I recruited this guy off the MLB board. Unless you guys want to make a liar out of me, you have to start being funny. Pronto. :P

funny? i was wondering if anyone is even still alive, for god's sake. :P

guess RO will get to find out that this message board doesn't post simply for the sake of posting....only when there's something worth posting about or when one of the regulars decides to spice things up.

i mean, i guess no one has much to say here about Ron Washington using cocaine one time in his life, at age 57, coincidentally within 72 hours of being tested last July. or about the fact that Nolan Ryan decided it either was true (!?) or didn't matter. or that Bill Ripken decided that Mark McGwire is now the better of the steroid users because at least he admitted using them regularly over 10 years and didn't offer the BS about just using it once...(!?)

mostly because we all already know how we all feel about that stuff, so it seems like old news, not worth commenting on?

no one here really takes Spring Training too seriously....we've been through a lot of seasons where ST was great and the season stunk as soon as Opening Day arrived, or where the world was ending and only 5 fans were left after Opening Day anyway, then everything took off, only to come crashing down after a couple of months...and as far as other teams' stars like Stephen Strasburg, i'm probably the only one who cares that i'll be able to see him at the newly renovated MetroBank Park now that the Nationals have decided to start him off in AA this season, as of about an hour ago.

it's rare to have speculation here about lineups, to debate whether Markakis belongs in the Number 3 slot. we all know we're lacking a true cleanup hitter, so the rest just changes as it changes, and our speculation doesn't really accomplish much but allow us to spout off stats of one kind or another. and there aren't enough of us to have true "camps" regarding the value of stats or debate em, and besides, we've all debated them ad nauseum before...right?

besides, Milt always wins. :)

i think we've all gotten lazy about trying to start posts here anymore. maybe RO can stir things up and see what happens.

i hope Milt doesn't make him/her melt away too...:)

anyone impressed by how Wigginton and Turner are stepping up to claim Roberts' spot? anyone find it almost humorous that BRob is getting a wake-up call with MacPhail willing to jump so quickly to "outside sources" to replace him? or concerned that there really did seem to be an offensive "spark" last year that we may be without this season?

anyone else impressed by how there are now three guys vying for that fifth spot, all performing about equally, while Guthrie seems to be offering up his spot for one of em as well? (gad, Guthrie has looked *bad* this spring; not only has he not pitched well, he seems to have no clue in post-game interviews about what's wrong and/or what he can fix.) it's also interesting that Koji's spot may open up at least temporarily with still more hamstring issues.

anyone relieved to see Millwood's latest outing with the intersquad game the other day, where he didn't actually give up 4-6 runs in the first inning? i heard him tell us emphatically at FanFest that he always has horrid ST numbers because he works on pitches in live games, but i didn't really expect it to be that pronounced. just relieved as hell that in that intersquad game, he struck out something like 4 in a row in the first couple of innings. maybe he'll be ready for Opening Day after all?

anyone wondering about what direction the commissioner takes regarding realignment of the divisions within the American League (if not both leagues)? i heard MacPhail's ideas, read the suggestions made by Ken Rosenthal, but has anyone read a supposed article in Sports Illustrated about this?

speaking of SI, did anyone else obtain the Wieters cover issue?

did anyone besides me make it to Spring Training this year? the facility was soooo much of an improvement over Ft. Lauderdale. and Mike Gonzalez mentioned yesterday that even he could see how smart it was to have him stay behind in Sarasota, while the team of starters went on the road to Clearwater, so that he could get treatment, then pitch the AAA game, then get treatment, all at the same time. that was *never* possible in Ft. Lauderdale, and i can really see how much of a difference it might make. i think the whole idea of Trembley being able to see the guys in the minors and just move guys back and forth is so huge. an entirely different approach to ST is possible now.

i also got some interesting pics and video down there. maybe i'll put some up sometime, if i find some that seem of interest. i could put a link to the 30 Clubs in 30 Days episode on the O's that was on the MLB Network, in case anyone missed it. turns out i'm in the opening shots from there. :cool:

it was great hooking up with Skywalker down there too. so cool to have met our international posters from Germany and Venezuela. one of the best things about having had the opportunity to rescue the board back when...no matter how many times i want to just give it up...

even though the majority of remaining posters here will quite intellectually state that this season will end up another losing season, so not much to get excited about -- and i don't disagree -- i still like talking about the O's. others here maybe not so much, or just waiting for the actual season to start. i honestly don't have a clue where everyone goes most of the time, and have rarely been able to have any influence on it myself. :)

so i guess we'll just have to wait until one of the old faithful decides to grace us with their presence here to liven things up...in their own time...or let RO jump in and start some threads and see what happens!

welcome to the board, R.O.Shipman

Good post!

We don't post here just for the sake of it, dumbass.

I've gotta go take BP. I'll try to actually add something of substance later.

:lol:

Welcome RO Shipman.

Spring training has started?? The last I heard the Winter Olympics were beginning! I've been spending way too much time messing around in my postage stamp garden plot. I am now into "Square Foot" gardening. I have assembled a raised bed frame garden all divided into square foot plots into which I have crammed radishes, leaf lettuce and spinach. I'll wait until it is past the date of last frost here on the Eastern Shore…somewhere around April the 28th to plant tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, and beans.

Sluggo are you going to post updates on your team this season? They were fun last year along with Stanhouse's posts. I'm going to try to get to one of Stanhouse's games this year…Maine might be a reach, but a nice trip since I've never been to Maine. When is the end of the no-seeums' swarms? November?

Sheesh!

That was actually kind of helpful to me last year, so yeah I'd be glad to if you're that interested. Wouldn't want to let my public down. :D

We don't start until after Mother's Day. I think we've finally put together a really strong team right out of the gate this time around. Out of the six teams this year, we should easily be one of the top 2. One of the exciting things about this year, we're going to be playing on a new field that was a former AAA field back in the late 80's. The place has been totally unused for the last 10-15 years, but they have re-done everything -- new turf, playing surface, outfield wall, all of it. Check it out: this is pretty much what it looked like about a year ago, only they had actual trees and stuff growing out there:

http://www.digitalballparks.com/International/Orchard.html

D:

To answer your questions, YES.

Sluggo:

You are becoming Zekish with your answering your own posts.

Good call, Zeke.

And welcome RO.

D:

I am assuming that Brad Bergesen is our 4th starter. We assume Millwood is one, Guthrie, despite evidence he does not want to pitch in the majors any more, is two, Matusz is three, and then BB. So the fifth spot is open.

I harbor a slightly selfish hope BB is third or fifth, because when the Os come out to Oakland April 15-18, the fifth starter, then 1 to 3 would take the mound. There is a chance the Bergesen clan will take a block of seats, and they would undoubtedly want him pitching (duh!).

You gave us a great post. I also thought it was good to see the franchise's response to BRob's back problem, and the two guys taking very seriously their opportunity.

If there was a re-allignment of the AL, would the east be the north east division, and TB bumped? I missed that news.

back at the end of January, MacPhail and Jim Palmer both talked about division realignment concepts at FanFest, from which i put together this video. you can see both the desire to do something like AM discusses to avoid having to play the NYY and Red Sox 18 times each every season -- in order to improve the W-L ratio -- but also the reluctance of owners who count on those games as "prime ticket" games.

a month later, the article that Ken Rosenthal wrote came out. he offers three different alternatives, from conservative to radical to revenue-based. check out how *he* decides to rename the divisions. :)

about two weeks following that, Tom Verducci wrote this article in Sports Illustrated about something called "floating realignment."

interesting, eh?

Thanks for the links.

I like the league promotion/demotion idea.

You have the American League with 10 teams (2 divisions with DH), the National League with 10 teams (2 divisions no DH), and then the toilet/cellar league with the 10 worst teams and they have the DH or not based on the home team's preference. The loser of each AL and NL division goes into the toilet and the best 4 teams from the toilet get to be in the AL or NL. The games that decide the promotion will be called the "toilet bowl" or "turkey bowl".

Toilet League = Washington, Pittsburgh, Arizona, NY Mets, Houston, Kansas City, Oakland, Cleveland, Toronto, and dem O's.

The O's might take 4th!

Let’s see........where to start?

I love baseball but honestly, if it doesn’t directly affect the Orioles I don’t pay too much attention to it. And steroids? I’ll just say that one of the reasons I like this place is that we’re not constantly re-hashing the same tired arguments. We’re all smart enough to know we’re not going to change each others’ minds. One thing that continues to fascinate me, though, is how the MLB channel seems to want to have it both ways, simultaneously condemning steroids but celebrating the guys who we all know used them.

Hoping he’ll still be at AA later this summer when Harrisburg shows up in Portland. And I hope I get to see the Sea Dogs light him up like a Christmas tree.

Another one of the many reasons I come here. No threads with 40 people posting imaginary lineups and debating whether Reimold belongs in the 5 or in the 2. And nobody proposing ridiculous, nonsensical, lopsided, “let’s trade 10 pieces of our deadwood for the other team’s star” deals. And while some here aren’t entirely impressed with MacPhail or Trembley, at least no one’s arrogant enough to openly proclaim with a straight face that they could do better.

Haven’t been following that particular drama too closely, but I did get to see one ST game on MLBTV, and was very impressed with Miguel Abreu. I think he went in the dirt three times that day and made every play. Can he hit?

Never really thought about it until now but, yeah, it seems odd, especially with Turner and Andino as viable in-house options. I mean, you’re going to make a trade or a signing for half the season and then what? And whatever happened to Scott Moore?

Tough decision to make there. In the long-term I’m pulling for Tillman, but Hernandez is making it interesting. Who would have guessed that after last year? I’d like to see Sarfate get the whole package together. And how come everyone seems to forget how good Albers actually was that first summer? Guthrie to the ‘pen? How about a 6-man rotation for that first tough month? The Red Sox were actually talking about that a year or two ago, when they had 6 or 7 viable starters in their stable.

Re-alignment feels too much like throwing in the towel. However they ultimately decide to build a team and make it happen, I want to bear witness to the Orioles shitstomping the Yankees and Red Sox on a regular basis. The last thing I need to hear is how the Orioles couldn’t hack it, so they ran for the cover of another division.

They couldn’t possibly be as interesting as the video of you getting knocked out by Tillman, but do share. And for RO’s sake, I think you should re-post the Tillman vid.

The losing makes it tough – you know, trying to find bright spots to talk about while trying not to gloss over the negatives but trying not to bitch about them all the time either? Every year brings more trepidation about whether they’ll ever put all the pieces together at the same time. And speaking of which, if you claimed last year that it was all about having a strong defense behind your young pitchers, why do you now bring in those formidable defensive stalwarts Tejada and Adkins, AND play them out of position – and then tell your manager that this year he will be judged on wins and losses? It makes about as much sense as $5 Natty Boh in Aberdeen-freakin’-Maryland.

The Over-25 division of my league is actually doing something like this, with 3 divisions based on the skill levels of the teams. It's a good idea insofar as it creates a situation where some teams have a chance to actually compete and not just get stomped every week. Losing all the time sucks, and no one wants to do it every week in a recreational league. But honestly, in a world where excellence and high-caliber play are the goals, this doesn't feel right.

~D....you just about covered it all...cya next week.

Welcome to the board RO Shipman...

The idea of the best teams playing in the Premier League and the losing teams going down to the lower league--that is they do British soccer. I think they have five levels.

I suppose it would make the crappy MLB teams seem like Minor League teams, but the Yankees and Redsox kind of do that anyway.

I still would like to own an "Orioles 2012 toilet bowl champs" shirt.