Base Hits: 6/4/2009

Sure, Baltimore dropped the series in Seattle but you can console yourself with the fact that the O's have played the second hardest schedule in the majors this season. Only the Indians have had it rougher. Maybe the NL East is the remedy?

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Sure the Orioles lost 3-2 last night...OR DID THEY???

Obviously, Yahoo Sports considered that first inning shot by Huff a fair ball...

On the bright side, you have to be impressed by how well Brad Bergesen and Matt Wieters work together. Two starts, both at least 7 inning outings with 2 earned runs apiece.

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I like Dave Trembley. I really do. But his odd "aggressive" base runnning and hit-and-run tactics are a bit overused and misguided. Sure, Brian Roberts and Adam Jones could be employed in these maneuvers...but Aubrey Huff?

But zknower of Camden Chat says it way better than I could. And even Peter Schmuck gets in on the act. OK, Peter advocates for the sac bunt but IF you're going to play "small ball", he has a very valid point. And IF, you're going to play "small ball" why not use Felix Pie as a pinch runner late in the game?

I'm an Earl Weaver guy...pitching, defense and the three run homer. Didn't Earl say that the 27 outs you get at the beginning of the game are your most precious commodity? (I have to stop repeating myself and just find that quote...)

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OPACY has made PETA's Top Ten Vegetarian-Friendly Ballparks for the first time. As a spouse of a woman with specific dietary needs, I appreciate that Camden Yards offers veggie burgers, veggie dogs, salads and fruit cups. It's good for the consumer and prevents me from having to eat elsewhere before the game. But the clever PETA rhetoric goes just a little too far...

Birds fans would be disgusted to know that the meat industry drugs chickens and turkeys, making them grow so fat that their legs often become crippled under their own weight. Luckily, Orioles diehards can help prevent such cruelty by choosing mouthwatering vegetarian options...

That's the new logo! Cartoon Oriole bird, engorged from feasting on it's Major league opponents, no longer able to support his mass on his own spindly legs!

Or....maybe not.

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Luke Scott leads the AL in ISO (Raw Power like The Stooges, baby) at .339, tied with Jason Bay. He leads the league in slugging at .669. Streaky hitter? Yes. Could he hit 30 this season? I think so. He being much more disciplined at the plate. His strikeout rate has dropped and his walk rate has ticked up a bit.

MacPhail may have fleeced Seattle but getting Scott as a throw-in in the Tejada deal is becoming a pretty good fleecing too.