MASN to Televise Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate All Star Game
Special Mid-Atlantic Classic Coverage in HD on July 15 at 7 p.m.
(Washington D.C.) -- MASN, the local leader in live sports entertainment, will broadcast the Mid-Atlantic Classic live on July 15th at 7 p.m. on MASN and MASN HD from the Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, MD, home of the independent Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
The game, which will pit a team of 28 Valley League Stars against a team of 28 Ripken, Sr. League Stars, will air in high definition during MLB's All-Star break. In addition to the game, a Home Run Derby between the two leagues will precede the contest at 5:30 p.m.
Legendary broadcaster Johnny Holliday and former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dave Johnson will handle play-by-play and color duties for the Classic, just as they did during MASN's broadcast of the Cal Ripken League All-Star Game in 2007.
"As the home of two Major League Baseballl teams, MASN is excited to showcase the best amateur talent in the Baltimore-Washington region throughout MASN's seven state territory," said MASN spokesman Todd Webster.
About the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League:
The mission of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League is to promote, promulgate, and perpetuate collegiate wooden-bat baseball in Maryland and the District of Columbia. By creating community-based summer collegiate baseball teams, the League seeks to promote amateur and youth baseball and softball in the area through the improvement of existing fields and facilities and fostering spirited competition with an emphasis on sportsmanship, teamwork, honesty, and fair play. The backbone of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League is the investment in and partnership with local communities.
About MASN
MASN is the television home of the Nationals and the Orioles. The network carries over 600 live sporting events every year including more than 275 NCAA Division I football, basketball, and lacrosse games. MASN is currently carried on 23 cable and satellite providers throughout a seven-state region.
Thứ Hai, 29 tháng 6, 2009
Base Hits: 6/29/2009
A rambling version of Base Hits on this Monday. A lot to talk about...
Some good news from Birdland this weekend. Firstly, they won the series with the Nationals 2-1.
Secondly, The Warehouse came to terms with 2009 1st round pick Matt Hobgood. Here's the video from The Baltimore Sun's website.
The kid sure says all the right things. I imagine he'll end up in Bluefield with the rest of the high school signees.
Also a couple of nice articles about Orioles players from the national media. Marc Hulett writes about the Oriole acquisition of Cleveland farmhand Michael Aubrey this week for FanGraphs.com:
The 27-year-old former Tulane University start has below-average power for a MLB first baseman, but he can hit for a solid batting average with gap power and he is an above-average fielder. It's a very nice low-risk, medium-reward move by an organization that is getting better by the season.
I know nothing about Michael Aubrey in particular but organizational depth at the corner infield positions is something the O's really need and Aubrey can't hurt.
Also at FanGraphs.com, Dave Cameron takes a look at underrated rookie pitcher Brad Bergesen.
When you can command a sinking fastball and have an off-speed pitch to keep opposite handed hitters at bay, you can be an effective major league starter. Bergesen doesn’t have the same potential as some of the more hyped arms in the Orioles system, but don’t discount his strengths and write him off as a no-stuff guy who belongs in the bullpen. Command, sinker, and change-up - it’s the recipe for a solid back-end starting pitcher.
Bergesen takes a lot of criticism from many analysts due to his anemic strikeout rate in the majors. It's a fair criticism but you also have to consider a couple of other stats too.
Ground Ball percentage among AL starters:
If Bergesen can keep inducing grounders at this rate, he's going to hang around awhile. Interesting to see fellow rookie Rick Porcello on this list. Halladay and Hernandez strike out a ton of batters but Porcello doesn't have that kind of stuff. Let's take a closer look.
Odd that Porcello is touted for Rookie of the Year and gets none of the criticism that Bergesen gets. He only strikes out one extra batter per nine and walks an extra batter per nine.
If Bergesen keeps the walks and the ball down, he's going to have some success in this league. If he can edge his strikeout rate closer to 6 K/9, he could be a great one.
Shysterball had a funny post regarding Sindney Ponson's positive test for a stimulant during the WBC.
It includes the killer line, "The only non-natural substances in Ponson's pee-pee are Yoo-Hoo and failure."
Well played, sir.
Speaking of Shysterball, he also has a post up about Matt Wieters at the NBC baseball blog, Circling The Bases questioning the divinity of the Oriole's rookie catcher.
But a funny thing happened on the way to immortality: Wieters has proved human.
Twenty-one games into his big league career he's at .243/.300/.405. Yesterday he dropped a ball at home plate, turning a sure out into a run for the Nationals. Overall, he's thrown out just two of 15 base stealers and has committed three errors in less than a month.
Now, this post is mostly tongue in cheek but I wonder about Dan Connolly:
Sunday, though, it was back to work at the old ballpark. And let’s just say my Saturday was a whole lot better than Orioles catcher Matt Wieters' Sunday.
The phenom went hitless in three at-bats, made his third throwing error in four games and dropped a ball to wipe out what would have been a sure out at the plate.
Afterward, Wieters was typically calm -- saying he’s working on his defense, and he’s not worried about a bad game...
But, here’s the funny thing: The way things are going right now, Wieters (.234 average, two homers, six RBIs) is not the Orioles’ best candidate for Rookie of the Year. Outfielder Nolan Reimold (.286, 9 homers, 20 RBIs) is, with pitcher Brad Bergesen (5-2, 3.76 ERA) also ahead of the backstop.
Look, it's not even June yet. It's certainly fun to dream on Matt Wieters but who really thought he was going to show up and start dominating right away? Wieters dominated High A immediately, struggled for a couple weeks in AA before taking off and was overmatched his first month in Norfolk before beginning to bludgeon opposing pitching.
Based on that, you had to figure for an adjustment time of at least 2 months in the majors. And you have to forget his cumulative numbers at this point; even with his recent struggles he is OPSing .786 the last two weeks. It's in fits and starts...but he's coming.
Besides, Jesus wandered in the desert for 40 days before showing up in Galilee and dropping miracles on everybody? We'll call Wieters first 40 games his "desert period".
Koji Uehara goes on the DL and David Hernandez gets recalled from Norfolk. One has to wonder if Uehara's future on this team is as a reliever. He can't go more than 5 innings, at least not while staying healthy. Of course, the prospect of Hernandez and Jason Berken going up against the lineups in the AL East for the rest of the season is frightening.
Speaking of pitching, Braves 22-year-old rookie pitcher Tommy Hanson continues to dominate all comers. On Sunday, he shut out the Red Sox for six innings and Atlanta eventually won 2-1.
I bring this up to compare and contrast Hanson against Chris Tillman. Both started the season in the International League.
Not quite as dominant but he's still striking out more than 1 batter per inning. And look at the tiny walk rate of 2.6 per nine. The concern about Tillman was always his control but he seems to be addressing it. How long until he shows up in Baltimore?
Adam Dunn launched a monster shot off of David Hernandez on Sunday, way out on Eutaw Street. At first, I thought he had actually hit the warehouse on the fly but it wasn't even the longest shot in Eutaw Street history. For more, we go to Eutaw Street expert, Roar from 34:
Adam Dunn stroked a 442-foot home run in the second inning of Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Nationals that one-hopped the warehouse. Dunn's blast was the second-longest Eutaw Street home run during game action, missing Henry Rodriguez's 443-foot shot on June 17, 1997, by just a foot.
I never saw the Henry Rodriguez shot but Adam Dunn's shot was an absolute monster. The biggest Eutaw shot I've ever seen..by a lot!
A plug now for Roar From 34:
Roar from 34's Eutaw Street Week
Monday, June 29 through Sunday, July 5 will be "Eutaw Street Week" on Roar from 34. All content posted during the week will have a Eutaw Street theme or connection, including additional entries to The Eutaw Street Chronicles and an interview with Greg Bader, director of communications for the Orioles, about the new 2110 Eutaw Street promotion.
Some good news from Birdland this weekend. Firstly, they won the series with the Nationals 2-1.
Secondly, The Warehouse came to terms with 2009 1st round pick Matt Hobgood. Here's the video from The Baltimore Sun's website.
The kid sure says all the right things. I imagine he'll end up in Bluefield with the rest of the high school signees.
Also a couple of nice articles about Orioles players from the national media. Marc Hulett writes about the Oriole acquisition of Cleveland farmhand Michael Aubrey this week for FanGraphs.com:
The 27-year-old former Tulane University start has below-average power for a MLB first baseman, but he can hit for a solid batting average with gap power and he is an above-average fielder. It's a very nice low-risk, medium-reward move by an organization that is getting better by the season.
I know nothing about Michael Aubrey in particular but organizational depth at the corner infield positions is something the O's really need and Aubrey can't hurt.
Also at FanGraphs.com, Dave Cameron takes a look at underrated rookie pitcher Brad Bergesen.
When you can command a sinking fastball and have an off-speed pitch to keep opposite handed hitters at bay, you can be an effective major league starter. Bergesen doesn’t have the same potential as some of the more hyped arms in the Orioles system, but don’t discount his strengths and write him off as a no-stuff guy who belongs in the bullpen. Command, sinker, and change-up - it’s the recipe for a solid back-end starting pitcher.
Bergesen takes a lot of criticism from many analysts due to his anemic strikeout rate in the majors. It's a fair criticism but you also have to consider a couple of other stats too.
Ground Ball percentage among AL starters:
GB%
Rick Porcello 56.9%
Roy Halladay 56.3%
Brad Bergesen 54.0%
Felix Hernandez 51.3%
If Bergesen can keep inducing grounders at this rate, he's going to hang around awhile. Interesting to see fellow rookie Rick Porcello on this list. Halladay and Hernandez strike out a ton of batters but Porcello doesn't have that kind of stuff. Let's take a closer look.
GB% K/9 BB/9 K/BB
Porcello 56.9% 5.03 3.09 1.63
Bergesen 54.0% 4.30 2.04 2.11
Odd that Porcello is touted for Rookie of the Year and gets none of the criticism that Bergesen gets. He only strikes out one extra batter per nine and walks an extra batter per nine.
If Bergesen keeps the walks and the ball down, he's going to have some success in this league. If he can edge his strikeout rate closer to 6 K/9, he could be a great one.
Shysterball had a funny post regarding Sindney Ponson's positive test for a stimulant during the WBC.
It includes the killer line, "The only non-natural substances in Ponson's pee-pee are Yoo-Hoo and failure."
Well played, sir.
Speaking of Shysterball, he also has a post up about Matt Wieters at the NBC baseball blog, Circling The Bases questioning the divinity of the Oriole's rookie catcher.
But a funny thing happened on the way to immortality: Wieters has proved human.
Twenty-one games into his big league career he's at .243/.300/.405. Yesterday he dropped a ball at home plate, turning a sure out into a run for the Nationals. Overall, he's thrown out just two of 15 base stealers and has committed three errors in less than a month.
Now, this post is mostly tongue in cheek but I wonder about Dan Connolly:
Sunday, though, it was back to work at the old ballpark. And let’s just say my Saturday was a whole lot better than Orioles catcher Matt Wieters' Sunday.
The phenom went hitless in three at-bats, made his third throwing error in four games and dropped a ball to wipe out what would have been a sure out at the plate.
Afterward, Wieters was typically calm -- saying he’s working on his defense, and he’s not worried about a bad game...
But, here’s the funny thing: The way things are going right now, Wieters (.234 average, two homers, six RBIs) is not the Orioles’ best candidate for Rookie of the Year. Outfielder Nolan Reimold (.286, 9 homers, 20 RBIs) is, with pitcher Brad Bergesen (5-2, 3.76 ERA) also ahead of the backstop.
Look, it's not even June yet. It's certainly fun to dream on Matt Wieters but who really thought he was going to show up and start dominating right away? Wieters dominated High A immediately, struggled for a couple weeks in AA before taking off and was overmatched his first month in Norfolk before beginning to bludgeon opposing pitching.
Based on that, you had to figure for an adjustment time of at least 2 months in the majors. And you have to forget his cumulative numbers at this point; even with his recent struggles he is OPSing .786 the last two weeks. It's in fits and starts...but he's coming.
Besides, Jesus wandered in the desert for 40 days before showing up in Galilee and dropping miracles on everybody? We'll call Wieters first 40 games his "desert period".
Koji Uehara goes on the DL and David Hernandez gets recalled from Norfolk. One has to wonder if Uehara's future on this team is as a reliever. He can't go more than 5 innings, at least not while staying healthy. Of course, the prospect of Hernandez and Jason Berken going up against the lineups in the AL East for the rest of the season is frightening.
Speaking of pitching, Braves 22-year-old rookie pitcher Tommy Hanson continues to dominate all comers. On Sunday, he shut out the Red Sox for six innings and Atlanta eventually won 2-1.
I bring this up to compare and contrast Hanson against Chris Tillman. Both started the season in the International League.
IP K BB WHIP ERA
Hanson 66.1 90 17 .859 1.48
Tillman 72.2 75 21 1.142 2.97
Not quite as dominant but he's still striking out more than 1 batter per inning. And look at the tiny walk rate of 2.6 per nine. The concern about Tillman was always his control but he seems to be addressing it. How long until he shows up in Baltimore?
Adam Dunn launched a monster shot off of David Hernandez on Sunday, way out on Eutaw Street. At first, I thought he had actually hit the warehouse on the fly but it wasn't even the longest shot in Eutaw Street history. For more, we go to Eutaw Street expert, Roar from 34:
Adam Dunn stroked a 442-foot home run in the second inning of Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Nationals that one-hopped the warehouse. Dunn's blast was the second-longest Eutaw Street home run during game action, missing Henry Rodriguez's 443-foot shot on June 17, 1997, by just a foot.
I never saw the Henry Rodriguez shot but Adam Dunn's shot was an absolute monster. The biggest Eutaw shot I've ever seen..by a lot!
A plug now for Roar From 34:
Roar from 34's Eutaw Street Week
Monday, June 29 through Sunday, July 5 will be "Eutaw Street Week" on Roar from 34. All content posted during the week will have a Eutaw Street theme or connection, including additional entries to The Eutaw Street Chronicles and an interview with Greg Bader, director of communications for the Orioles, about the new 2110 Eutaw Street promotion.
I'm a big fan of The Eutaw Street Chronicles so some good stuff to look forward to this week.
While I'm beating the drum for marginal players (Oscar Salazar...), I've got to say some nice things about RP Matt Albers. He's really been pitching well since his latest callup. A 1.29 ERA over 14 innings for the month of June. If only he could cut down on the walks. A nice 7-8-9 inning combo would be Albers-Johnson-Sherrill (at least as long as Sherrill's here...).
Tough week as the Orioles return to the AL. Boston in for three at the Yard and then another road trip west to take on the Angels. Can they manage .500? Eh...
Thứ Sáu, 26 tháng 6, 2009
Sell, Sell, Sell!
I was looking over some stats for Baltimore as we approach the halfway point of the season when something struck me...The Warehouse has go to trade anybody on this team that is beyond their arbitration years.
The Orioles team ERA is 5.10, last in the American League next to the 5.26 ERA of the Indians. Terrible. We need help and more help than even our promising farm system can provide.
The O's offense is mustering 4.57 runs per game. That's below the AL average of 4.82. What's so great about all these hitters we have? Sell and sell now!
Aubrey Huff? Ship him out. Cesar Izturis? Robert Andino has made him redundant. See if someone wants him. Ty Wigginton will cetainly be useful to some contender. Out!Melvin Mora? Nobody will want him but we can try. Danys Baez and George Sherrill? Outen zie!
Even Luke Scott. He's the best bat we have and teams should pay dearly but it has to be an option.
The Orioles need to be listening to any and all offers.
The Orioles team ERA is 5.10, last in the American League next to the 5.26 ERA of the Indians. Terrible. We need help and more help than even our promising farm system can provide.
The O's offense is mustering 4.57 runs per game. That's below the AL average of 4.82. What's so great about all these hitters we have? Sell and sell now!
Aubrey Huff? Ship him out. Cesar Izturis? Robert Andino has made him redundant. See if someone wants him. Ty Wigginton will cetainly be useful to some contender. Out!Melvin Mora? Nobody will want him but we can try. Danys Baez and George Sherrill? Outen zie!
Even Luke Scott. He's the best bat we have and teams should pay dearly but it has to be an option.
The Orioles need to be listening to any and all offers.
Thứ Tư, 24 tháng 6, 2009
Base Hits: 6/24/2009
You don't hear a lot in the Oriole blogosphere/chat rooms/article comments these days about the lack of a "fan-friendly atmosphere" at Camden Yards these days. I expect that it is due to the emphasis the MacPhail regime has put on this aspect of the OPACY experience.
But while we were plenty ready to criticize, we haven't always done a good job at pointing out the efforts the Baltimore Orioles are making now. Like this promotion:
Oriole Park at Camden Yards is located at 333 West Camden Street, but this summer Orioles fans will have the option to reside at 2110 Eutaw Street by taking advantage of a new ticket offer. The Orioles have combined the uniform numbers of two of their best young outfielders, NICK MARKAKIS and ADAM JONES, to re-identify an area of the Eutaw Street Bleachers and give fans the opportunity to take part in a unique promotion.
For a number of pre-selected games beginning with the game on Sunday, July 12 vs. Toronto, fans can purchase a Eutaw Street bleacher seat and a limited edition "I Live at 2110 Eutaw Street" t-shirt for only $21. In addition, Markakis and Jones will toss baseballs into the stands throughout the game, and for every home run hit by Markakis or Jones in that day's game, one lucky fan in the section will receive a bat autographed by the player who hit the homer.
It's fan friendly, community and brand building, creative, gets the players directly involved and may help to sell a few more tickets in the process. This is good and should be encouraged...
*****
I'm going to keep beating this drum...Last night in Miami, Oscar Salazar gets off the bench in the 8th and gets a hit in the middle of a 2-run rally, then gets up in the 9th with 2 out and 2 on and singles in the tying run.
Give him a shot, Dave!
*****
Notable minor league stuff: In Aberdeen, SS Tyler Kelly, the 13th round draft selection in the 2009 draft is hitting .333/.333/.389 in his first four games. Of Steven Bumbry is only 1 for 8 but his lone hit was a home run.
Japanese import RP Ryohei Tanaka now has pitched 6 innings for Bowie posting an 0.00 ERA striking out 9 and walking just 1. Interesting guy to watch.
Brandon Snyder has struggled since his promotion to Norfolk. He's only posting a .118/.238/.118 line through five games. He'll be fine but perish any thought of him coming to Baltimore this season.
Chris Tillman: 66.0 IP, 70 Ks, 18 BB, 1.17 WHIP and a 2.59 ERA for Norfolk. Dude's only 21. This guy gets no hype compared to 21-year old Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson but he's doing much the same as Hanson did in the same league.
*****
I enjoy playing around with Twitter; there's some good Oriole stuff over there. But even if you don't want to Twitter yourself, you have to check out UnPeterAngelos.
*****
Frost King has moved over to Camden Crazies on the Fanball.com Sports Network. Good luck Dan and congrats on getting your work noticed.
*****
I've got to stick up for my blog's namesake, Rick Dempsey. Seems that Dempsey took some heat for something he wrote in his blog over at MASN.com.
3.) Brian Roberts: He is a quality position player who could draw a lot of attention from a contender and be worth a few good young prospects. Now the only reason I suggest B-Rob is because he has probably missed his window of opportunity to win with the O's and now that the nucleus is becoming much younger, having to wait two more years to contend may take Brian out of his prime and out of his value. I would hate to see him go, but it might be the best overall for the Orioles for the future.
Absolutely correct. I would like to see Roberts stay but for the right package, I'm OK with the club trading him for the reasons Rick stated. This hardly seems a controversial statement but speaks volumes about the near-Ripken level of popularity that Roberts enjoys in this town.
Outside of Wieters, Markakis and Jones (and perhaps Reimold) everybody on the big club should be available...for the right price.
*****
The Orioles have made a trade involving a guy named Aubrey! Not Huff though. They traded for AAA first baseman Michael Aubrey from the Indians organization.
But while we were plenty ready to criticize, we haven't always done a good job at pointing out the efforts the Baltimore Orioles are making now. Like this promotion:
Oriole Park at Camden Yards is located at 333 West Camden Street, but this summer Orioles fans will have the option to reside at 2110 Eutaw Street by taking advantage of a new ticket offer. The Orioles have combined the uniform numbers of two of their best young outfielders, NICK MARKAKIS and ADAM JONES, to re-identify an area of the Eutaw Street Bleachers and give fans the opportunity to take part in a unique promotion.
For a number of pre-selected games beginning with the game on Sunday, July 12 vs. Toronto, fans can purchase a Eutaw Street bleacher seat and a limited edition "I Live at 2110 Eutaw Street" t-shirt for only $21. In addition, Markakis and Jones will toss baseballs into the stands throughout the game, and for every home run hit by Markakis or Jones in that day's game, one lucky fan in the section will receive a bat autographed by the player who hit the homer.
It's fan friendly, community and brand building, creative, gets the players directly involved and may help to sell a few more tickets in the process. This is good and should be encouraged...
*****
I'm going to keep beating this drum...Last night in Miami, Oscar Salazar gets off the bench in the 8th and gets a hit in the middle of a 2-run rally, then gets up in the 9th with 2 out and 2 on and singles in the tying run.
Give him a shot, Dave!
*****
Notable minor league stuff: In Aberdeen, SS Tyler Kelly, the 13th round draft selection in the 2009 draft is hitting .333/.333/.389 in his first four games. Of Steven Bumbry is only 1 for 8 but his lone hit was a home run.
Japanese import RP Ryohei Tanaka now has pitched 6 innings for Bowie posting an 0.00 ERA striking out 9 and walking just 1. Interesting guy to watch.
Brandon Snyder has struggled since his promotion to Norfolk. He's only posting a .118/.238/.118 line through five games. He'll be fine but perish any thought of him coming to Baltimore this season.
Chris Tillman: 66.0 IP, 70 Ks, 18 BB, 1.17 WHIP and a 2.59 ERA for Norfolk. Dude's only 21. This guy gets no hype compared to 21-year old Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson but he's doing much the same as Hanson did in the same league.
*****
I enjoy playing around with Twitter; there's some good Oriole stuff over there. But even if you don't want to Twitter yourself, you have to check out UnPeterAngelos.
*****
Frost King has moved over to Camden Crazies on the Fanball.com Sports Network. Good luck Dan and congrats on getting your work noticed.
*****
I've got to stick up for my blog's namesake, Rick Dempsey. Seems that Dempsey took some heat for something he wrote in his blog over at MASN.com.
3.) Brian Roberts: He is a quality position player who could draw a lot of attention from a contender and be worth a few good young prospects. Now the only reason I suggest B-Rob is because he has probably missed his window of opportunity to win with the O's and now that the nucleus is becoming much younger, having to wait two more years to contend may take Brian out of his prime and out of his value. I would hate to see him go, but it might be the best overall for the Orioles for the future.
Absolutely correct. I would like to see Roberts stay but for the right package, I'm OK with the club trading him for the reasons Rick stated. This hardly seems a controversial statement but speaks volumes about the near-Ripken level of popularity that Roberts enjoys in this town.
Outside of Wieters, Markakis and Jones (and perhaps Reimold) everybody on the big club should be available...for the right price.
*****
The Orioles have made a trade involving a guy named Aubrey! Not Huff though. They traded for AAA first baseman Michael Aubrey from the Indians organization.
Thứ Ba, 23 tháng 6, 2009
Couple of Links Around the Oriole Blogosphere
A little late on this but Zach at Baltimore Sports Report has started a campaign to get out the vote for the Orioles for the All-Star game with some cool banners to boot. Spread the word and go Vote O!
Right of Russell has the latest installment in their continuing video interviews with Bowie Baysox players. This time, recent Japanese import, RP Ryohei Tanaka.
Welcome new Orioles blog Eutaw Street Hooligans. I am a proponent of injecting a little more rowdiness at OPACY and these guys seem to be on the same page...and then some.
Right of Russell has the latest installment in their continuing video interviews with Bowie Baysox players. This time, recent Japanese import, RP Ryohei Tanaka.
Welcome new Orioles blog Eutaw Street Hooligans. I am a proponent of injecting a little more rowdiness at OPACY and these guys seem to be on the same page...and then some.
Trade Monitors: The Overhaul, The Update
I am updating and changing up the Oriole Trade Monitor and will switching over to WAR instead of Win Shares for measurement of trade value. There are two reasons for this:
1) Win Shares are no longer being updated at The Hardball Times
2) WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is readily available on FanGraphs.com and is probably a better metric and easier to understand. It also allows for negative numbers which I think makes sense for these comparisons.
So, on with the switch, starting with the oldest trades first, in terms of WAR.
SP Kris Benson from the Mets for RP Jorge Julio and SP John Maine
Benson - 0.8 WAR
Julio - 0.0 WAR
Maine - 5.0 WAR
SP Rodrigo Lopez to the Rockies for RP Jim Miller and RP Jason Burch
Lopez - 1.1
Miller - 0.1
Burch - 0.0
At the time, the return for Lopez didn't look like much. But Lopez wasn't much himself. He pitched OK for Colorado when he wasn't hurt but was hurt a lot and only pitched one year for them.
SS Miguel Tejada to the Astros for OF Luke Scott, RP Dennis Sarfate, RP Matt Albers, SP Troy Patton, 3B Mike Costanzo
Tejada - 4.5
Scott - 3.3
Sarfate - -0.1
Albers - 0.5
Patton - 0
Costanzo - 0
Tejada is not the player he used to be but he provides good offense at a premium defensive position (where his glove is still OK) thus nice WAR number.
Based on his decline and contract, getting anything for Tejada at the time he was traded was a bonus. Getting Luke Scott and giving him a chance to play turned out to be a genius move. Scott has played well in LF (at least last season), been a productive slugger and is a fan favorite to boot. Matt Albers is inconsistent but has been good overall. I think Albers is going to be a pretty good reliever. Dennis Sarfate has a great arm but needs work on his control. Troy Patton has recovered from shoulder surgery and has made it back to AAA. Mike Costanzo got sent back to Bowie earlier in the year. Nice glove, bad bat.
SP Erik Bedard to the Mariners for CF Adam Jones, SP Chris Tillman, RP George Sherrill, RP Kam Mickolio, RP Tony Butler
Bedard - 2.7
Jones - 3.8
Sherrill - 0.8
Tillman - 0
Mickolio - 0
Butler - 0
Bedard was having a nice season but is on the DL yet again.
Adam Jones continues to widen the gap. If MacPhail had traded Bedard for Jones straight up this deal would look like a heist. But they also got George Sherrill and turned him into a serviceable closer and Chris Tillman is the best pitching prospect in the Oriole system. Tillman is a heartbeat away from Baltimore, dominating AAA lineups at the age of 22. Mickolio is doing well at Norfolk posting a 3.81 ERA in 21 games. Tony Butler pitched in low A last season and is currently injured.
C Ramon Hernandez to the Reds for UT Ryan Freel, 3B Brandon Waring and 2B/SS Justin Turner
Hernandez - -0.1
Freel - -0.2
Waring - 0
Turner - 0
Addition by subtraction with Hernandez but Freel did plenty of damage during his short Oriole tenure. I thought Hernandez might hit a little in Cincinnati but hasn't and hasn't even been the primary catcher for the team reducing his value even more.
Brandon Waring is posting a .262/.345/.485 line in Frederick but is a little old for the league. Justin Turner has posted a .301/.356/.374 line in Norfolk, OK for a middle infielder. I've seen him play short twice and he looks pretty good in the field. He may turn out to be a nice utility man in a couple years.
SP Garrett Olson, RP Henry Williamson to the Cubs for OF Felix Pie
Olson - -0.3
Williamson - 0
Pie - 0
The Cubs shipped Olson almost immediately to Seattle for Aaron Heilman (who has been mediocre at best) and Olson has bounced between Seattle and AAA Tacoma this season. He's been a bit below average in the majors. Henry Williamson is doing well for A+ Daytona but he is a bit old for the league too.
Pie has had limited opportunities but his defense had offset the bad bat to provide replacement level production.
SP Hayden Penn to the Marlins for UT Robert Andino
Penn - -0.2
Andino - 0.3
I didn't like this trade at the time but Penn stunk in Florida and continues to stink for New Orleans. Andino's glove at short more than offsets the anemic bat and has given the Orioles good value so far.
UT Ryan Freel to the Cubs for OF Joey Gathright
Freel - -0.2
Gathright - 0
Freel has continued to suck for the Cubs. Joey Gathright will probably never contribute anything to the major league club but Baltimore still wins this trade by subtraction alone.
1) Win Shares are no longer being updated at The Hardball Times
2) WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is readily available on FanGraphs.com and is probably a better metric and easier to understand. It also allows for negative numbers which I think makes sense for these comparisons.
So, on with the switch, starting with the oldest trades first, in terms of WAR.
SP Kris Benson from the Mets for RP Jorge Julio and SP John Maine
Benson - 0.8 WAR
Julio - 0.0 WAR
Maine - 5.0 WAR
Benson was decent for one year, then got hurt. The principle player the Orioles gave up (Julio) was merely average for the Mets. John Maine, a throw in, has been basically an average NL starter which makes this trade a landslide for the Mets.
SP Rodrigo Lopez to the Rockies for RP Jim Miller and RP Jason Burch
Lopez - 1.1
Miller - 0.1
Burch - 0.0
At the time, the return for Lopez didn't look like much. But Lopez wasn't much himself. He pitched OK for Colorado when he wasn't hurt but was hurt a lot and only pitched one year for them.
Jim Miller on the other hand has shown flashes on the majors and AAA that he may be a serviceable big league reliever. He currently has a 1.73 ERA and 14 saves over 26 appearances for Norfolk. Jason Burch is no longer with the organization.
SS Miguel Tejada to the Astros for OF Luke Scott, RP Dennis Sarfate, RP Matt Albers, SP Troy Patton, 3B Mike Costanzo
Tejada - 4.5
Scott - 3.3
Sarfate - -0.1
Albers - 0.5
Patton - 0
Costanzo - 0
Tejada is not the player he used to be but he provides good offense at a premium defensive position (where his glove is still OK) thus nice WAR number.
Based on his decline and contract, getting anything for Tejada at the time he was traded was a bonus. Getting Luke Scott and giving him a chance to play turned out to be a genius move. Scott has played well in LF (at least last season), been a productive slugger and is a fan favorite to boot. Matt Albers is inconsistent but has been good overall. I think Albers is going to be a pretty good reliever. Dennis Sarfate has a great arm but needs work on his control. Troy Patton has recovered from shoulder surgery and has made it back to AAA. Mike Costanzo got sent back to Bowie earlier in the year. Nice glove, bad bat.
SP Erik Bedard to the Mariners for CF Adam Jones, SP Chris Tillman, RP George Sherrill, RP Kam Mickolio, RP Tony Butler
Bedard - 2.7
Jones - 3.8
Sherrill - 0.8
Tillman - 0
Mickolio - 0
Butler - 0
Bedard was having a nice season but is on the DL yet again.
Adam Jones continues to widen the gap. If MacPhail had traded Bedard for Jones straight up this deal would look like a heist. But they also got George Sherrill and turned him into a serviceable closer and Chris Tillman is the best pitching prospect in the Oriole system. Tillman is a heartbeat away from Baltimore, dominating AAA lineups at the age of 22. Mickolio is doing well at Norfolk posting a 3.81 ERA in 21 games. Tony Butler pitched in low A last season and is currently injured.
C Ramon Hernandez to the Reds for UT Ryan Freel, 3B Brandon Waring and 2B/SS Justin Turner
Hernandez - -0.1
Freel - -0.2
Waring - 0
Turner - 0
Addition by subtraction with Hernandez but Freel did plenty of damage during his short Oriole tenure. I thought Hernandez might hit a little in Cincinnati but hasn't and hasn't even been the primary catcher for the team reducing his value even more.
Brandon Waring is posting a .262/.345/.485 line in Frederick but is a little old for the league. Justin Turner has posted a .301/.356/.374 line in Norfolk, OK for a middle infielder. I've seen him play short twice and he looks pretty good in the field. He may turn out to be a nice utility man in a couple years.
SP Garrett Olson, RP Henry Williamson to the Cubs for OF Felix Pie
Olson - -0.3
Williamson - 0
Pie - 0
The Cubs shipped Olson almost immediately to Seattle for Aaron Heilman (who has been mediocre at best) and Olson has bounced between Seattle and AAA Tacoma this season. He's been a bit below average in the majors. Henry Williamson is doing well for A+ Daytona but he is a bit old for the league too.
Pie has had limited opportunities but his defense had offset the bad bat to provide replacement level production.
SP Hayden Penn to the Marlins for UT Robert Andino
Penn - -0.2
Andino - 0.3
I didn't like this trade at the time but Penn stunk in Florida and continues to stink for New Orleans. Andino's glove at short more than offsets the anemic bat and has given the Orioles good value so far.
UT Ryan Freel to the Cubs for OF Joey Gathright
Freel - -0.2
Gathright - 0
Freel has continued to suck for the Cubs. Joey Gathright will probably never contribute anything to the major league club but Baltimore still wins this trade by subtraction alone.
Thứ Hai, 22 tháng 6, 2009
Could The Orioles Switch Leagues? Please?
Isolated in the mountains of north Georgia all weekend, there is little better than coming back to civilization to find a Oriole sweep of the world champion Phillies waiting for me.
You know, I didn't see any of the games but can we get Oscar Salazar some more at bats? Every time he gets a shot to play, he gets a hit. OK, while Aubrey Huff is still here you can't cut into his playing time but Salazar can play third and Melvin Mora's bat stinks.
Mora's OPS by month:
I'm not a Mora basher but he's 37, he's in decline and the club is not going to exercise his option for 2010. Time to give Salazar some of his at bats (and Ty Wigginton too, since we're discussing it...).
Big weekend for Brian Roberts:
Where's those people who want to trade him now? Look at our shortstops. Nice gloves but no offense. It's a real luxury to have a good bat at one of the middle infield positions.
Nolan Reimold: another home run, OPSing 1.016 last week and .973 for the month of June.
Jeremy Guthrie gives up another home run but managed to outduel Cole Hamels on Sunday. That's 17 homers surrendered by Guthrie in 15 games and he is on pace to shatter the Oriole record.
Most home runs surrendered by a Baltimore pitcher in a season:
I was surprised to see Scott McGregor on this list twice. Not really surprised by anyone else (Cuellar had to make 40 starts to make this list.) If Guthrie stays healthy, he should make 33 starts which puts him on pace for 38 homers surrendered.
(I probably don't plug this enough but I compiled this list using the fantastic BaseballReference.com Play Index. Subscribe or sponsor a page today! I use the site nearly everyday and use the Play Index for blog posts all the time...)
But Peter Angleos should lobby Bud Seling to switch leagues; The Orioles would go to the NL East and the Nats would come AL East. Baltimore would actually contend!
Anyway, more NL East play to come, down to Miami for three against the Marlins and back home this weekend for three with the Nats. Enjoy the wins while they last!
You know, I didn't see any of the games but can we get Oscar Salazar some more at bats? Every time he gets a shot to play, he gets a hit. OK, while Aubrey Huff is still here you can't cut into his playing time but Salazar can play third and Melvin Mora's bat stinks.
Mora's OPS by month:
OPS
April .940
May .647
June .583
I'm not a Mora basher but he's 37, he's in decline and the club is not going to exercise his option for 2010. Time to give Salazar some of his at bats (and Ty Wigginton too, since we're discussing it...).
Big weekend for Brian Roberts:
AVG OBP SLG OPS RBI
Roberts at Philly .385 .400 .693 1.092 5
Where's those people who want to trade him now? Look at our shortstops. Nice gloves but no offense. It's a real luxury to have a good bat at one of the middle infield positions.
Nolan Reimold: another home run, OPSing 1.016 last week and .973 for the month of June.
Jeremy Guthrie gives up another home run but managed to outduel Cole Hamels on Sunday. That's 17 homers surrendered by Guthrie in 15 games and he is on pace to shatter the Oriole record.
Most home runs surrendered by a Baltimore pitcher in a season:
HR GS
Sidney Ponson 35 32
Scott McGregor 35 33
Robin Roberts 35 35
Scott McGregor 34 34
Mike Cuellar 34 40
Kris Benson 33 30
Bruce Chen 33 32
Ken Dixon 33 33
I was surprised to see Scott McGregor on this list twice. Not really surprised by anyone else (Cuellar had to make 40 starts to make this list.) If Guthrie stays healthy, he should make 33 starts which puts him on pace for 38 homers surrendered.
(I probably don't plug this enough but I compiled this list using the fantastic BaseballReference.com Play Index. Subscribe or sponsor a page today! I use the site nearly everyday and use the Play Index for blog posts all the time...)
But Peter Angleos should lobby Bud Seling to switch leagues; The Orioles would go to the NL East and the Nats would come AL East. Baltimore would actually contend!
Anyway, more NL East play to come, down to Miami for three against the Marlins and back home this weekend for three with the Nats. Enjoy the wins while they last!
Thứ Sáu, 19 tháng 6, 2009
Miscellaneous Ramblings on the Orange and Black
The tie goes to Pie!
How can anyone not like Pie? Clapping like a maniac after he's safe and third and he's the first one out of the dugout to mob Aubrey Huff after his game winning hit. You can tell this guy loves to play and instead of getting down about his lack of playing time, he savors each morsel of the game like a juicy peach. Hope the guy sticks around as a 4th outfielder.
Peter Schmuck points to Pie's hustle as the key to last night's victory:
For all the complaints this year about Felix Pie, you have to give him credit for turning a pinch running assignment into a game-turning play. He flew into third to beat the throw on Brian Roberts' sacrifice bunt and that was the play that unraveled Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez. He had trouble finding the plate after that and walked Adam Jones to drive in the tying run.
Games like last night remind you why you're a fan.
Dave Trembley cannot win. He yanks Koji Uehara after 5 innings on Wednesday and gets it from the fans for having a quick hook. He lets Jason Berken pitch into the 7th and gets it from the fans for leaving him in to long.
1B Brandon Snyder is heading to Norfolk! Snyder put up a .347/.420/.607 line at Bowie and is still just 22. Nice to see some of these prospects forcing the hand of the powers that be to get promoted ahead of schedule.
Speaking of the minors, visiting this link from FirstInning.com on a daily basis gives you a one-stop shop for all the Oriole's minor league box scores from the night before. Quick way to keep up with the many Orioles top prospects.
If you're going to lie, stick with it. From this article on Mark Teixeira and his dad:
"My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad," Teixeira said. "Going to Orioles games, watching football on TV at home -- those were great memories.
C'mon, Mark. Say it with me. "Going to Orioles games...to watch my hero, Yankees first baseman, Don Mattingly!" You gotta sell the lie and sell it hard and often.
Mark's dad was a Naval officer. I suppose I could make a cheap shot about the duplicitous nature of some Naval officers I had dealings with...but I'll refrain.
A quick word from Philadelphia:
Phillies Nation:
(The Orioles) are a team the Phillies should be able to beat. I’m expecting to see a lot of crooked numbers on the scoreboard this weekend. Bastardo might have another rough go of it, and hopefully he can mix in some more off-speed pitches and breaking balls to fool the O’s batters on Friday night.
Maybe. The Phillies have a lot of good hitters but Raul Ibanez is on the DL. The O's should be able to put up a few crooked numbers themselves. The rematch of the 1983 World Series starts today!
Man, I love when the Orioles play the NL East. 6-3 versus that division so far. Here's hoping they keep it up.
photo credit: AP
Thứ Năm, 18 tháng 6, 2009
Oscar Salazar Needs a Place to Play
Oscar Salazar is rotting on the bench. I imagine he and Felix Pie are getting to be quite chummy.
Rumors are swirling about trades involving Aubrey Huff and I can't begin to decide if they're true...but they should be. The Orioles have an adequate replacement for Huff sitting on the bench. Sure, he'll soon be 31. He's certainly no prospect. But Salazar is ready to play and can serve as a nice bridge to Brandon Snyder in a year or two.
Aubrey Huff 2009:
These numbers are a far cry from Huff's career 2008 where he OPSed .912 but they are far closer to what kind of player he really is at this point in his career.
Conversely, Salazar in 2008:
Salazar in Norfolk this year:
According to MinorLeagueSplits.com his Major League Equivalent (MLE) stats for his 2009 Norfolk stats:
These are pretty good indicators that Salazar is ready to take a real shot at holding down a regular position in the majors. He certainly will be able to hold his own and may be able to put up better overall numbers than Huff would anyway.
ZIPS projection for the rest of the season for Salazar:
Then you can trade Huff away for some useful players who will be around when the rebuilding effort begins to bear fruit.
I keep hearing that the Orioles don't have any candidates to take over at first base if Huff is moved. I respectfully disagree. Not only do they have a replacement, they may have an upgrade.
Rumors are swirling about trades involving Aubrey Huff and I can't begin to decide if they're true...but they should be. The Orioles have an adequate replacement for Huff sitting on the bench. Sure, he'll soon be 31. He's certainly no prospect. But Salazar is ready to play and can serve as a nice bridge to Brandon Snyder in a year or two.
Aubrey Huff 2009:
G AVG OBP SLG OPS 2B HR
Huff 63 .266 .330 .444 .774 14 9
These numbers are a far cry from Huff's career 2008 where he OPSed .912 but they are far closer to what kind of player he really is at this point in his career.
Conversely, Salazar in 2008:
G AVG OBP SLG OPS 2B HR
Salazar '08 34 .284 .372 .506 .879 3 5
Salazar in Norfolk this year:
G AVG OBP SLG OPS 2B HR
Salazar AAA 50 .372 .408 .618 1.027 17 10
According to MinorLeagueSplits.com his Major League Equivalent (MLE) stats for his 2009 Norfolk stats:
G AVG OBP SLG OPS 2B HR
Salazar 2009 MLE 50 .337 .366 .545 .911 15 9
These are pretty good indicators that Salazar is ready to take a real shot at holding down a regular position in the majors. He certainly will be able to hold his own and may be able to put up better overall numbers than Huff would anyway.
ZIPS projection for the rest of the season for Salazar:
AB AVG OBP SLG OPS 2B HR
Salazar ZIPS 243 .284 .326 .457 .782 15 9
Then you can trade Huff away for some useful players who will be around when the rebuilding effort begins to bear fruit.
I keep hearing that the Orioles don't have any candidates to take over at first base if Huff is moved. I respectfully disagree. Not only do they have a replacement, they may have an upgrade.
So I don't know what will happen at the trading deadline with Aubrey Huff but I do know what should.
Thứ Tư, 17 tháng 6, 2009
Brian Roberts: It Happens...Right?
You would think that fans of a game with 162 games in a season would understand that bad games would happen. Not so for some commenters on Peter Schmuck's blog post about the bad night Brian Roberts had against the Mets last night.
"We play a lot of games,'' Roberts said afterward. "It's not the first time I've gone 0 for 5, not the first time I've made an error, not the first time I've done both in the same game. It's not fun, but we play a lot of games in our careers and that happens. I'm going to go home and get a good night's sleep and come back tomorrow."
A fair assessment and a good mindset for a baseball player. But then there's this from the comments:
Please Mr. Macphail, complete this turnover and try to trade Roberts also while your at it...this is just too much... I'll run the ball out for one tenth of what he makes.
...and this...
I thought AM should have traded Brob. I still think he should try.
...or...
And don't forget the weak grounder with the bases loaded in the ninth! He definitely looked less focused than usual.
Hindsight is 20/20 I guess. Or maybe we should remember that he's hitting .368/.458/.526 over the past week or .351/.405/.486 over the last 14 days.
But Roberts is right, it's not the first time he's gone 0-5 with an error.
Odd there are so many Sundays on this list. So Brian is right, it's happened before. Apparently, he's good for one of these games about once a year. So the good news is that it's out of his system for 2009.
Onward!
"We play a lot of games,'' Roberts said afterward. "It's not the first time I've gone 0 for 5, not the first time I've made an error, not the first time I've done both in the same game. It's not fun, but we play a lot of games in our careers and that happens. I'm going to go home and get a good night's sleep and come back tomorrow."
A fair assessment and a good mindset for a baseball player. But then there's this from the comments:
Please Mr. Macphail, complete this turnover and try to trade Roberts also while your at it...this is just too much... I'll run the ball out for one tenth of what he makes.
...and this...
I thought AM should have traded Brob. I still think he should try.
...or...
And don't forget the weak grounder with the bases loaded in the ninth! He definitely looked less focused than usual.
Hindsight is 20/20 I guess. Or maybe we should remember that he's hitting .368/.458/.526 over the past week or .351/.405/.486 over the last 14 days.
But Roberts is right, it's not the first time he's gone 0-5 with an error.
Date Opponent Score W Error Type
Sun, Jun 30, 2002 Phillies 8-5 PHL Botched grounder in the 6th
Mon, Aug 4, 2003 Twins 3-2 MIN Throwing error in the 6th
Fri, Jun 18, 2004 @Rockies 5-3 COL Throwing error in the 4th
Sat, Aug 6, 2005 @Rangers 10-3 TEX Botched grounder in the 9th
Sun, Jul 9, 2006 @Indians 5-4 BAL Botched grounder in the 2nd
Sun, Sep 24, 2006 Twins 6-3 MIN Botched grounder in the 3rd
Sun, Jun 17, 2007 Diamondbacks 6-4 ARI Throwing error in the 8th
Odd there are so many Sundays on this list. So Brian is right, it's happened before. Apparently, he's good for one of these games about once a year. So the good news is that it's out of his system for 2009.
Onward!
Base Hits: 6/17/2009
Technically, it was a quality start for Jeremy Guthrie but sloppy play behind him doomed the Orioles in a very winnable game. What does Ty Wigginton have to do to get off the bench against a lefty pitcher?
*****
Wanted to give some more draft news since John Sickels put his evaluation of Baltimore's draft up last week:
*****
Speaking of the draft, a good article in the Sun about top draft pick Matt Hobgood. Some good quotes from Hobgood too:
and
"Call it my alter ego," Hobgood said of his competitive streak. "I'm a nice guy off the field, but out there that'll get you run over. Nolan Ryan once said he was an SOB on the mound, and if it works for him ... "
If this kid was a Scott Boras guy, I would be suspicious that he was prepped; that's how mature and level headed his quotes are. But he seems really genuine and if he really does have his head on straight, that's one less obstacle for him to overcome to get to Baltimore.
Regardless, it looks like he's set to sign with the O's on June 27th and will report to either Bluefield or Aberdeen.
*****
Ken Rosenthal thinks the future looks bright for the Orioles.
Then he criticizes Nick Markakis for being selfish for not ending his 65 consecutive games played streak and Nick fouls a ball into the press box and shatters Ken's laptop.
*****
Keep 'em coming...
*****
Sammy Sosa reportedly tested positive for steroids? See previous post.
*****
Wanted to give some more draft news since John Sickels put his evaluation of Baltimore's draft up last week:
Baltimore: I don't have a problem with Hobgood at fifth overall. He's signable, and in my opinion the difference between him and the other elite prep arms isn't all that great. He might not be as projectable as some of them, being more physically mature, but I really like his arm and I don't think this is a huge overdraft....Randy Henry in the fourth round and Ashur Tolliver in the fifth provide more live arms, Tolliver in particular being a good value in that round. 8th round pick OF Devin Harris (East Carolina), 9th round pick RHP Ryan Berry (Rice), and 10th round pick RHP Jacob Cowan (San Jacinto JC) all offer very good value for their draft slots. Harris has tons of tools, and both Berry and Cowan were considered possible second or third round picks if not for injury questions. This may not be a spectacular draft class, but I think it is solid.
*****
Speaking of the draft, a good article in the Sun about top draft pick Matt Hobgood. Some good quotes from Hobgood too:
"I'd like to get to the pros as quick as I can and help the O's start kicking butt in the American League East," he said. "Striking out A-Rod would be a nice way to start."
and
"Call it my alter ego," Hobgood said of his competitive streak. "I'm a nice guy off the field, but out there that'll get you run over. Nolan Ryan once said he was an SOB on the mound, and if it works for him ... "
If this kid was a Scott Boras guy, I would be suspicious that he was prepped; that's how mature and level headed his quotes are. But he seems really genuine and if he really does have his head on straight, that's one less obstacle for him to overcome to get to Baltimore.
Regardless, it looks like he's set to sign with the O's on June 27th and will report to either Bluefield or Aberdeen.
*****
Ken Rosenthal thinks the future looks bright for the Orioles.
Then he criticizes Nick Markakis for being selfish for not ending his 65 consecutive games played streak and Nick fouls a ball into the press box and shatters Ken's laptop.
*****
The minor league hurler shuffle...
Over the past few days, Brian Matusz has reported to Bowie, Jake Arrieta moved up to Norfolk, so did Troy Patton and Tim Bascom came up to Bowie from Frederick.Keep 'em coming...
*****
You know, one of these days I have to get out to Bluefield to take in a Bluefield Orioles game. Bluefield has been a Baltimore affiliate for 52 years and is a living piece of Oriole history. The season kicks off on June 23rd against the Elizabethton Twins. Einar Diaz will be the manager this season. The 24th is Hardee's Night! Gotta love the rookie leagues...
Sammy Sosa reportedly tested positive for steroids? See previous post.
Thứ Hai, 15 tháng 6, 2009
The Future...Is Now?
Over the last couple of weeks, the Orioles have proven that they cannot even manage to beat the dregs of the American League and find themselves in last place with the worst record in the league and the third worst record in baseball. Coming into Saturday's game, the Orioles had only managed to score a measly 1.7 runs per game for the month of June and it is reflected in the record. This offense was supposed to be decent this season but an anemic offense with the woeful pitching staff makes for a long summer in Baltimore. Does the recent outburst against Atlanta mean the slump is over? I'll believe it when they start doing it against the American League; facing NL hurlers is akin to playing AAA teams.
Instead of whining about the present, let's look to the Orioles' brighter future. There are more important issues than the standings for the Orioles and most of these players won't be here when Baltimore starts winning. How are the players under age 26playing?
Adam Jones:
The last couple weeks have seen Jones flailing and missing with 11 strikeouts and only 1 walk. The slump has worsened as he posted just a .100/.136/.250 line last week.
Jones has broken out this year, now he has to show he can continue to make adjustments.
Nick Markakis:
Since May 15th, Nick Markakis has put up a .211/.262/.307 line for a .569 OPS with only one home run.
That is easily the worst stretch of games for Nick since the first month of his rookie season. Is he injured? Let's hope not. I picked Markakis for a big breakout this season but so far he's gone the other direction. Sometimes, it's hard to remember that Markakis and Reimold are both 25.
Nolan Reimold:
For a guy who was considered a fringy prospect (I don't remember seeing him on anyone's Top 100 list except for Keith Law in recent years), Reimold has been a revelation the last two years. He stayed healthy and dominated the Carolina League last year and didn't miss a step when he showed up at Norfolk this year. Since coming to Baltimore, he is getting on base at a .356 clip (always a concern for him in the minors), has hit 7 home runs in his first 28 games and posted a .316/.435/.526 line last week alone. He appears to be getting better as the weeks go along. The future in the Oriole outfield is bright indeed.
Robert Andino:
I don't think that Robert Andino is ever going to hit well enough to be a starter in the Majors but his glove is giving me enough reason to think I may not hate the Hayden Penn trade in a couple years. A true great glove at short, Andino could be a valuable bench player/utility infielder for the next few years. The bat is Izturis-esque but so is the glove. He's actually played a better short than Izturis in his limited opportunities.
Matt Wieters:
"Matt Wieters Can And Does Assume The Double Play."
In his short professional career, Wieters has shown the ability to move up a level, struggle for a period of time, make adjustments and then destroy opposing pitchers. It looks like he's starting to do that in Baltimore.
Wieters hit .400/.438/.467 last week. He still doesn't have a home run and he still doesn't have an RBI but the signs are there that he's starting to adjust. No offense to Gregg Zaun but he's already a better hitter as he scuffles along.
Brad Bergesen:
When you have a trio of second tier pitching prospects like Brad Bergesen, David Hernandez and Jason Berken, (as opposed to top tier prospects like Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz and Jake Arrieta) you really have to feel lucky if just one of them works out as a starter and truly blessed if another of them ends up as a quality reliever.
The Orioles look to be lucky so far as Brad Bergesen is making his way to being a solid 3rd or 4th guy in a major league rotation. His stuff is not great, he's a sinker/slider pitcher who doesn't look like he's going to strike a bunch of guys out but he seems to be learning how to get the best out of his stuff and let the defense behind him do the heavy lifting.
Instead of whining about the present, let's look to the Orioles' brighter future. There are more important issues than the standings for the Orioles and most of these players won't be here when Baltimore starts winning. How are the players under age 26playing?
Adam Jones:
The last couple weeks have seen Jones flailing and missing with 11 strikeouts and only 1 walk. The slump has worsened as he posted just a .100/.136/.250 line last week.
Jones has broken out this year, now he has to show he can continue to make adjustments.
Nick Markakis:
Since May 15th, Nick Markakis has put up a .211/.262/.307 line for a .569 OPS with only one home run.
That is easily the worst stretch of games for Nick since the first month of his rookie season. Is he injured? Let's hope not. I picked Markakis for a big breakout this season but so far he's gone the other direction. Sometimes, it's hard to remember that Markakis and Reimold are both 25.
Nolan Reimold:
For a guy who was considered a fringy prospect (I don't remember seeing him on anyone's Top 100 list except for Keith Law in recent years), Reimold has been a revelation the last two years. He stayed healthy and dominated the Carolina League last year and didn't miss a step when he showed up at Norfolk this year. Since coming to Baltimore, he is getting on base at a .356 clip (always a concern for him in the minors), has hit 7 home runs in his first 28 games and posted a .316/.435/.526 line last week alone. He appears to be getting better as the weeks go along. The future in the Oriole outfield is bright indeed.
Robert Andino:
I don't think that Robert Andino is ever going to hit well enough to be a starter in the Majors but his glove is giving me enough reason to think I may not hate the Hayden Penn trade in a couple years. A true great glove at short, Andino could be a valuable bench player/utility infielder for the next few years. The bat is Izturis-esque but so is the glove. He's actually played a better short than Izturis in his limited opportunities.
Matt Wieters:
"Matt Wieters Can And Does Assume The Double Play."
In his short professional career, Wieters has shown the ability to move up a level, struggle for a period of time, make adjustments and then destroy opposing pitchers. It looks like he's starting to do that in Baltimore.
Wieters hit .400/.438/.467 last week. He still doesn't have a home run and he still doesn't have an RBI but the signs are there that he's starting to adjust. No offense to Gregg Zaun but he's already a better hitter as he scuffles along.
Brad Bergesen:
When you have a trio of second tier pitching prospects like Brad Bergesen, David Hernandez and Jason Berken, (as opposed to top tier prospects like Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz and Jake Arrieta) you really have to feel lucky if just one of them works out as a starter and truly blessed if another of them ends up as a quality reliever.
The Orioles look to be lucky so far as Brad Bergesen is making his way to being a solid 3rd or 4th guy in a major league rotation. His stuff is not great, he's a sinker/slider pitcher who doesn't look like he's going to strike a bunch of guys out but he seems to be learning how to get the best out of his stuff and let the defense behind him do the heavy lifting.
Chủ Nhật, 14 tháng 6, 2009
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Với tốc độ torrent cao, dự đoán tốt là trong các con số. Các số của seeder lớn hơn, thì mạng torrent mạnh hơn và tốt hơn với cơ hội có được tốc độ cao hơn. Chúng ta nên chọn các file torrent với số seeder cao và tốt nhất là số leecher thấp hơn.
Chú ý: nếu máy tính ở nhà nằm phía sau một router, nó cũng nên được cấu hình thông qua tính năng gọi là Port Range Forwarding để cho phép lưu lượng torrent.
Sau khi chạy bán vá, bạn phải thiết đặt số kết nối trong client torrent của bạn, trong uTorrent đến phần Options -> Preferences -> Advanced -> net.max_halfopen. Thiết đặt bất kì số nào từ 50 đến 100. Nhưng chúng ta thấy rằng net.max_halfopen được đặt thấp hơn giá trị thiết đặt trongTCPIP.SYS. Luôn kiểm tra nếu nó bởi thỉnh thoảng các bản cập nhật Windows sẽ ghi đè lên nó.
8. Thử nghiệm với mã hóa giao thức
Với mã hóa giao thức, ISPs nhận thấy nó khó khăn trong việc phát hiện ra lưu lượng đến từ BitTorrent. Thử nghiệm với enable, disable hoặc các tùy chọn khác bởi vì bạn có thể làm tốc độ tốt hơn với việc mã hóa được disable. Không mã hóa làm một kết nối torrent tương thích hơn với ai đó cũng không dùng mã hóa nhưng như một phép trừ nó làm cho mạng torrent có thể bị phát hiện bởi một ISP với chính sách giới hạn băng thông.
10. Một số hoàn cảnh thông thường |
| Theo Makeuseof |
Gái xưa và nay!
VnTim™
Gái xưa nhìn đẹp như tiên ! Gái nay như mấy ... con điên ngoài đường?
Gái xưa may vá tỏ tường! Gái nay chỉ biết tìm đường Shopping?
Gái xưa mới thật là xinh! Gái nay như thể ....." tinh tinh xổng chuồng "?
Gái xưa ăn nói dịu dàng! Gái nay ăn nói sỗ sàng thấy ghê?
Gái xưa vừa gặp đã mê! Gái nay nhìn kĩ vẫn chê như thường?
Gái xưa đâu biết trèo tường! Gái nay leo cổng kiếm đường theo trai?
Gái xưa: "Thiếp nguyện theo chàng" Gái nay: "Ở đó xếp hàng cho tao!"
Gái xưa nhìn đẹp như tiên ! Gái nay như mấy ... con điên ngoài đường?
Gái xưa may vá tỏ tường! Gái nay chỉ biết tìm đường Shopping?
Gái xưa mới thật là xinh! Gái nay như thể ....." tinh tinh xổng chuồng "?
Gái xưa ăn nói dịu dàng! Gái nay ăn nói sỗ sàng thấy ghê?
Gái xưa vừa gặp đã mê! Gái nay nhìn kĩ vẫn chê như thường?
Gái xưa đâu biết trèo tường! Gái nay leo cổng kiếm đường theo trai?
Gái xưa: "Thiếp nguyện theo chàng" Gái nay: "Ở đó xếp hàng cho tao!"
Cách "chỉnh sửa" profile của Facebook theo ý muốn
VnTim™ Một trong những thành phần quan trọng nhất của Facebook đối với một người dùng đó là ảnh profile của họ. Ảnh này được hiển thị ở phía trên bên trái của trang. Nó có thể là một ảnh được cập nhật gần đây hoặc có thể được lấy từ bất cứ album trực tuyến nào của bạn.
Vùng ảnh profile ban đầu
Ảnh nền cho profile còn trống
Đặt bạn trong một phòng khách trên profile của Facebook
Tạo một ảnh với hiệu ứng treo tường
Ảnh profile 200×600px trên mẫu trắng
Điều chỉnh dòng màu xám
Điển hình, ảnh profile sẽ thể hiện chân dung một người nào đó và xuất hiện trước dòng xám nhẹ kết nối từ phía trái của profile đến các tab tận cùng bên trái. Hình dưới đây sẽ thể hiện cho các bạn xem về một trang profile điển hình với một ảnh thông thường.
Vùng ảnh profile ban đầu
Không giống như Myspace, Facebook sử dụng chung một màu và layout cho mọi profile. Điều này làm cho site của bạn trông đẹp hơn một cách tổng thể, tuy nhiên nó cũng hạn chế khả năng của bạn đến diện mạo của profile. Bạn có thể hiển thị các ứng dụng Facebook trên thanh sidebar bên trái, đưa chúng vào các tab, tuy nhiên bất cứ sự thay đổi nào về kiểu cách của trang hoặc cách nó được hiển thị như thế nào thì đều bị hạn chế.
Upbload ảnh profile của Facebook
Không có cách hợp lệ nào để có thể "chỉnh sửa" Facebook, tuy nhiên có một phương pháp để thay đổi ảnh profile, làm cho profile của bạn trở lên đẹp hơn, bắt mắt hơn hay còn gọi đó là sự sắp đặt ảnh profile cho phép bạn cách tân đôi chút layout profile khá cứng của Facebook.
Cách làm việc?
Khi tạo một ảnh profile từ một ảnh nào đó trong album của bạn, Facebook sẽ cho phép bạn crop ảnh đó ở bất cứ kích thước nào mà bạn chọn. Khi bạn vào trang profile của mình, ảnh đã chọn sẽ được hiển thị với độ co dãn bằng với chiều rộng và chiều cao được phép bởi Facebook.
Thứ đầu tiên bạn cần phải hiểu ở đây là lượng khoảng gian bạn cần phải bỏ ra cho nó. Facebook hiển thị các ảnh profile có độ rộng tối đa là 200 px. Nếu bạn vượt quá kích thước này, nó sẽ tự động kích thước ảnh của bạn xuống 200 px và vẫn duy trì đúng tỉ lệ chiều cao. Facebook sẽ hiển thị một ảnh trong profile có chiều cao lên đến 600px. Điều đó có nghĩa rằng nó sẽ hiển thị bất cứ ảnh nào có độ lớn tối đa 200 x 600, nếu không nó sẽ thay đổi hoặc kích thước lại.
Thứ đầu tiên bạn cần phải hiểu ở đây là lượng khoảng gian bạn cần phải bỏ ra cho nó. Facebook hiển thị các ảnh profile có độ rộng tối đa là 200 px. Nếu bạn vượt quá kích thước này, nó sẽ tự động kích thước ảnh của bạn xuống 200 px và vẫn duy trì đúng tỉ lệ chiều cao. Facebook sẽ hiển thị một ảnh trong profile có chiều cao lên đến 600px. Điều đó có nghĩa rằng nó sẽ hiển thị bất cứ ảnh nào có độ lớn tối đa 200 x 600, nếu không nó sẽ thay đổi hoặc kích thước lại.
Ảnh nền cho profile còn trống
Lúc này, bạn đã biết được về kích thước tối đa về ảnh trong profile của mình, mẹo cơ bản ở đây rất đơn giản. Facebook thiết lập ảnh hiển thị với vị trí cao nhất của ảnh so với dòng màu xám là 52 pixel. Thông thường, tất cả các ảnh của bạn đều được đặt ở độ cao tầm đó trên dòng này.
Để thực hiện phá vỡ dòng phân tách trong profile của bạn, bạn chỉ cần tạo một ảnh màu xám ((#D8DFEA) với kích thước 52 pixel bên dưới phần đỉnh. Thêm vào đó, bạn cần cần vẽ lại vùng phía trên dòng phân tách này sau cho phù hợp với màu xanh nhạt (#EFF0F5) được sử dụng trong header của profile.
Để thực hiện phá vỡ dòng phân tách trong profile của bạn, bạn chỉ cần tạo một ảnh màu xám ((#D8DFEA) với kích thước 52 pixel bên dưới phần đỉnh. Thêm vào đó, bạn cần cần vẽ lại vùng phía trên dòng phân tách này sau cho phù hợp với màu xanh nhạt (#EFF0F5) được sử dụng trong header của profile.
Để có thêm thông tin về các màu được sử dụng trong style sheet của Facebook, bạn có thể tham khảo đường link sau cho các chuyên gia phát triển ứng dụng Facebook.
Việc thay thế mẫu trống này cho phép bạn thực hiện được một số thứ mà thông thường Facebook không cho phép: tùy chọn không hiển thị ảnh profile. Một tài khoản Facebook mới chưa có ảnh profile sẽ hiển thị một hộp ảnh trống có diện mạo ảnh cá nhân mờ trên đó. Sử dụng một mẫu dòng trắng này cho phép bạn thêm một không gian ‘negative’ vào profile của mình mà thông thường là không thể.
Điều thú vị bắt đầu ở đây khi bạn phủ một ảnh lên phần trên của mẫu trống. Phần khó nhất trong thực hiện này là cách ly ảnh để nó có thể phân định một cách rõ ràng với mẫu ảnh nền. Gợi ý của chúng tôi trong trường hợp này là sử dụng Adobe Photoshop để vẽ một vùng chọn xung quang ảnh của bạn, sau đó remove các góc.
Đặt bạn trong một phòng khách trên profile của Facebook
Có rất nhiều thứ thú vị ở đây mà bạn có thể thực hiện bằng việc ghép cặp các ảnh tiền cảnh với mẫu ảnh nền của Facebook. Thứ đầu tiên mà tôi đã làm ở đây là tạo một phòng khách nhỏ và đặt mình vào trong đó.
Bạn có thể dựa vào dòng màu xám để làm ra vẻ như mình đang bị treo trên. Bắt đầu bằng cách chụp một ảnh trong tư thế đang đu mình trên cánh cửa, sau đó tách ảnh. Tiếp đó phủ ảnh lên phiên bản trắng trong mẫu ảnh profile của Facebook.
Đây là các ảnh trong tiến trình và kết quả cuối cùng:
Tạo một ảnh với hiệu ứng treo tường
Và đây là ảnh profile khi sử dụng hiệu ứng này.
Một ảnh tiền ảnh thú vị khác mà các bạn có thể sử dụng là ảnh một con hưu cao cổ. Ảnh này đã mang lại cho profile khá nhiều thú vị và vì nó đẩy các thông tin của phần bên trái xuống.
Ảnh profile 200×600px trên mẫu trắng
Xem ảnh trong profile hoàn tất bằng cách sử dụng ảnh hưu cao cổ.
Điều chỉnh dòng màu xám
Có rất nhiều thứ có thể thực hiện với bề mặt dòng màu xám, chẳng hạn như tạo một góc cong hoặc nhọn tương tác lẫn nhau với ảnh phủ. Bạn có thể xem một ví dụ về cách "chỉnh sửa" này trong ảnh trên. Ảnh trên thể hiện một vài nhũ thạch rớt trên một con kỳ lân màu xanh và hình trái đất ở nửa giữa dòng header.
Việc tách ảnh trong Photoshop giống như việc sử dụng kéo để cắt ảnh từ một quyển tạp chí. Photoshop có một bộ công cụ mạnh, một đũa thần và công cụ chọn nhanh chóng để giúp bạn. Có rất nhiều hướng dẫn về cách thực hiện việc chọn, đây là một trong số các tài liệu mà chúng tôi giới thiệu để các bạn tham khảo.
- Chọn và tách đối tượng trên DPF
- Chọn và tách đối tượng trên video
- Hướng dẫn video bằng các hình ảnh trên công cụ Quick Selection.
Một số vấn đề khác
"chỉnh sửa" một số phần khác nhau. Cách đơn giản nhất là post một nâng cấp trạng thái quá dài để bao trùm hai dùng văn bản. Bạn có thể tránh điều đó bằng cách post một nâng cấp trạng thái dài, sau đó xóa sạch nó. Xem trong ảnh bên dưới về vấn đề này. Thao tác đó sẽ làm trạng thái hiện hành của bạn trống, nhưng nâng cấp sẽ vẫn xuất hiện trên phần tin tức của bạn và ảo giác "chỉnh sửa" sẽ được duy trì.
Một điểm khác cần lưu ý trong việc sử dụng "chỉnh sửa" này là hiển thị ảnh profile của bạn trong danh sách wall. Ảnh profile thường bị co lại một chút. Cộng với đó nữa là rằng nếu bạn chọn ảnh có kích thước 200×600 thì nó sẽ thích hợp hơn và tách biệt ảnh của bạn với những người khác trên Facebook khi bạn hiển thị trong danh sách.
Kết luận và Download
Sự hiện diện của Facebook là một phần quan trọng trong việc phô trương online của cá nhân mỗi người. Bạn hoàn toàn có thể làm cho mình khác biệt đôi chút trên mạng Facebook bởi cách điều chỉnh diện mạo của profile thật đặc biệt này.
Mẹo sử dụng FaceBook hiệu quả hơn
Facebook đang là một lựa chọn nhiều ưu điểm cho những “thần dân lưu lạc” của Yahoo! 360, tuy vậy, mạng xã hội có nhiều khác biệt so với một dịch vụ blog đơn thuần. Những mẹo sử dụng Facebook sẽ giúp bạn đọc có thể tiếp cận và khai thác mạng xã hội hiệu quả hơn.
Khung chat sẽ luôn hiện diện ở bên trái của cửa sổ trình duyệt khi đang duyệt website khác
Facebook Chat là một module của mạng xã hội Facebook, cho phép các thành viên tán gẫu (gửi tin nhắn tức thời) đến bạn bè trong danh sách liên hệ (Friends) khi họ đang trực tuyến. Khuyết điểm của Facebook Chat là cửa sổ chat lại rất nhỏ nằm ở phía dưới trang web và khi ta đóng cửa sổ Facebook thì phần chat cũng sẽ bị đóng lại. Để khắc phục điều này, ta chỉ cần vài thao tác trên trình duyệt FireFox.
Trong trình duyệt FireFox, chọn Bookmarks – Organize Bookmarks, nhấn tiếp vào “New Bookmark” trong trình đơn ngữ cảnh khi nhấp phải chuột. Điền thông tin bao gồm Name: Facebook Chat; Location: http://www.facebook.com/presence/popout.php và đánh dấu chọn vào “Load this bookmark in the sidebar”. Nhấn OK để lưu lại.
Facebook Chat là một module của mạng xã hội Facebook, cho phép các thành viên tán gẫu (gửi tin nhắn tức thời) đến bạn bè trong danh sách liên hệ (Friends) khi họ đang trực tuyến. Khuyết điểm của Facebook Chat là cửa sổ chat lại rất nhỏ nằm ở phía dưới trang web và khi ta đóng cửa sổ Facebook thì phần chat cũng sẽ bị đóng lại. Để khắc phục điều này, ta chỉ cần vài thao tác trên trình duyệt FireFox.
Trong trình duyệt FireFox, chọn Bookmarks – Organize Bookmarks, nhấn tiếp vào “New Bookmark” trong trình đơn ngữ cảnh khi nhấp phải chuột. Điền thông tin bao gồm Name: Facebook Chat; Location: http://www.facebook.com/presence/popout.php và đánh dấu chọn vào “Load this bookmark in the sidebar”. Nhấn OK để lưu lại.
Tạo bookmark và đánh dấu chọn vào “Load this…”
Như vậy, mỗi khi muốn chat với bạn bè trong Facebook trong lúc duyệt các website khác thì nhấn chọn View – Sidebar – Bookmarks trên menu của FireFox. Nhấn chọn vào bookmark “Facebook Chat” đã tạo ở trên thì cửa sổ Facebook Chat sẽ hiển thị ở bên trái trình duyệt mà không cần phải truy cập vào website Facebook.
Tải nhanh Facebook Photo Album
Photo Album là module hỗ trợ thành viên lưu trữ và chia sẻ hình ảnh. Mỗi thành viên có thể tạo nhiều album cho riêng mình cũng như xem và bình luận cho các album của bạn bè. Nếu muốn lưu trữ ngược trở lại những hình ảnh từ Facebook Photo Album về máy tính thì có thể sao lưu thủ công nhưng khá phức tạp nếu số lượng ảnh quá nhiều, ta lại tiếp tục nhờ cậy vào trình duyệt FireFox.
Các lập trình viên có vẻ rất ưu ái khi tạo nhiều add-on (những phần bổ sung chức năng cho trình duyệt được phát triển từ các lập trình viên thứ ba) hữu ích cho FireFox. Chỉ cần dùng add-on Facebook Photo Album Downloader (FacePAD) là ta đã có thể tải nhanh ảnh từ các album của mình, của bạn bè và đặc biệt trong phiên bản 0.5.8, FacePAD cho phép tải cả album Group (nhóm), Events (sự kiện).
FacePAD được đưa vào menu ngữ cảnh trong trình duyệt FireFox để tải nhanh ảnh từ Photo Album
Xem video clip hướng dẫn sử dụng FacePAD tại YouTube và cài đặt FacePAD tại đây.
Đưa ảnh từ Flickr sang Facebook
Flickr2Facebook
Khi muốn đưa các ảnh trong tài khoản Flickr (dịch vụ lưu trữ và chia sẻ ảnh hàng đầu hiện nay) sang Photo Album trên Facebook thì có thể khai thác ứng dụng Flickr2Facebook.
Đầu tiên, bạn cần đăng nhập vào tài khoản Facebook rồi truy cập tiếp vào trang ứng dụng Flickr2Facebook. Bước tiếp theo, tìm đến hình ảnh cần chuyển sang Facebook trên Flickr. Tại trang ảnh của Flickr, bạn sao chép và dán (copy/paste) đoạn mã sau vào ô địa chỉ của trình duyệt (không khoảng cách, không xuống hàng):
javascript:void(z=document.createElement(’script’));
void(z.language=’javascript’);void(z.type=’text/javascript’);
void(z.src=’http://www.keebler.net/flickr2facebook/bookmarklet.php’);
void(z.id=’flickr2facebook’);
void(document.getElementsByTagName(’head’)[0].appendChild(z));
Sau khi dán đoạn mã trên vào thanh địa chỉ và nhấn Enter, một logo sẽ xuất hiện trên ảnh, bạn nhấn tiếp vào logo này, một trang mới sẽ mở ra.
Dán đoạn mã lên thanh địa chỉ và logo sẽ hiện ra trên ảnh
Tại trang mới, bạn chỉ còn việc đặt tên (Caption) cho ảnh và chọn album trên Facebook muốn đặt ảnh vào. Flickr2Facebook sẽ thực hiện công việc chuyển đổi còn lại. Khuyết điểm của ứng dụng này là ta không thể chuyển nhiều ảnh cùng 1 lúc.
Add On Firefox Kết nối Facebook với Twitter
Bạn vẫn biết Firefox đang là trình duyệt phổ biến với những ai “biết dùng” máy tính. Còn nếu bạn vẫn cứ trung thành với IE, dù là IE8.0 đi nữa, thì thực sự bạn sẽ rất tiếc vì chỉ với Firefox thôi, chúng ta sẽ dễ dàng kết nối facebook với twitter, biến cả 2 thành một thật đơn giản. Điều quan trọng, bạn sẽ chẳng phải ghé thăm twitter để viết một cái status, xong lại copy nó sang facebook. Hoàn toàn không cần thiết !!! Đơn giản bởi vì với Firefox, nhiều nhà phát triển đã tạo ra các ứng dụng bổ sung (Addon) giúp cho Firefox của bạn trở nên hùng mạnh hơn bao giờ hết. Nào, thế thì bắt đầu cài các ứng dụng này thôi nhỉ?
Bây giờ là vấn đề. Ví dụ như tớ muốn cài cái gì đó liên quan tới Facebook. Ừ thì cài, theo đánh giá của tớ thì có rất nhiều các ứng dụng bổ sung, song cái ứng dụng mang tên “Facebook Toolbar” là đẹp nhất, tiện nhất nữa.
Để cài ứng dụng Firefox Toolbar cho Firefox bản 3.0.10, vào đây nhé: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/downloads/latest/3794/addon-3794-latest.xpi
Còn cách cài addon bổ sung cho Firefox thì rất đơn giản, bạn vào link cài, nó sẽ hiện ra một popup (cửa sổ), có đếm mấy giây. Cứ chờ, khi nào cái nút cài nó hiện ra thì ấn vào. Rồi sẽ tự động cài và cuối cùng là khởi động lại cái Firefox.
Sau khi cài Adoon Firefox Toolbar xong, bạn cần đăng nhập vào tài khoản Facebook của bạn và nhớ lưu các thông tin lại. Cách đăng nhập rất đơn giản, sẽ có thanh toolbar ở ngay phía dưới của phần đường dẫn, bạn click vào “Login” (Đăng nhập). Nó sẽ mở ra một cửa sổ mới, và việc của bạn là khai thông tin đăng nhập vào đấy. (Nếu nó yêu cầu cái gì đó cho phép thì cứ nhấn thôi, không sợ đâu).
Các bạn nên tự làm quen với cái Firefox Toolbar, nhưng mình cứ giới thiệu ra nếu bạn nào lười.
- Phía bên trái bao gồm các icon.
+ Đầu tiên là Facebook Sidebar (hiện ra các thông báo cập nhật Facebook của bạn và bạn bè, tương tự như mục Thông báo nếu như bạn vào hẳn website facebook.com với tài khoản của bạn).
+ Tiếp theo là ô tìm kiếm.
+ Tiếp nữa là Quick Links. Click vào thì nó tương tự như mục “Ứng dụng” nằm dưới cùng Facebook của bạn.
+ Có 2 biểu tượng ngôi nhà và hình người gì đó. Cái đầu là để bạn vào thẳng Facebook của mình, cái thứ hai chỉ hiện ra nếu có ai yêu cầu kết bạn với bạn.
+ Mục Share: Để cho người khác biết về Firefox Toolbar.
+ Mục có hình mấy cái ảnh: Dùng để đăng ảnh trực tiếp lên Facebook.
- Phía bên phải thì có các thông tin:
+ Đầu tiên là tên trong Facebook của bạn.
+ Tiếp theo là cái ô, ở trong ghi status của bạn. Bạn có thể đổi cái status này thoải mái.
+ Tiếp theo là cái nút Logout/Login.
Còn bây giờ chúng ta sẽ học cách cài addon viết status trực tiếp lên Twitter mà không cần vào web nhé.
Hãy cứ cài trước đã nhỉ, mình cá là bạn sẽ không hối hận đâu.
Link để cài cho Firefox 3.0.10: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/downloads/latest/4664/addon-4664-latest.xpi
Cách cài mình không nói lại nữa nhé.
Tiếp theo là cấu hình cho cái này. Bạn vào Tool/Addons, chọn tab Extension. Nhìn xuống dưới, tìm cái TwitterBar, chọn Option.
Có 3 cái ô đánh dấu:
- Ô đầu tiên: Mở cái Twitter của bạn sau khi gửi status.
- Ô thứ hai: Ẩn đi cái nút để đăng lên Twitter (không nên đánh dấu)
- Ô thứ ba: Luôn luôn cần xác nhận trước khi đăng. (dành cho bạn nào láu táu, thi thoảng ấn nhầm).
Cách đăng status lên Twitter thông qua cái ứng dụng này:
- Gõ trực tiếp nội dung (có thể có dấu tiếng việt) vào cái thanh địa chỉ, sau đó tìm cái biểu tượng twitter (hình chữ t màu xanh xanh ấy), rê chuột vào là nó ra cái biểu tượng dấu (+) và đếm số kí tự bạn vừa gõ. Nhấn cái là nó sẽ đăng lên ngay cho bạn.
Còn bây giờ là cách kết hợp cả Firefox và Twitter làm một, nghĩa là bạn viết gì trên Twitter thì nó cũng sẽ hiển thị lên Firefox.
Thứ nhất, việc kết nối này sẽ rất tiện nếu bạn đang dùng Twitter nhiều hơn Facebook, và giờ thì cơ hội chuyển 360 sang Facebook, bạn vẫn tiếc Twitter, nhưng lại muốn khám phá Facebook. Không sao, những ai đang following (đang theo dõi bạn) ở trên Twitter vẫn sẽ biết bạn muốn nói gì với họ, đơn giản là qua một gói ứng dụng của Firefox tên là Twitter Bar.
Ứng dụng này bạn phải cài tại địa chỉ này: http://apps.facebook.com/twitter/
Hãy nhớ: Với mỗi ứng dụng cài thêm cho Facebook, bạn sẽ được yêu cầu xác nhận có Cho phép hay không. Vì thế đừng sợ nếu bạn cài ứng dụng, và bị chuyển sang một trang nào đó để Cho phép hay không nhé !!!
Sau khi cài ứng dụng này, bạn viết gì trên Twitter thì sau chừng 5-10s là nó sẽ hiển thị lên Facebook như một câu status riêng trên Facebook. Quá tiện phải không nào ?
10 mẹo cho người dùng Facebook
Liệu bạn đã biết mọi thứ về Facebook chưa? Đây chính là một số mẹo giúp bạn đưa tài khoản Facebook của mình lên một mức mới.
Liệu bạn đã đăng ký Facebook, đã add các bạn bè của mình và các bức ảnh, gia nhập các nhóm cộng đồng nào đó hay đã nâng cấp trạng thái profile của mình chưa? Tuy nhiên các công việc không hẳn chỉ có vậy, sự thật là còn rất nhiều thứ mà bạn có thể thực hiện hơn nữa với Facebook.
Đây là 10 mẹo nhỏ có thể điều chỉnh profile của bạn, khai thác các tính năng mở rộng của Facebook. Các mẹo này nằm bên ngoài các thao tác điển hình nhằm kết nối tốt hơn với bạn bè của bạn cũng như thực hiện các tính năng khác.
Mẹo thứ nhất
Khai thác các thống kê về bạn bè với Socialistics : Nếu bạn muốn biết thống kê nhân khẩu học trên Facebook về bạn bè của mình thì ứng dụng này sẽ giúp các bạn thực hiện được nhiệm vụ đó. Socialistics có thể cung cấp cho bạn các thông tin về tuổi bạn của bạn, ngôn ngữ họ sử dụng, quốc tịch gốc của họ và rất nhiều các thông tin thú vị khác trong Facebook.
Dữ liệu của Socialistics không hiển thị trên các trang profile của bạn và bạn cũng không thể chia sẻ các thông tin Socialistics với những người bạn trên Facebook thông qua wall của mình. Mặc dù vậy, nếu bạn muốn quan sát vào các phương hướng cho mạng cá nhân của bạn, hãy bổ sung thêm Socialistics vào profile của mình và bạn có thể truy cập nó một cách riêng tư.
Mẹo thứ hai
Các mẹo tìm kiếm nâng cao: Cũng giống như Google và các cỗ máy tìm kiếm khác, Facebook có một số công cụ tìm kiếm đính kèm và các thuật ngữ để giúp bạn tìm người thân. Muốn tìm kiếm mạng Facebook của mình hoặc danh sách bạn bè, nhưng lại muốn khoanh vùng các kết quả tìm kiếm ở một độ tuổi nào đó. Chỉ cần nhập vào một thuật ngữ bằng cách sử dụng công cụ lọc trong tìm kiếm với “name,” “y1″ và “y2″. Cho ví dụ, nếu muốn tìm một người có tên Colin trong số các bạn học đại học của bạn nhưng bạn lại không thể nhớ được tuổi của anh ta. Khi đó bạn chỉ cần nhập vào “name: Colin Bauer y1: 25 y2: 40”. Chuỗi tìm kiếm sẽ yêu cầu Facebook tìm kiếm những người có tên Colin Bauer và có độ tuổi nằm trong khoảng 25 đến 40 và hiển thị kết quả tìm kiếm cho bạn trong phạm vi hẹp đó.
Bạn cũng có thể sử dụng hai thuật ngữ tìm kiếm một cách đồng thời bằng cách chia các thuật ngữ thành bằng một dấu “|”.
Nếu muốn mọi người dễ dàng tìm ra mình khi họ tìm kiếm, bạn hãy điền nhiều thông tin vào profile của mình nếu có thể. Những sở thích của bạn như nhạc, sách, phim ảnh và,… sẽ làm cho bạn tiến gần hơn trong trang kết quả tìm kiếm của Facebook với các từ khóa đó. Hãy kiểm tra trang trợ giúp của Facebook để có nhiều thông tin hơn nữa về các thuật ngữ tìm kiếm.
Mẹo thứ ba
Tích hợp các thông tin của Facebook với Google: Add-on của Firefox có tên Xoopit được thiết kế để sắp xếp hợp lý việc duyệt và chia sẻ file, ảnh, video với bạn bè trên các mạng xã hội khác thông qua dịch vụ Gmail của Google. Facebook sẽ nhớ và hiển thị các ảnh profile, các cập nhật về trạng thái của họ. Add-on Xoopit cũng cho phép bạn nâng cấp trạng thái của mình bên trong Gmail thông qua một hộp Xoopit nhỏ để tích hợp bên trong giao diện của Gmail.
Xoopit Facebook Demo của Jonathan Bruck trên Vimeo
Mẹo thứ tư
Cá nhân hóa URL của Facebook: SocialToo cho phép bạn tạo một miền có tính tùy chỉnh cho trang profile của Facebook chẳng hạn như username.socialtoo.com. Điều này cho phép bạn chia sẻ site Facebook của mình với mọi người mà không yêu cầu họ tìm kiếm bạn trên Facebook để tìm profile của bạn. Tuy nhiên bạn có thể phải giải thích với bạn của mình rằng dù là Facebook.com không nằm trong địa chỉ trang web nhưng nó vẫn đưa bạn đến được trang Facebook của mình. Tuy nhiên cách thức này sẽ làm cho bạn dễ nhớ hơn so với ID profile với 8 chữ số.
Việc đăng ký SocialToo diễn ra dễ dàng và hoàn toàn miễn phí. Bạn có thể thiết lập các thiết lập Facebook của mình nằm trong phần “preferences” trong website của SocialToo. Hãy nhớ chọn username một cách sáng suốt.
Một cách khác để tạo một miền tùy chỉnh cho trang Facebook của bạn là vào trang Profile trong Facebook và copy địa chỉ web xuất hiện trong thanh bar địa chỉ của trình duyệt. Sau đó vào Tiny.cc. Paste địa chỉ web của profile Facebook của bạn vào trường “Enter a long URL you want to make tiny” của Tiny.cc. Ở phía phải, bạn sẽ thấy một tùy chọn Custom. Ở đây, bạn có thể tạo một URL tùy chỉnh để dẫn http://tiny.cc/username.
Mẹo thứ năm
Hack ảnh trong profile của bạn: Bạn có muốn điều chỉnh ảnh trong profile của mình? Hãy tìm hiểu cách hack profile của Facebook. Bạn sẽ học được cách tối đa kích thước ảnh lên đến 200 pixels x 600 pixels và cách tạo một số hiệu ứng với nó.
Mẹo thứ sáu
Đặt Facebook Chat trong sidebar của trình duyệt: Liệu Facebook có thể là công cụ IM chính đối với bạn? Bạn có thể đặt nó trong sidebar của trình duyệt của mình. Trong thử nghiệm, chúng tôi đã sử dụng Firefox, tuy nhiên bạn cũng có thể tiến hành với Opera. Cách thức thực hiên như sau: Trong Firefox, bạn hãy vào Bookmarks -> Organize Bookmarks và kích vào Bookmarks Toolbar. Chọn New Bookmark và đặt tên là Facebook Chat. Sau đó paste vào URL sau: http://www.facebook.com/presence/popout.php. Bảo đảm rằng bạn đã chọn “Load this bookmark in the sidebar” và nhấn Save. Lúc này bạn hoàn toàn sẵn sàng cho việc thực hiện tiếp. Về vấn đề này với các fan của IE không thể thực hiện được, tuy nhiên họ có thể paste URL vào một tab trình duyệt mới nếu muốn.
Mẹo thứ bảy
Quay trở lại giao diện Facebook cũ: Bạn đã bao giờ cảm thấy gượng gạo bởi layout của Facebook hay giao diện mới của nó chưa? Nếu gặp phải vấn đề đó, bạn hoàn toàn có thể thay đổi diện mạo của trang Facebook bằng một add-on của Firefox mang tên Greasemonkey, add-on này sẽ cho phép bạn sử dụng Java Scripts nhằm thay đổi giao diện của Facebook. Tuy nhiên về giao diện mới này chỉ có mình bạn thấy, còn bạn bè của bạn sẽ vẫn thấy bạn với giao diện cũ của Facebook. Khi bạn đã bổ sung Greasemonkey vào Facebook, hãy ghé thăm site đồng hành của Greasemonkey đó là UserScripts.org và hàng tá các tùy chọn layout cho trang Facebook của bạn. Kích “install” trên Facebook layout mới mà bạn muốn và cho phép Greasemonkey thực hiện phần còn lại của công việc.
Chú ý: Trước khi bạn thực hiện download các layout cho Facebook, cần phải thật cẩn thận. Các kịch bản Greasmonkey dùng cho việc thay đổi Facebook layout sử dụng JavaScript. JavaScript lại có thể gây hại cho máy tính của bạn nếu được tạo bởi một người có chủ tâm xấu. Các kịch bản trên UserScripts.org có thể được cấp bởi bất cứ ai và không được xem xét một cách kỹ lưỡng bởi Greasemonkey. Chính vì vậy trước khi bạn download layout, cần kiểm tra xem những đánh giá của người dùng về nó trước khi cài đặt.
Đây là một số cài đặt ưa thích:
Remove Facebook Clutter: Đây gần như diện mạo trước đây của Facebook. Nó sẽ ẩn các bộ lọc bên trái của các phần “stream” và “highlights”, vứt bỏ các góc lượn tròn trên ảnh profile.
Facebook Color Changer: Chọn lược đồ màu và thay đổi màu FB của bạn. Kịch bản này cho phép bạn thay đổi biểu tượng Facebook phía trái bên trên của màn hình.
Facebook Twitter Style: Bạn đã từng nghe Twitter thổi phồng diện mạo mới của Facebook như thế nào chưa? Tại sao không thử tiến hành một thử nghiệm với nó và xem xem trang chủ Facebook của bạn như thế nào?
Mẹo thứ tám
Upload ảnh di động hoặc các video vào profile của bạn: Hãy chụp một tấm hình hay quay một đoạn video bằng chiếc điện thoại đi động của bạn, bạn hoàn toàn có thể post nó vào profile của mình. Thiết lập các thiết lập cho profile để cho phép bạn upload những thứ như vậy.
Vào tab Mobile nằm bên dưới tab tài khoản Facebook của bạn và thiết lập để điện thoại của bạn có thể gửi ảnh vào trang Facebook trực tiếp. Một điểm cần lưu ý là nếu bạn thiết lập Facebook thực hiện điều đó, hãy thiết lập các thiết lập di động của Facebook và điều chỉnh cho chúng đúng cách.
Khi tính năng Facebook Mobile được kích hoạt, bạn có thể cho phép Facebook gửi các thông báo đến điện thoại. Tuy nhiên tính năng này mới chỉ được thực hiện ở Mỹ, Canada và Anh.
Mẹo thứ chín
Tweet trạng thái của bạn: Đây là một trong những thứ khá thú vị. Việc bổ sung ứng dụng Twitter vào profile của Facebook cho phép bạn có thêm tùy chọn để điều chỉnh nâng cấp trạng thái của Facebook. Không chỉ dừng lại ở đó, Twitter còn đủ thông minh để lọc ra các reply để các thông báo một cách không tràn lan trên profile của bạn.
Mẹo thứ mười
Sử dụng ứng dụng của các nhà sản xuất thứ ba: Có nhiều ứng dụng của nhà sản xuất thứ ba dùng cho Facebook mà bạn có thể sử dụng. Đây là một trong số ứng dụng mà chúng tôi gợi ý cho các bạn:
Digsby (Windows Only): Digsby là một ứng dụng Facebook nhỏ đặt trên system tray của máy tính và có thể kéo vào Facebook Chat, các tài khoản IM khác, các thông báo email và nâng cấp Facebook từ mạng bạn bè của bạn.
Facebook Desktop Client (Windows Only): Cung cấp các thông báo giống như các yêu cầu của bạn bè, các wall post, xem thông báo và nâng cấp trạng thái.
MyFacebook (Vista): widget này bổ sung thêm các thông tin Facebook vào phía phải của sidebar trên hệ điều hành Windows Vista. Với ứng dụng này, bạn có thể thay đổi trạng thái, thấy được trạng thái, nhóm, các thông báo, album và các sự kiện về bạn bè của mình.
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Facebook Exporter cho iPhoto (Mac): Nếu bạn không có kế hoạch mua iLife ’09, nhưng thích post các ảnh trực tiếp từ iPhoto, hãy sử dụng plugin này. Chọn hoặc tạo một album mới, gắn thẻ cho bạn bè của bạn và bổ sung các đoạn trích vào bên phải iPhoto, sau đó gửi thẳng đến profile của Facebook.
Đây là 10 mẹo rất hữu hiệu với Facebook. Tuy có thể hơi tốn về mặt thơi gian với các mẹo này nhưng chắc chắn nó sẽ mang lại cho các bạn rất nhiều điều thú vị thêm vào những gì bạn vẫn có với Facebook.
Source: quantrimang.com
Thứ Sáu, 12 tháng 6, 2009
Base Hits: 6/12/2009
I am taking down my little "Value Over Daniel Cabrera" widget from the left hand side of the blog. The final results in terms of ERA:
Daniel Cabrera 2008 - 5.25
Daniel Cabrera 2009 - 5.85
Adam Eaton - 8.56
Mark Hendrickson - 5.53
Alfredo Simon - 9.95
Rich Hill - 5.24
Koji Uehara - 4.37
The whole point of the exercise was to decipher what The Warehouse was thinking in regards to the rotation this year. It seemed they were looking for stiffs to eat innings and buy time for the kids in the minors. But then they let go a "proven stiff" in Daniel Cabrera. Cabrera had proven that he was just that kind of pitcher and had proven it in the AL East. It was kind of ironic that they let Cabrera go just at the time he had proven he was forever to be mediocrity but an innings eater. Cabrera was, for the first time in his career, a perfect fit for the Baltimore Orioles and they cut him loose!
Now, you can certainly disagree with me about Cabrera in specific but you have to admit that nobody they brought in has done a better job that D-Cab, save for Koji Uehara. Certainly the trio of stiffs that were in the rotation on Opening Day (Hendrickson, Eaton, Simon) were a downgrade.
I don't have many criticisms of Andy MacPhail so far but his assemblage (or lack thereof) of a starting rotation for the 2009 Orioles has been a glaring and abject failure.
Anyway, it's hardly fair to compare the rotation anymore now that some kids are starting to fill those roles. I've made my argument.
*****
Want the human interest stories behind the 2009 Oriole draftees? Matt at Roar From 34 has compiled them all.
*****
I'm not sure that I've said it before (and he certainly doesn't need the traffic from me!) but the Matt Wieters Facts site (put together by Frost King) is still quite entertaining to me.
*****
I love me some Old Bay. And I love me some Orioles.
I don't reprint press releases very often but if I was in Baltimore on Saturday, I would be at Camden Yards for this promotion:
OLD BAY SPICES UP CAMDEN YARDS
The Orioles and Charm City Cakes help celebrate the 70th BIRTHDAY of a Baltimore icon.
What:
Cake creator extraordinaire Duff Goldman of Baltimore’s Charm City Cakes will help celebrate the 70th birthday of Baltimore’s own OLD BAY Seasoning prior to the Orioles-Braves game with the unveiling of a larger-than-life cake that replicates the iconic yellow and blue can with the red lid. Duff will also be throwing out the first pitch and the first 10,000 attendees age 15 and over will receive an OLD BAY mallet
When: Saturday, June 13th
Presentation begins at 6:30pm
Where: Baltimore Orioles vs. Atlanta Braves Game
Camden Yards
Background:
For 70 years, this distinctive blend of twelve herbs and spices has been a time-honored taste of summer. Just as the recipe hasn’t changed, neither has the iconic yellow and blue can. Once only enjoyed by a lucky few along the Chesapeake Bay, OLD BAY® Seasoning has gained fans all across the country. Best known as THE seasoning for shrimp, salmon, crab and other seafood dishes, these days, OLD BAY is used to flavor hamburgers, chicken, pizza, pasta, vegetable dishes and more. For information visit www.oldbay.com
*****
I like Melvin Mora. I have enjoyed watching him through out his Oriole career. But he's done. The Orioles should not pick up his option for the 2010 season. I'll probably harp on that fact as the season goes on but Mora is doing a pretty good job of sealing that fate himself.
Mora is OPSing .653 which puts his bat within shouting distance of Cesar Izturis (.620) and even Felix Pie (.595). But Mora is no longer a great glove or a kid. It's probably going to get worse. Month by month, his OPS has dropped from .940 in April (over 7 games) to .647 in May and a meager .417 in June.
He'll probably play out the year since the Orioles don't have many internal options but 2009 should be his Oriole swansong.
*****
Some sage words form Rick Dempsey about Jeremy Guthrie:
Usually it is pretty easy for me to watch a pitcher and see what he is doing right or wrong. A lot of times all you have to do is watch the flight and spin of the ball, and it can tell you exactly what you want to know....
From what I've seen, its not just one thing. There's a lot going on right now that nobody can figure out except Jeremy.
Obviously, I don't see every pitch of every game like Rick does (and based on the copious notes and score keeping I saw him taking during the MASN Oriole Blogger Night last month, he's certainly paying close attention) but I was working on a post about Jeremy Guthrie and trying to figure out why he was giving up so many homers this year. After pouring over Pitch F/X data, pitch types, pitch sequence, the counts , his velocity, the types of hitters he's facing...everything I could think of. But there's no common denominator! They're launching home runs off of every kind of pitch he throw without discrimination. It doesn't happen when he's behind in the count. He velocity and control (at least, his walk rates and amount of strikes he throws) are consistent with his first two seasons.
So I've got to go with Rick on this one. It not just one thing...but you would like to think Guthrie can solve it sooner than later.
*****
It's been a rough week for the Orioles but the Braves have been having trouble scoring runs too. Could this weekend be the remedy for the Baltimore win column?
Let's go O's!
Daniel Cabrera 2008 - 5.25
Daniel Cabrera 2009 - 5.85
Adam Eaton - 8.56
Mark Hendrickson - 5.53
Alfredo Simon - 9.95
Rich Hill - 5.24
Koji Uehara - 4.37
The whole point of the exercise was to decipher what The Warehouse was thinking in regards to the rotation this year. It seemed they were looking for stiffs to eat innings and buy time for the kids in the minors. But then they let go a "proven stiff" in Daniel Cabrera. Cabrera had proven that he was just that kind of pitcher and had proven it in the AL East. It was kind of ironic that they let Cabrera go just at the time he had proven he was forever to be mediocrity but an innings eater. Cabrera was, for the first time in his career, a perfect fit for the Baltimore Orioles and they cut him loose!
Now, you can certainly disagree with me about Cabrera in specific but you have to admit that nobody they brought in has done a better job that D-Cab, save for Koji Uehara. Certainly the trio of stiffs that were in the rotation on Opening Day (Hendrickson, Eaton, Simon) were a downgrade.
I don't have many criticisms of Andy MacPhail so far but his assemblage (or lack thereof) of a starting rotation for the 2009 Orioles has been a glaring and abject failure.
Anyway, it's hardly fair to compare the rotation anymore now that some kids are starting to fill those roles. I've made my argument.
*****
Want the human interest stories behind the 2009 Oriole draftees? Matt at Roar From 34 has compiled them all.
*****
I'm not sure that I've said it before (and he certainly doesn't need the traffic from me!) but the Matt Wieters Facts site (put together by Frost King) is still quite entertaining to me.
*****
I love me some Old Bay. And I love me some Orioles.
I don't reprint press releases very often but if I was in Baltimore on Saturday, I would be at Camden Yards for this promotion:
OLD BAY SPICES UP CAMDEN YARDS
The Orioles and Charm City Cakes help celebrate the 70th BIRTHDAY of a Baltimore icon.
What:
Cake creator extraordinaire Duff Goldman of Baltimore’s Charm City Cakes will help celebrate the 70th birthday of Baltimore’s own OLD BAY Seasoning prior to the Orioles-Braves game with the unveiling of a larger-than-life cake that replicates the iconic yellow and blue can with the red lid. Duff will also be throwing out the first pitch and the first 10,000 attendees age 15 and over will receive an OLD BAY mallet
When: Saturday, June 13th
Presentation begins at 6:30pm
Where: Baltimore Orioles vs. Atlanta Braves Game
Camden Yards
Background:
For 70 years, this distinctive blend of twelve herbs and spices has been a time-honored taste of summer. Just as the recipe hasn’t changed, neither has the iconic yellow and blue can. Once only enjoyed by a lucky few along the Chesapeake Bay, OLD BAY® Seasoning has gained fans all across the country. Best known as THE seasoning for shrimp, salmon, crab and other seafood dishes, these days, OLD BAY is used to flavor hamburgers, chicken, pizza, pasta, vegetable dishes and more. For information visit www.oldbay.com
*****
I like Melvin Mora. I have enjoyed watching him through out his Oriole career. But he's done. The Orioles should not pick up his option for the 2010 season. I'll probably harp on that fact as the season goes on but Mora is doing a pretty good job of sealing that fate himself.
Mora is OPSing .653 which puts his bat within shouting distance of Cesar Izturis (.620) and even Felix Pie (.595). But Mora is no longer a great glove or a kid. It's probably going to get worse. Month by month, his OPS has dropped from .940 in April (over 7 games) to .647 in May and a meager .417 in June.
He'll probably play out the year since the Orioles don't have many internal options but 2009 should be his Oriole swansong.
*****
Some sage words form Rick Dempsey about Jeremy Guthrie:
Usually it is pretty easy for me to watch a pitcher and see what he is doing right or wrong. A lot of times all you have to do is watch the flight and spin of the ball, and it can tell you exactly what you want to know....
From what I've seen, its not just one thing. There's a lot going on right now that nobody can figure out except Jeremy.
Obviously, I don't see every pitch of every game like Rick does (and based on the copious notes and score keeping I saw him taking during the MASN Oriole Blogger Night last month, he's certainly paying close attention) but I was working on a post about Jeremy Guthrie and trying to figure out why he was giving up so many homers this year. After pouring over Pitch F/X data, pitch types, pitch sequence, the counts , his velocity, the types of hitters he's facing...everything I could think of. But there's no common denominator! They're launching home runs off of every kind of pitch he throw without discrimination. It doesn't happen when he's behind in the count. He velocity and control (at least, his walk rates and amount of strikes he throws) are consistent with his first two seasons.
So I've got to go with Rick on this one. It not just one thing...but you would like to think Guthrie can solve it sooner than later.
*****
It's been a rough week for the Orioles but the Braves have been having trouble scoring runs too. Could this weekend be the remedy for the Baltimore win column?
Let's go O's!
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