Baltimore Sports Then and Now

Getting rid of a manager is not going to automatically fix things for the troubles Baltimore Orioles.

As a franchise, firing your manager signals two things to your fan base:

1) This season marks the beginning of our quest to rebuild frantically in order to use it as an excuse for our inevitable suckdom.

2) Our team is now going to be less competitive than Jonah Hill in a triathlon so in order to keep you interested, Elliot Yamin or other reasonably famous people will possibly be signing stuff at the gate every Tuesday game from here on.

After 2 ½ seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, Dave Trembley was fired on June 4th after guiding the Orioles to a paltry .278 winning percentage through the club’s first 54 games.

Largely a victim of being in the wrong situation at the wrong time, Trembley never managed to win more than 68 games with the anemic Orioles, despite expectations each season that the Orioles would improve on the disappointment of the previous one.

Trembley’s dismissal actually came as little surprise to O’s fans as Trembley had recently come under fire for his mismanagement of the pitching staff,  lack of disciplinary tactics, and possibly for looking a little too much like William Shatner.

Now the Orioles are on a quest to find a way to somewhat compete in one of the toughest divisions in Major League Baseball history, as the American League East has produced a different World Series contender in 2009, 2008 and 2007. Read the rest of this entry →

With the 2010 NFL Draft behind the Baltimore Ravens, they seem to have improved the team dramatically. The excitement seems to build every time Ozzie Newsome makes a pick, and the Ravens should be happy with what they came out of the draft with this year.

The Ravens show off their drafting skills with a couple of great picks

The Ravens started the draft at a slow pace, but picked it up as the Draft went on.  They didn’t start adding to the team until the second day of the draft, but still seemed to make a change with the talent they drafted.

Sergio Kindle - the Ravens found a hard hitting linebacker, just like Ray Lewis. Kindle has a knack of finding the ball. He is a versatile athlete, as he can play linebacker and as easily switch to defensive end. Kindle fits the mold of a Raven, as he is a strong pass rushing blitzing aggressive player, who plays hard. This is just another example of Ozzie picking a great defensive player, that the Ravens are known for. Look for Sergio Kindle as the next big linebacker in Baltimore.

Terrence Cody – the Ravens found the next Haloti Ngata, both are tremendously big football players, and can surely stop the run. Cody should help the Ravens big time this season; it’s going to be a challenge for the opponent to get any progress in the running game. Cody is going to defiantly fit in with the Ravens, as he is a run stopping defensive minded football player.

Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta – the big question is why did they draft two tight ends? The answer is that Todd Heap has been injury prone and having trouble staying healthy, even though he had a pretty good 2009 season. So both of these tight ends are the future of the Ravens and surely going to be trying to prove them self’s this season. Dickson is an excellent receiver that can gain a lot of yards after the catch. Pitta is also a great receiver that can make big plays in the middle of the field. All in all the Ravens have two great tight ends that should solidify the future of this position. Even though they drafted both Dickson and Pitta, they are looking for Dickson to be the successor to Heap.

David Reed – the Ravens drafted Reed to help out in the passing game as well as the return game. Reed brings a great desire to not give up, as he is the type of player that gets knocked out one play and comes back and makes a big impact on the next play. Reed is a tough, aggressive athlete that has some playmaking skills. Look for Reed to try and make a name for himself in the future, but he is going to be a student to the veteran receivers that are on the team this season.

Arthur Jones – he has a lot of injury problems, but the Ravens have faith he will still have an impact for them. Jones has a lot of talent; it’s just a matter of him staying healthy. So we will see if the Ravens made a good decision by drafting him.

Ramon Harewood – he is just another big hefty athlete that the Ravens picked up. Harewood should help a lot with blocking Joe Flacco. He is a big athlete that eats up a lot of space on the football field, but that should help out a lot. So look out for Harewood to make a big impact on the offensive line.

The Ravens had a great 2010 NFL draft, as they both helped make the defense and offense much better and should show once the season starts. So look for these players in the future of the Ravens.

Photo credit: Charlotte Mace

The Women’s Professional Soccer league (WPS) held the Los Angeles Sol Dispersal Draft with the eight remaining teams via conference call Thursday.

With the seventh pick, the Washington Freedom selected Notre Dame star, Brittany Bock.

“She’s versatile, she can play in multiple positions, and we’re looking forward to seeing her in camp and seeing exactly where she fits in and how she fits in,” said Freedom head coach Jim Gabarra.

Bock fit in nicely with the LA Sol last season, starting 17 of the team’s 18 games. She was part of a solid backline that marked the Sol as the league leader in defense, with a goals against average of 0.5. Read the rest of this entry →

Jeremy Guthrie and the rest of the starting rotation hope to have a great season as a whole.

The Baltimore Orioles are at the bottom when it comes to starting pitching production, but the Orioles hope to improve that with their young arms, and with help from the veteran pitching that is on the ball club and that was acquired this off season should help the Orioles starting pitching to finally turn the corner. Let’s take a look at the Orioles starting rotation for the baseball season up ahead.

In the number one spot Jeremy Guthrie should be at number one, because the Orioles are familiar with him and knows the production he can put up, it’s just matter of him getting the first batter out in the beginning of innings and getting more run production, which should be there with the Orioles revamped line up, so look for Guthrie to have a great season for the Orioles pitching staff.

In the number two spot Brad Bergesen, who was having a great season before he was injured, if he looks at the positives of how great he was pitching before his unlikely shin injury, and then he should be a big part in the Orioles success. Bergesen is in the second spot, because he showed a lot of pitching ability and proved that he can pitch at this level rather easy.

In the number three spot newly acquired veteran Kevin Millwood, he should be a big help for himself and the young pitchers that pitch ahead of his spot and after his spot. Millwood and the Orioles should have a great season, as Millwood is a inning eater, and the Orioles are not used to that, so that should benefit them in the pitching department, mainly including giving the bullpen rest. So Millwood and his veteran presences should help the Orioles young pitchers to get a better understanding of what goes into pitching consistently at this level.

In the number four spot Brian Matusz who got his chance to show his stuff last season, after an injury to one of the Orioles starters. He showed a lot of poise, and surprised the Orioles with his magnificent pitching ability; he should help the Orioles big time in the upcoming season. He should benefit from this spot in the rotation, as he still has a lot to prove to the Orioles and the rest of the major leagues, so in this spot he should be able to relax and improve his pitching.

In the fifth and final spot Chris Tillman who started off his career on a high note with a win against a pretty good Angels team. He started to decline after that, as he only recorded one more win after that. Tillman hopes to take what he learned last season and turn it into something great for the upcoming season. He should have a big season, as he was a rookie in training last season, so he should be more aware of his surroundings in the major leagues and focus on getting better. This spot in the rotation should give Tillman time to watch and learn some pitching techniques from the pitchers that pitch in front of his spot, especially newly acquired Kevin Millwood.

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The Baltimore Orioles lineup going to look better rounded and more productive for the upcoming season. Let’s take a look at how the Orioles starting lineup will look for the season that is ahead of them.

Nick Markakis And Adam Jones Hope To Get The Orioles Line Up Back On Track.

At first base you will mostly see Garrett Atkins with that job, and he will also be a good utility guy.

At second base you will see the most loved player Brian Roberts who brings a lot of production for the Orioles and their lineup.

At shortstop you will have a gold glove caliber player Cesar Izturis, who is coming back for his second season with the Orioles, he should be more of a help for the Orioles this time around, as he has a season under his belt and he is more comfortable with the way the Orioles do things.

At third base (a position that he a has never played) the Orioles will welcome back All-Star player Miguel Tejada, his first go around with the Orioles he showed that he is a power hitter and has great fielding ability with a strong arm. Tejada is coming to the Orioles for his second time and he is going to be playing at a position he has never played before, he should be able to learn the position rather easy, as he is a ball player and will try anything to get in the lineup and shine no matter what position or spot in the lineup.

At catcher Matt Wieters will be more helpful this season, as he got his feet wet in the majors last season. This season Wieters should be more relaxed and ready to prove why he was the number one prospect.

In left field Nolan Reimold will be back for his second season in the majors, he showed a lot of promise last season with his ability to hit and field.

In center field Adam Jones, who won the gold glove for his play in the outfield last season. You will see a break out year from Jones this season, as he has proved that he is improving each time he bats or takes the field.

In right field Nick Markakis another one of the Orioles most prized hitters and has knack for making great plays in the outfield.

With a line up like this the Orioles should be able to do a lot of damage to the elite teams in the Major Leagues.