50th save of the season with Wieters. |
To go along with Jim Johnson's history making performance, this weekend would set several new land marks for both teams. This loss clinched a series sweep for the O's, the 10th time they have done that this season. It also was the 90th loss of the season for the Red Sox, their first 90 loss season since 1966, obviously a disappointment. Back to the bright side, this weekend's attendance rates boosted the O's over the 2,000,000 mark for the first time in a season since 2007. Over the past 4 games the O's offense has exploded, scoring 31 runs, 24 of them off home runs.
Now as I alluded to in the opening, I am extremely excited that I waited until after the Angels Rangers game.
The Angels lost game 2 of their double header with the Rangers tonight, which means for the first time since 1997, the Orioles have clinched a playoff birth. Obviously the team will celebrate their success tonight, but Manager Buck Showalter is not the type of person to take his foot off the gas pedal. The Orioles begin the final series of the season tomorrow against Tampa Bay. The Orioles are pleased with a playoff birth, but they will not be truly happy until they have clinched the AL East pennant. BUCKle up everybody, Baltimore is in for one crazy ride these next 3 days!
Saturday, September 29, 2012
O-mazing
This weekend has been spectacular thus far. Friday night kicked off fan appreciation weekend in Baltimore, and the Orioles wasted no time making it special.
As mentioned above, Chris Tillman was on fire all night. After allowing a lead off single, the Boston bats were quickly silenced. For the first time since 2009, the Red Sox were held to only one hit. After 8 spectacular innings, reliever Troy Patton was brought in to finish off the game. Last season, Tillman was only 3-5 with an ERA of 5.52 in 13 starts. He has done more than turn it around this season, going 9-2 with a 2.78 ERA in his 14 starts. Bobby Valentine, Boston's manager, had nothing but praise for Chris Tillman after Friday's game. Valentine said "We were behind his fastball most of the time, we were out in front of his breaking ball. His curveball, he threw effectively. We didn't solve him." Chris Tillman retired 17 of the last 18 batters he faced. With the O's bats as hot as they were, and Tillman throwing a gem, the Orioles were able to post their first positive run differential since June 26th.
Now I was lucky enough to go to this game, only my second game this season. The stadium was packed, it was loud, and it was certainly an amazing game for the fans. After Chris Davis gave the Orioles an early lead, the crowd erupted into The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army," one of the Raven's theme songs. The crowd was loud most of the night, cheering on the O's to their 90th win of the season.
The fan appreciation weekend continued today, as the O's took on Boston. Unlike last nights game, this one was not a blow out victory. It came down to the 9th inning, and a one run ball game. The scoring sheet started and ended with Machado, only fitting as the Oriole's were honoring Hall Of Famer 3rd Basemen, Brooks Robinson (left) tonight. Machado hit a single in the 2nd, scoring Davis, his 25th RBI of his short season.
In the 4th, Davis (top right) hit a two run home run, to extend the Orioles lead to 3-0, his 30th HR of the season. This home run gave the O's their 6th pair of 30-plus home run hitters in franchise history (joining Adam Jones who has 32).
With the game now tied in the 7th, Machado (bottom right) came up to start the inning. Machado wasted no time hitting his 7th home run of the season, giving the Orioles a 4-3 lead in the 7th inning. For those of you who don't know, the Orioles have yet to lose this season when leading after the 7th inning.
Like the rest of this season, the O's did not look back after taking the lead. Jim Johnson came on in the ninth to post his 49th save of the season, giving the O's their 91st win of the season, and a share of 1st place with only 5 games remaining.
The Red Sox fell to 69-89 on the season, 1 loss away from the franchises first 90 loss season since 1966.
Boston started the game with a bunt single by lead-off hitter Podsednick, which was the first and last hit that Boston got all night. Podsednick advanced to 2nd on a throwing error, then quickly moved to 3rd on a sac-bunt. Later in the inning, Pedroia hit a sac-fly to deep center, bringing home Podsednick for Boston's only unearned run of the game.
From here on out the story was Baltimore's red hot offense, and a lights out performance by starting pitcher Chris Tillman.
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| Flaherty hitting his first career grand-slam. |
Nate McLouth opened the bottom half of the first with yet another lead-off single. With one out, Davis hit his 29th homer of the season, giving the lead to the Orioles, now 2-1. Now with two outs, Thome singled, Reynolds was walked, and Machado singled. With the bases now loaded, Ryan Flaherty (right), a native of Maine and long time Red Sox fan, came up to bat. Flaherty hit his 6th home run, and first career grand slam on a hanging slider from Boston's starter Cook, extending the lead to 6-1.
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| Tillman threw a one hitter through 8 innings for the O's 90th win of the season. |
Now I was lucky enough to go to this game, only my second game this season. The stadium was packed, it was loud, and it was certainly an amazing game for the fans. After Chris Davis gave the Orioles an early lead, the crowd erupted into The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army," one of the Raven's theme songs. The crowd was loud most of the night, cheering on the O's to their 90th win of the season.
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| Brooks Robinson threw out the cerimonial first pitch today, after being honored with the unveiling of his statue. |
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| Davis jogging home after hitting his 30th HR of the season. |
In the 4th, Davis (top right) hit a two run home run, to extend the Orioles lead to 3-0, his 30th HR of the season. This home run gave the O's their 6th pair of 30-plus home run hitters in franchise history (joining Adam Jones who has 32).
With the game now tied in the 7th, Machado (bottom right) came up to start the inning. Machado wasted no time hitting his 7th home run of the season, giving the Orioles a 4-3 lead in the 7th inning. For those of you who don't know, the Orioles have yet to lose this season when leading after the 7th inning.
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| Lew Ford helping Machado celebrate his game winning HR. |
The Red Sox fell to 69-89 on the season, 1 loss away from the franchises first 90 loss season since 1966.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Typical AFC North Matchup
This was a typical AFC North Division match up: pound the ball, tough defense, and a game that came down to the last second. So what was the difference last night?
The Ravens were playing at home, a place where they have now won 13 straight games, and they were playing the Browns, a team they have not lost to in the last 9 games. But around the NFL questions were surrounding the Ravens, this was their fourth game in 18 days, not an easy schedule for any team at any time. Not only were these 4 games close together, but the Ravens were playing just 92 hours after the emotional win over the Patriots. But this Ravens team has faced more than just scheduling adversity, the team has fought through the death of former owner Art Modell, and death of Torrey Smith's younger brother. Let us put it this way, last night was the Raven's first home game this season without a moment of silence. The Ravens could have come out of this stretch 1-3 or 2-2 and many people would have attributed it to the schedule and the adversity, but not the Ravens. The Ravens are 3-1 after what seems like an impossible stretch of games. Harbaugh said it best, "Adversity does one of two things: it either drives a team apart, or in this case, because of the people that we have, it's driving us together."
The Ravens did not simply win due to current streaks, or a desire to defeat adversity, it came down to a couple special performances last night.
First lets look at the outstanding play of receiver Anquan Boldin. In the first three games, Boldin had 10 catches, 118 yards and a touchdown, he had been targeted only 16 times. Boldin claims he does not think about any stats other than the win column, and that could be true, but last night he exploded off the field. Boldin notched 9 catches for 131 yards, and was targeted 12 times, the most of any Ravens' receiver last night.
This night for Boldin may not have been possible without the incredible start to the year for Torrey Smith. In the month of September, Smith has 16 receptions for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns. This includes last nights 6 catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. Teams have been putting attention on the speedster and taking attention off of Boldin and Rice (exactly how Ozzie planned it).
Now obviously these two receivers were not on the field themselves, Flacco had an outstanding game last night, continuing the red-hot beginning to the season. Last night Flacco completed 28 of 46 passes (61%), for 356 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately Flacco's night was not perfect, he did throw a redzone interception for the first time in almost 3 years. Flacco also had a 5 yard TD run on a planned bootleg style 3rd and Goal play. Despite the pick, Flacco and the offense were able to do just enough to help the Ravens avoid an embarrassing loss.
The Ravens look forward to a weekend off, while already beginning to prepare for next Sunday's game against the Chiefs.
The Ravens were playing at home, a place where they have now won 13 straight games, and they were playing the Browns, a team they have not lost to in the last 9 games. But around the NFL questions were surrounding the Ravens, this was their fourth game in 18 days, not an easy schedule for any team at any time. Not only were these 4 games close together, but the Ravens were playing just 92 hours after the emotional win over the Patriots. But this Ravens team has faced more than just scheduling adversity, the team has fought through the death of former owner Art Modell, and death of Torrey Smith's younger brother. Let us put it this way, last night was the Raven's first home game this season without a moment of silence. The Ravens could have come out of this stretch 1-3 or 2-2 and many people would have attributed it to the schedule and the adversity, but not the Ravens. The Ravens are 3-1 after what seems like an impossible stretch of games. Harbaugh said it best, "Adversity does one of two things: it either drives a team apart, or in this case, because of the people that we have, it's driving us together."
The Ravens did not simply win due to current streaks, or a desire to defeat adversity, it came down to a couple special performances last night.
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| Boldin putting the team on his back in last night's win. |
First lets look at the outstanding play of receiver Anquan Boldin. In the first three games, Boldin had 10 catches, 118 yards and a touchdown, he had been targeted only 16 times. Boldin claims he does not think about any stats other than the win column, and that could be true, but last night he exploded off the field. Boldin notched 9 catches for 131 yards, and was targeted 12 times, the most of any Ravens' receiver last night.
This night for Boldin may not have been possible without the incredible start to the year for Torrey Smith. In the month of September, Smith has 16 receptions for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns. This includes last nights 6 catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. Teams have been putting attention on the speedster and taking attention off of Boldin and Rice (exactly how Ozzie planned it).
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| Flacco celebrating his TD run. |
The Ravens look forward to a weekend off, while already beginning to prepare for next Sunday's game against the Chiefs.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Game Day Preview
Today the Ravens will take on a division rival, the Cleveland Browns.
The past three weeks the Ravens have faced three former ProBowl quarterbacks, this week it is rookie QB Brandon Weeden. Head Coach John Harbaugh was asked if their is any relief in getting to face a rookie quarterback, instead of a ProBowl caliber QB. Harbaugh came back saying, "The challenge is that they (rookies) haven't seen anything, it's the first time for everything, so you don't know how they're going to respond, and they don't know how they are going to respond." In week 1 Weeden was 12-35, 118 yards, and 4 interceptions. However in week 2, Weeden bounced back strong, completing 26 or 37 passes, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
With this stat line in mind, Ed Reed was asked if he was foaming at the mouth to face a rookie again, especially one who has already thrown 6 picks. Reed commented saying "You see he still has a lot to learn, that's with any rookie quarterback coming into the league. But you can see that he can throw every ball."
Many players echoed the same ideas as Harbaugh and Reed, they are not going to underestimate Weeden, they know what he is capable of, so they will prepare for the best.
The Ravens have won 12 straight games at M&T Bank Stadium, and 9 straight against AFC North teams, they are looking to keep both streaks alive in this short week.
Both teams are fairly healthy, but one key injury does stand out. Starting WR for the Browns, Massaquoi has been ruled out of today's game. Massaquoi has been one of Weeden's most reliable targets, and it will be hard for them to replace his production.
Bigger news is who will be on the field rather that who is injured. Last night the NFL and NFL Referees Association reached an 8 year deal. Even though the deal will not be ratified until Friday or Saturday, Goodell has lifted the lock out for tonights game, a relief to all to many fans, players, and coaches.
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| Ed Hochuli signaling his joy for the agreement between the two sides. Hochuli will be the referee for tonights game. |
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Homerun Derby
The O's came into tonight's series finale in a must win situation. This was not a literal must win, meaning if they lost, it would only make it less likely that they will have a shot to win the division. A loss would not have eliminated them from playoff contention. Tonight only felt like a must win, the city wanted needed this win. The O's were looking to split the 4 game series and head into the weekend winners, rather losers of 3 straight. The Orioles organization is looking forward to a sell-out playoff atmosphere this weekend, and that would be less likely had the Orioles entered the weekend on a 3 game slide, looking lost against a losing team. The O's will say that they were looking at this as 1 of 162 games, just another game on another day, but there seemed to be some sort of a sense of urgency as the game started.
In the top of the 1st, Gonzalez (right) gave up a two out solo shot to center field, not the start they wanted, but certainly not a death sentence. The Orioles came back in the bottom of the 1st with McLouth's lead off long ball.
After two separate home runs in the 1st, the game was fairly quiet until the 5th. In the top of the 5th, Toronto's Anthony Gose singled to right, scoring J.P. Arencibia, making it 2-1 Jay's. Fortunately for the O's, that was practically the end of the night for Toronto's bats, and the O's were just getting started. In the bottom of the 5th, the O's homered 3 times (Thome, Machado, and Davis) scoring 5 runs. Again in the 6th, Reynolds went yard, scoring Wieters, making it now 8-2. In the 7th, Davis hit his second home run of the game, scoring Hardy. Not to be outdone, Machado came up in the 8th and homered to left, scoring Reynolds, making the final scoring line 12-2 Orioles.
The Orioles tied a franchise record hitting 7 home runs in one game. Davis and Machado each hit two home runs tonight, but the Home Run Derby title goes to Davis (below) by virtue of RBIs.
The O's will remain 1.5 games back of the Yankees, but remain a .5 game ahead of the A's in the wild card race. This weekend's series against the Red Sox will be nothing short of spectacular.
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| Gonzalez pitchers in the O's 12-2 win over the Blue Jays. |
In the top of the 1st, Gonzalez (right) gave up a two out solo shot to center field, not the start they wanted, but certainly not a death sentence. The Orioles came back in the bottom of the 1st with McLouth's lead off long ball.
After two separate home runs in the 1st, the game was fairly quiet until the 5th. In the top of the 5th, Toronto's Anthony Gose singled to right, scoring J.P. Arencibia, making it 2-1 Jay's. Fortunately for the O's, that was practically the end of the night for Toronto's bats, and the O's were just getting started. In the bottom of the 5th, the O's homered 3 times (Thome, Machado, and Davis) scoring 5 runs. Again in the 6th, Reynolds went yard, scoring Wieters, making it now 8-2. In the 7th, Davis hit his second home run of the game, scoring Hardy. Not to be outdone, Machado came up in the 8th and homered to left, scoring Reynolds, making the final scoring line 12-2 Orioles.
The Orioles tied a franchise record hitting 7 home runs in one game. Davis and Machado each hit two home runs tonight, but the Home Run Derby title goes to Davis (below) by virtue of RBIs.
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| Jone's congratulating Davis on his 2 HR night. |
Monday, September 24, 2012
Wow, What a Finale.
I tried to sit down after last nights game and write this, but lets be honest, that simply wasn't going to happen.
Lets start with the series finale between the Red Sox and the Orioles. This was not a particularly exciting game, but it did come down to the 9th inning. Down by one, the O's had the bases loaded with only one out. However they could not capitalize when they needed too, Machado grounded into a fielders choice and then Flaherty struck out looking. Luckily for the O's, the Yankee's also lost, so they remained just one game back for 1st place in the AL East.
The O's will look for a quick rebound today, they have to play Toronto in a crucial double header tonight.
Now lets move on to the wild weekend's wild finale. A weekend full of Boston vs. Baltimore came down to football, and a rematch of the AFC Championship Game.
In the first quarter, the Patriots came out of the gate with their high flying offense, quickly going up 3-0. On the Raven's first drive, Flacco threw for an interception, which the Patriots capitalized on, now leading 10-0. Before the 1st quarter came to an end, the Patriots were on top 13-0 and it looked like it would be a long night for Baltimore.
Flacco came back firing in the second quarter, and if you blinked you probably missed it. Flacco connected on two beautiful touchdown passes to Torrey Smith (pictured right) and Pitta, and before you knew it the Ravens were back on top 14-13 with just over a minute left in the first half. Unfortunately the Patriots still have Tom Brady, and a minute is all he needs. The Patriots marched down the field and the Patriots headed into half time with a 6 point lead over Joe Flacco and the Ravens.
The Ravens got the ball to start the second half, and picked up right where they left off, scoring on a Ray Rice 7-yard touchdown run to make it 21-20.
From here on out it was simply a dueling contest between two elite quarterbacks. Flacco, down by 9, needed two scoring drives and a little bit of help from his defense in the 4th quarter, and that is exactly what he got. Flacco again hit Torrey Smith for a touchdown with just over 4 minutes remaining. On the Patriots ensuing drive it looked like it would be all over for the Ravens. The Pat's were driving and trying to kill the clock. Penalty after penalty was called on the Ravens, including a bench penalty called a John Harbaugh (who just wanted a time-out). The refs were bad enough to elicit a stadium wide chorus of expletives that rhymed with bull spit. (If you don't believe me, or just want to laugh check it out here.) M&T Bank is always loud, but this chorus was loud enough that on TV, that you could not hear the announcers. The Ravens defense seemingly reacted to the crowd, and forced a punt with 2:01 left in the game. Flacco is no stranger to last minute drives, which would prove crucial in deciding this game.
It all came down to a last second field goal by Justin Tucker (right). For many Ravens fans, this looked all to familiar. The Patriots called a time-out just before Tucker drilled one right down the middle, so the teams lined up once more. With two seconds left on the clock, it was hit or miss, Tucker would either be a hero, or most likely run out of town. The snap wasn't perfect, but veteran punter Sam Koch was able to get the hold down in time. With the kick on its way all of Baltimore held its breath. The kick sailed just inside the right post, and the Ravens win it 31-30.
Now lets focus on some individual players that made this game so great to watch.
First lets look at both quarterbacks. This offseason Flacco was asked if he thought he was an elite quarterback. He responded saying that to be the best you have to think you are the best. National media blew this out of proportion mis-quoting Flacco saying that he thinks he is better than Brady and Rodgers. Well yesterday (and in the AFC Championship game) this proved to be true.
Brady went 28/41 with a touchdown, 335 yards and was sacked twice.
Flacco went 23/39 with 3 touchdowns, 382 yards and was not sacked at all.
Flacco simply out dueled Brady last night, putting any ref indecision aside.
Next we have to look at the spectacular play of Torrey Smith. Smith was playing just 16 hours after finding out his younger brother died in a motorcycle accident.
Out of no-where Torrey became the Raven's leading receiver, catching 6 balls for 127 yards and two touchdowns. And on plays where Torrey didn't catch the ball, he was usually responsible for one of the underneath routes being wide open. Most of the night Torrey was able to command the respect of a double team, leaving Boldin, Pitta and Ray Rice open for big gains off short throws.
Torrey had his best career game last night, especially considering the extra unusual circumstances under which he was playing.
Now I was not lucky enough to acquire tickets to the Ravens, Patriots showdown, but several of my friends were. They all said they heard the same thing: as M&T Bank Stadium emptied into the streets of Baltimore their was a loud "Lets Go O's" chant echoing through the city. To be clear, that is "Lets go O's" not "Lets go Ravens."
The Ravens will always be a pride of Baltimore, but this year the city has been swept up in the late September playoff race of our Oriole Birds.
Lets start with the series finale between the Red Sox and the Orioles. This was not a particularly exciting game, but it did come down to the 9th inning. Down by one, the O's had the bases loaded with only one out. However they could not capitalize when they needed too, Machado grounded into a fielders choice and then Flaherty struck out looking. Luckily for the O's, the Yankee's also lost, so they remained just one game back for 1st place in the AL East.
The O's will look for a quick rebound today, they have to play Toronto in a crucial double header tonight.
Now lets move on to the wild weekend's wild finale. A weekend full of Boston vs. Baltimore came down to football, and a rematch of the AFC Championship Game.
In the first quarter, the Patriots came out of the gate with their high flying offense, quickly going up 3-0. On the Raven's first drive, Flacco threw for an interception, which the Patriots capitalized on, now leading 10-0. Before the 1st quarter came to an end, the Patriots were on top 13-0 and it looked like it would be a long night for Baltimore.
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| Torrey Smith mid-catch for his first of two touchdowns. |
The Ravens got the ball to start the second half, and picked up right where they left off, scoring on a Ray Rice 7-yard touchdown run to make it 21-20.
From here on out it was simply a dueling contest between two elite quarterbacks. Flacco, down by 9, needed two scoring drives and a little bit of help from his defense in the 4th quarter, and that is exactly what he got. Flacco again hit Torrey Smith for a touchdown with just over 4 minutes remaining. On the Patriots ensuing drive it looked like it would be all over for the Ravens. The Pat's were driving and trying to kill the clock. Penalty after penalty was called on the Ravens, including a bench penalty called a John Harbaugh (who just wanted a time-out). The refs were bad enough to elicit a stadium wide chorus of expletives that rhymed with bull spit. (If you don't believe me, or just want to laugh check it out here.) M&T Bank is always loud, but this chorus was loud enough that on TV, that you could not hear the announcers. The Ravens defense seemingly reacted to the crowd, and forced a punt with 2:01 left in the game. Flacco is no stranger to last minute drives, which would prove crucial in deciding this game.
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| Tucker celebrating his game winning last second field goal. |
It all came down to a last second field goal by Justin Tucker (right). For many Ravens fans, this looked all to familiar. The Patriots called a time-out just before Tucker drilled one right down the middle, so the teams lined up once more. With two seconds left on the clock, it was hit or miss, Tucker would either be a hero, or most likely run out of town. The snap wasn't perfect, but veteran punter Sam Koch was able to get the hold down in time. With the kick on its way all of Baltimore held its breath. The kick sailed just inside the right post, and the Ravens win it 31-30.
Now lets focus on some individual players that made this game so great to watch.
First lets look at both quarterbacks. This offseason Flacco was asked if he thought he was an elite quarterback. He responded saying that to be the best you have to think you are the best. National media blew this out of proportion mis-quoting Flacco saying that he thinks he is better than Brady and Rodgers. Well yesterday (and in the AFC Championship game) this proved to be true.
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| Flacco standing tall in the pocket |
Flacco went 23/39 with 3 touchdowns, 382 yards and was not sacked at all.
Flacco simply out dueled Brady last night, putting any ref indecision aside.
Next we have to look at the spectacular play of Torrey Smith. Smith was playing just 16 hours after finding out his younger brother died in a motorcycle accident.
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| Smith overcome with emotion following the death of his brother. |
Torrey had his best career game last night, especially considering the extra unusual circumstances under which he was playing.
Now I was not lucky enough to acquire tickets to the Ravens, Patriots showdown, but several of my friends were. They all said they heard the same thing: as M&T Bank Stadium emptied into the streets of Baltimore their was a loud "Lets Go O's" chant echoing through the city. To be clear, that is "Lets go O's" not "Lets go Ravens."
The Ravens will always be a pride of Baltimore, but this year the city has been swept up in the late September playoff race of our Oriole Birds.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Baltimore vs. Boston
This weekend two cities take center stage in the sports world, Baltimore and Boston square off both in baseball and in football.
This sets the stage for a crucial Sunday for both cities. The Orioles will look to close out their second sweep of Boston at Fenway this season, while the Ravens will look to bounce back from a heartbreak loss to the Eagles, against none other than Tom Brady and the Patriots.
This match up between The Patriots and The Ravens could not be more intriguing for sports fans. In a season that has already been full of surprises, the NFL appears to have done at least one thing right (finally), the put the biggest match up of the weekend in primetime. The Ravens and Patriots both enter this weekend as surprising 1-1 teams. Most NFL analysts would have predicted this match up to be two 2-0 teams both trying to avoid the seasons first loss and looking seize the opportunity to take control of the AFC. But as ESPN's Chris Berman always says, "thats why they play the game." Neither team has had a losing record in quite some time, The Ravens since 2008 and the Patriots not since 2003. The Ravens come into this game on a 11 game home winning streak, but have the vivid memory of losing to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game stuck in their minds.
This weekend has already proven to be as spectacular as promised for these two cities, with two exciting baseball games, can they finish it even stronger with Sunday afternoon Baseball and Sunday night Football?
The weekend started with baseball, as the O's took on Boston and John Lester. John Lester had never lost a decision against the Orioles, going 14-0 leading into his start Friday Night. Starting against Lester was Orioles pitcher, Miguel Gonzalez. Gonzalez was once a minor leaguer for the Red Sox, so this game posted an opportunity for him to get some revenge on a team the looked past him this offseason. Both pitches pitched great, each giving their team an opportunity to win, so this one really came down to the batters. In this game, Wieters (coming off of a rare two days off) came up huge for the O's with a 3 RBI night. O's pitchers were able to hold off the Red Sox bats, limiting them to just 2 runs. The O's won 4-2 and were able to stay just one game back of the AL East lead. With this win, Baltimore was able to jump out of the gates on a very important weekend.
Today was just about what you would expect from the Orioles, especially when they are playing in Boston this season. Nothing can be settle in a 9 inning game when in Boston, having played 3 extra-inning games so far this season. The O's were 8-4 against Boston so far this year, and 6-1 when playing in Fenway. This game featured two struggling pitchers, who continued their struggles against each other today. Fortunately, they struggle about as equally as possible. Heading into the 6th inning it was tied 3-3 when Flaherty tripled to deep center field, scoring Davis and Machado, giving the O's a 5-3 lead. Due to a Adam Jones solo home run, the O's took a 6-3 lead into the 7th inning. Arrieta came in and gave up two runs in the 7th, and Strop allowed one in the 8th, eventually tying the game up at 6, setting up yet another extra inning game. Action resumed in the 12 as the O's bats came back to life, scoring 3 runs to make it 9-6. For Baltimore this was great, it set up Jim Johnson to do what he does best, close the game out for a win. Jim Johnson recorded his 47th save and the O's 16th consecutive extra-inning victory. Unfortunately for the O's, the Yankees were once again able to beat the A's in extras, so they are still 1 game back for the AL East lead, but remain in control of the 1st wild card position.
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| American League East standings as of 9/22 |
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| American League Wild Card Standings as of 9/22 |
This sets the stage for a crucial Sunday for both cities. The Orioles will look to close out their second sweep of Boston at Fenway this season, while the Ravens will look to bounce back from a heartbreak loss to the Eagles, against none other than Tom Brady and the Patriots.
This match up between The Patriots and The Ravens could not be more intriguing for sports fans. In a season that has already been full of surprises, the NFL appears to have done at least one thing right (finally), the put the biggest match up of the weekend in primetime. The Ravens and Patriots both enter this weekend as surprising 1-1 teams. Most NFL analysts would have predicted this match up to be two 2-0 teams both trying to avoid the seasons first loss and looking seize the opportunity to take control of the AFC. But as ESPN's Chris Berman always says, "thats why they play the game." Neither team has had a losing record in quite some time, The Ravens since 2008 and the Patriots not since 2003. The Ravens come into this game on a 11 game home winning streak, but have the vivid memory of losing to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game stuck in their minds.
This weekend has already proven to be as spectacular as promised for these two cities, with two exciting baseball games, can they finish it even stronger with Sunday afternoon Baseball and Sunday night Football?
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| What could be more exciting than watching two future Hall of Famers go at it live in primetime? |
Thursday, September 20, 2012
O's Magic or Just a Dream
The Orioles just won't stop, they have to make everything difficult!
Following an 18 inning, nearly 6 hour, marathon on Tuesday night the Orioles had one thing in mind, keeping the game short, and getting to Boston as early as possible. Any road series is difficult, but having six consecutive games on the west coast, an all to short day off, and three games in Boston could have been deadly for O's. Making everything worse is the fact that the O's just couldn't seem to put away the Mariners in 9 innings of baseball.
Joe Saunders got the start for the O's on Wednesday and, following the 18 inning game, was giving just one job, pitch as deep into the game as possible. Saunders took that one job with open arms. In the first two innings Saunders threw just 16 pitches, a fairly standard one inning performance. Saunders kept this up allowing just 1 run in 8 innings pitched. On any normal team this would have been perfect, call in the closer and game over, but not the O's. Yes Saunders pitched great, but unfortunately he was pitching against Felix Hernandez, the Mariners ace. Because King Felix also only allowed 1 run through 8 innings, the O's brought in relief pitcher Darren O'Day instead of closer Jim Johnson. O'Day pitched great in the 9th and was relieved by struggling pitcher Pedro Strop. Strop continued to struggle last night, walking the first batter he faced, allowing him to steal second, and then walking another to end his night. Brian Matusz came on to face a pinch hitter, which he struck out on 4 pitches. But instead of getting out of the inning, he walked the next batter he faced, loading the bases for Luis Ayala. Ayala was able to get out of the jam and keep a win possible for the O's.
With one out and the bases empty Nate McLouth came to the plate in the top of the 11th. McLouth singled to center field securing yet another multi-hit game. This brought up Adam Jones, king of late game heroics. Adam Jones then homered giving the O's a 3-1 lead, Jones' 30th home run of the year, and his 19th home run that has either tied the game, or giving them the lead. The O's never looked back from this 3-1 lead, bringing in Jim Johnson in the bottom of the 11th. Johnson wasn't perfect in his 45th save, needed a crucial double play to keep the save intact, but he got their. With 2 outs and runners on the corners, Mariners Michael Saunders attempted to steal 2nd. "Second string" catcher Taylor Teagarden did his best Matt Wieters impression and threw him out at 2nd ending the game. This put the O's 21 games above .500 and advanced them to 15-2 in extra inning games this season.
This is either a magical year for the O's, in which records have been broken, and players have come out of no where to play a major role (McLouth), or it is just a dream. The next series against the Red Sox will be tough, they will be looking for revenge from last years late September match ups. The Red Sox and O's are in a complete role reversal from last year, The O's looking to make the playoffs and the Sox looking to play spoiler. It came down to the last game of the year last year, when O's were able to win and knock the Sox playoff hopes down the drain.
Following an 18 inning, nearly 6 hour, marathon on Tuesday night the Orioles had one thing in mind, keeping the game short, and getting to Boston as early as possible. Any road series is difficult, but having six consecutive games on the west coast, an all to short day off, and three games in Boston could have been deadly for O's. Making everything worse is the fact that the O's just couldn't seem to put away the Mariners in 9 innings of baseball.
Joe Saunders got the start for the O's on Wednesday and, following the 18 inning game, was giving just one job, pitch as deep into the game as possible. Saunders took that one job with open arms. In the first two innings Saunders threw just 16 pitches, a fairly standard one inning performance. Saunders kept this up allowing just 1 run in 8 innings pitched. On any normal team this would have been perfect, call in the closer and game over, but not the O's. Yes Saunders pitched great, but unfortunately he was pitching against Felix Hernandez, the Mariners ace. Because King Felix also only allowed 1 run through 8 innings, the O's brought in relief pitcher Darren O'Day instead of closer Jim Johnson. O'Day pitched great in the 9th and was relieved by struggling pitcher Pedro Strop. Strop continued to struggle last night, walking the first batter he faced, allowing him to steal second, and then walking another to end his night. Brian Matusz came on to face a pinch hitter, which he struck out on 4 pitches. But instead of getting out of the inning, he walked the next batter he faced, loading the bases for Luis Ayala. Ayala was able to get out of the jam and keep a win possible for the O's.
With one out and the bases empty Nate McLouth came to the plate in the top of the 11th. McLouth singled to center field securing yet another multi-hit game. This brought up Adam Jones, king of late game heroics. Adam Jones then homered giving the O's a 3-1 lead, Jones' 30th home run of the year, and his 19th home run that has either tied the game, or giving them the lead. The O's never looked back from this 3-1 lead, bringing in Jim Johnson in the bottom of the 11th. Johnson wasn't perfect in his 45th save, needed a crucial double play to keep the save intact, but he got their. With 2 outs and runners on the corners, Mariners Michael Saunders attempted to steal 2nd. "Second string" catcher Taylor Teagarden did his best Matt Wieters impression and threw him out at 2nd ending the game. This put the O's 21 games above .500 and advanced them to 15-2 in extra inning games this season.
This is either a magical year for the O's, in which records have been broken, and players have come out of no where to play a major role (McLouth), or it is just a dream. The next series against the Red Sox will be tough, they will be looking for revenge from last years late September match ups. The Red Sox and O's are in a complete role reversal from last year, The O's looking to make the playoffs and the Sox looking to play spoiler. It came down to the last game of the year last year, when O's were able to win and knock the Sox playoff hopes down the drain.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
O's Win Another Marathon
This week has been able to post two great O's games. Monday night the Oriole's came out swinging, putting up 7 runs in the first two innings. The Mariners had to go to the bull pen early, starting the parade in the 2nd inning. Oriole's starter Chris Tillman came out dealing, and combined with the power hitting early, this game was over before it really started. With a few late inning scores, the Mariners made the game look a lot closer than it actually was. The final line was a 10-4 Orioles victory.
Tuesday night could not have been more different of an experience. Both starting pitchers were fantastic, yet Mariners' starting pitcher, Ramirez had the upper hand. Chen only pitched 5 and a third innings, throwing 103 pitches. Ramirez was able to pitch into the 9th, yet was unable to put the game away. Chen started great, and really only had one mistake, a 2 run shot in the 4th of the bat of catcher Miguel Olivo. The score remained the same, 2-0 Mariners, until the top of the 9th inning. Ramirez came out to try and finish off a complete game shut-out. O's manager Buck starting pushing all the right buttons here, bringing in pinch hitter Ryan Flaherty. Flaherty singled, and was followed up by another Nate McLouth single, ending Ramirez's night. Hardy sacrifice bunted to move the runners over for struggling Chris Davis. With runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out, Chris Davis poked a single just through the gap by second base, breaking his 0-8 mini-slump. Both runners were able to score making the game 2-2 at the end of 9. In the top of the 11th the o's had the bases loaded with 2 outs for catcher Matt Wieters, it looked like the game could be almost over. Wieters proceeded to strike out on three straight pitches ending the O's chances. (Now to be honest, this is when I stopped watching and went to bed). It was not until the 18th inning that the O's were finally able to break through. Pinch hitting Teagarden came on with McLouth already on 3rd, due to a Reynolds "hit-and-run" style play and Reynolds on 1st. On what looked like a hit-and-run, Teagarden singled and allowed McLouth to score and Reynolds to move over to second. Later Reynolds scored to make the game 4-2. Johnson then came on to do what he does best, getting his MLB leading 44th save in 47 attempts.
The O's look to keep the magic going, after all the are 20 games about .500 for the first time since 1997! The Yankees were inactive Monday, and rained out last night, so the O's were not able to take over control of 1st, but they are practically tied heading into Wednesday. With the Yanks playing a double header today, and the O's trying to finish out a sweep of the Mariners, today could prove crucial in the AL East post season race.
In the aftermath of an 18 inning marathon, the O's have called up top prospect Dylan Bundy. Bundy is 19 and becomes the O's first player under 20 to make his debut since 1967. Bundy is currently listed as No. 2 on MLB.com's 100 top prospects list. Because the O's used 7 relief pitchers last night, Bundy is expected to be available out of the bullpen for tonights series finale. Should he be needed to come on, O's fans will be looking for a strong performance, after all you can never have to many solid arms in the thick of a late September pennant race.
Tuesday night could not have been more different of an experience. Both starting pitchers were fantastic, yet Mariners' starting pitcher, Ramirez had the upper hand. Chen only pitched 5 and a third innings, throwing 103 pitches. Ramirez was able to pitch into the 9th, yet was unable to put the game away. Chen started great, and really only had one mistake, a 2 run shot in the 4th of the bat of catcher Miguel Olivo. The score remained the same, 2-0 Mariners, until the top of the 9th inning. Ramirez came out to try and finish off a complete game shut-out. O's manager Buck starting pushing all the right buttons here, bringing in pinch hitter Ryan Flaherty. Flaherty singled, and was followed up by another Nate McLouth single, ending Ramirez's night. Hardy sacrifice bunted to move the runners over for struggling Chris Davis. With runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out, Chris Davis poked a single just through the gap by second base, breaking his 0-8 mini-slump. Both runners were able to score making the game 2-2 at the end of 9. In the top of the 11th the o's had the bases loaded with 2 outs for catcher Matt Wieters, it looked like the game could be almost over. Wieters proceeded to strike out on three straight pitches ending the O's chances. (Now to be honest, this is when I stopped watching and went to bed). It was not until the 18th inning that the O's were finally able to break through. Pinch hitting Teagarden came on with McLouth already on 3rd, due to a Reynolds "hit-and-run" style play and Reynolds on 1st. On what looked like a hit-and-run, Teagarden singled and allowed McLouth to score and Reynolds to move over to second. Later Reynolds scored to make the game 4-2. Johnson then came on to do what he does best, getting his MLB leading 44th save in 47 attempts.
The O's look to keep the magic going, after all the are 20 games about .500 for the first time since 1997! The Yankees were inactive Monday, and rained out last night, so the O's were not able to take over control of 1st, but they are practically tied heading into Wednesday. With the Yanks playing a double header today, and the O's trying to finish out a sweep of the Mariners, today could prove crucial in the AL East post season race.
In the aftermath of an 18 inning marathon, the O's have called up top prospect Dylan Bundy. Bundy is 19 and becomes the O's first player under 20 to make his debut since 1967. Bundy is currently listed as No. 2 on MLB.com's 100 top prospects list. Because the O's used 7 relief pitchers last night, Bundy is expected to be available out of the bullpen for tonights series finale. Should he be needed to come on, O's fans will be looking for a strong performance, after all you can never have to many solid arms in the thick of a late September pennant race.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Intro to Me and My Blog
Hello Everyone!
I am a college sophomore living and studying in Maryland. I am a history major with absolutely no experience or training in journalism. Ask my mom, I have always loved sports, everything to do with sports. As a kid, I would wake up nice and early, watch an hour or so of Animal Planet, and then switch over hours and hours of SportsCenter. I have always loved to talk sports, and often get very frustrated by national media.
My goal for this blog is to cover major sports events across the nation, as well as focus on the Baltimore Ravens, and Baltimore Orioles. Yes, I do have a hometown bias for both of these teams, but I will do my best to look at these two teams with as much objectivity as possible.
Hope you all enjoy!
I am a college sophomore living and studying in Maryland. I am a history major with absolutely no experience or training in journalism. Ask my mom, I have always loved sports, everything to do with sports. As a kid, I would wake up nice and early, watch an hour or so of Animal Planet, and then switch over hours and hours of SportsCenter. I have always loved to talk sports, and often get very frustrated by national media.
My goal for this blog is to cover major sports events across the nation, as well as focus on the Baltimore Ravens, and Baltimore Orioles. Yes, I do have a hometown bias for both of these teams, but I will do my best to look at these two teams with as much objectivity as possible.
Hope you all enjoy!
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