5th Orioles Game of the Year - The Streak Ends

Well, our winning streak has ended - badly. We were creamed by the Red Sox, 12 - 3. They were winning 8 - 0 by the third inning. I should be used to the Oriole's annual September melt-down by now.  At least they had fireworks afterword. Natalie got the good seats behind home plate again. This time, Natalie, Matthew, Mike and I went.

Some totally unbiased reporting from ESPN

BALTIMORE -- Doesn't take much more than simple math to figure out Clay Buchholz has worked his way back and is ready for the playoffs. In four starts since a lengthy stint on the disabled list, Buchholz's pitch count has grown from 74 to 113, the last of those during Boston's 12-3 rout of the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.

The Sox are on the cusp of clinching home-field advantage, which is far preferable to what happened when they faced the O's two years ago this weekend, Gordon Edes writes.  "He's answered the physical question, for sure," Boston manager John Farrell said.

Buchholz (12-1) allowed up three runs and seven hits in seven innings, and Daniel Nava and David Ortiz hit three-run homers for the Red Sox, who had an 8-0 lead by the third inning. Dustin Pedroia added three hits, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a three-run drive overturned in a video review.

The win left the AL East champions needing one more win or a loss by Oakland to clinch the AL's best record. The Athletics won 8-2 at Seattle on Friday.

Given a big lead before his first pitch, Buchholz rebounded from a loss to Toronto last weekend. A strained neck that cost him three months interrupted what has been a stellar season statistically. His ERA is 1.74, and he's 6-0 with a 1.40 ERA in seven road starts. He's also 4-0 with a 1.74 ERA in his last four starts against Baltimore.

"It's a good stepping stone," Buchholz said. "I'm just glad the team could score all those runs. There wasn't a whole lot of stress in the outing today."

That was probably for the best, given that Buchholz's routine was upset by the team's off day Thursday, when he said he basically slept all day.

"My body felt a little lethargic tonight," he said. "I felt when I woke up this morning that it might be a grinding outing for me today, which I felt I needed, too. Anybody can go out there when you have your best stuff."

Adam Jones' two-run homer in the third was the first home run by a right-handed hitter off Buchholz this year. Buchholz also gave up Chris Davis' major league-leading 53rd homer in the sixth. Scott Feldman (5-6) allowed eight runs and eight hits in 2 1-3 innings for the Orioles, who have lost seven of nine. "It would've been nice to finish up a little stronger heading to the offseason coming off a good game," Feldman said. "But the bottom line is, we all, everybody in here, wanted to make the playoffs and we didn't do it. Hopefully next year we'll get in there."

Boston hit for the cycle as a team in the first, when Mike Napoli had an RBI double, Nava sent a first-pitch curveball in the right-field bleachers, and Stephen Drew hit an RBI triple.

Saltalamacchia's drive off Feldman in the third hit the top side of the cushion atop the right-field wall and caromed back onto the field. After the play Initially ruled a home run, umpires reviewed the video and gave Saltalamacchia a double that left two men on. Drew followed with a two-run single off Zach Britton.

Ortiz hit his 30th homer in the eighth, the first batter faced by former Boston College pitcher Mike Belfiore in his major league debut.

"Welcome to the big leagues," Ortiz said. "I heard he's from Boston, too."

Game notes


Ortiz tied Ted Williams' team record for 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons with seven. ... Davis' homer was his 28th at home, breaking the previous franchise record set by Frank Robinson in Memorial Stadium in 1966. Davis was back in the lineup after missing one game with a sore right foot. An X-ray on Thursday showed nothing worrisome. "It was more about just letting me catch my breath," Davis said. ... Jones' homer was his career-best 33rd, one more than last year. ... Red Sox OF Shane Victorino sat out with a nagging thumb injury. "Fully expect he'll be in the lineup tomorrow," Farrell said. ... Napoli went 1 for 3 with two walks in his return to Boston's lineup after missing four games with a left foot injury, and CF Jacoby Ellsbury was 0 for 4 in his second game after missing 16 with a broken right foot. ... A handful of Red Sox players debuted a new slogan before the game, wearing red T-shirts that read: "3 lines, 2 Chainz, 1 goal."

4th Orioles Game of the Year - We're 4 for 4!

Matt Wieters' 2-out, 2-run single in 10th lifts Orioles over White Sox, 4-3.

We have to go to every home game now. When we go, the Orioles win.

Photos from the Sunpapers

Aberdeen Ironbirds

Last night, Natalie and I went to see the Aberdeen Ironbirds play at Ripken Stadium. I had won a pair of tickets, with meal vouchers, at the North Plaza Mall Festival. The Ironbirds won, beating the State College Spikes 2 to 1. Really a nice prize. The food was good. They had salmon and some other kind of fish, good side dishes, fresh fruit and chocolate cake. You also got free soft drinks but we were drinking beer. They have a good selection of beers too. Natalie was drinking a pale ale from Greenville, Deleware and I drank Ram's Head IPA. Good stuff. 

Aberdeen, MD- The IronBirds shut down an offense that ranked as one of the best in the New York-Penn League, beating the State College Spikes by a final of 2-1. The win moves the IronBirds to 13-10 on the year, and move into first place for the first time all season.

The Spikes came into the game with a league-leading .287 batting average and .355 on-base percentage, but on this night, IronBirds pitching mowed them down with ease.

Mitch Horacek, making his third professional start, looked exceptionally sharp in earning his first professional win. In 5 strong innings of work, Horacek struck out six, allowing just one run on three hits.

IronBirds relievers continued where Horacek left off, as Williams Louico and Jimmy Yacabonis combined to throw four innings of sterling relief.

The IronBirds struck early, taking the lead before they had made an out. Jared Breen started off the first with a single through the right side. The hit extended Breen's hit streak to 13 games, tied for the third-longest hit streak in IronBirds history. He then stole second, Mike Yastrzemski doubled him home, and the IronBirds had the lead.

The Birds scored again in the third. With two outs, Yastrzemski was hit by a pitch, then stole second, putting himself in scoring position. Trey Mancini followed with a bloop single to right, and the lead extended to 2-0.

Horacek had been excellent through four innings, but ran into trouble in the fifth. He allowed a leadoff single, threw a wild pitch, then gave up another single, putting runners at the corners with no outs. But Horacek would find his way out of the inning with the lead intact, inducing two ground balls to the shortstop, one of which turned into a double play. The Spikes scored in the inning, but the IronBirds led 2-1.

The IronBirds would not score again in the game, but as it turned out, they didn't need it. IronBirds relief pitchers on this night would be perfect, recording four innings of no-hit ball. Louico pitched the sixth and seventh, striking out two.

Yacabonis would follow, recording a six-out save, the second of his professional career. After setting down the side in order in the eighth, Yacabonis would strike out the first two batters before allowing a two-out walk. The walk broke a string of 14 straight batters retired by IronBirds pitching. The next batter, however, flied out to center, and the IronBirds had the victory.

The IronBirds would strike out 11 State College batters tonight, a dominant performance against a very tough offensive team.

After starting off the season 0-5, the IronBirds have won 13 of their last 18 games. With an 8-4 loss by the Hudson Valley Renedgades moved into first place, leading the Renegades by a half-game.


The IronBirds will look to win their fourth consecutive series tomorrow night in the second game of a three-game set against State College. RHP Austin Urban (0-2, 6.23 ERA) will go for the IronBirds, while the IronBirds will face Spikes' RHP Andrew Pierce (0-0, 3.12 ERA).

AVAM Visit With Natalie

We went to the American Vision Arts Museum today. Their current exhibit is about storytelling. Interesting stuff but I didn't like it as much as some of their other shows. They had a few videos going but the volume was so low I couldn't hear what they were saying, so they were pointless.

Below are some photos of the show by Dan Meyers and  the AVAM's notes about the exhibit.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

"Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale." –Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875)

From scripture to fairy tale, cartoons to cyberbullying, the raw power of stories to inspire and enchant, spread lies or to inform, simply has no equal. THE ART OF STORYTELLING: Lies, Enchantment, Humor & Truth is the American Visionary Art Museum's brand-new, supremely original exhibition featuring embroidery, diorama, sculpture, film, graffiti, and PostSecret confession—promoting all manner of acute 'visual listening' and delight for the whole family.

The museum's 18th, yearlong, thematic exhibition explores the impact of story via visual narratives created by 30+ visionary artists, each expressive of some personal aspect of tale-telling. Their intuitive creations include: the intricate cutout stories of TED speaker and artist sensation, Béatrice Coron; Mars Tokyo's miniature 3-D Theaters of the 13th Dimension; and by popular demand, the return of Esther Krinitz's love-filled, 36-piece, embroidered tale of her Holocaust survival. Other exhibition highlights include a collection of twenty painted self-portrait stories by rescued Cambodian children, and accompanied by Leslie Hope's documentary film, What I See When I Close My Eyes; photographer Larry Yust's Streets Tell Stories, images of graffiti and street art from across the globe; and Andi Olsen's filmed stories behind human body scars. Another return from AVAM's inaugural exhibition is Debbie and Mike Schramer's Fairy Tree Houses, guaranteed to enchant as powerfully as AVAM's permanent collection of South African "Truth and Reconciliation" story quilt testimonies. Chris Roberts-Antieau's newest batch of humorous embroidered fabric appliqués join with artist P. Nosa's stitched five-word-inspired scenes, created on his bike pedaled/solar powered, roving sewing machine! Apache elder Judy Tallwing's tribal legends, painted with precious metals and adorned with prayer beads, speak to the oral traditions that pass sacred stories to new generations; and opera/hip-hop/performance artist Vanessa German wields found sculpture assemblages to shout her 'soul stories,' aimed at retelling a more truthful side to African American history.

THE ART OF STORYTELLING's 'table of contents' overflows with quotes, jokes (even the classic "a guy walks into a bar..." has a who, what & where to it), and timeless sub-categories like Shakespeare's "All The World's A Stage, And All The Men And Women Merely Players." Another section, "Lies, Loshon Hora & True Confessions of Bullies & The Bullied Innocents" examines the dark underbelly of storytelling, magnified via the Internet to spin negative, false and hurtful stories. This exhibition is an articulate plea for greater civility and kindness in our ways of telling stories about, and speaking to, one another.

This must-see exhibition is a sequel for co-curatorial team Rebecca Hoffberger, Founder & Director of AVAM, and Mary Ellen 'Dolly' Vehlow, award-winning graphic designer and Founder/Sponsor of Washington, D.C.'s H Street Festival. THE ART OF STORYTELLING: Lies, Enchantment, Humor & Truth underscores the role all museums and media play as public storytellers, as well as their inescapable influence on what we think, believe, and ultimately understand of stories.

"There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories." –Ursula K. Le Guinn

"The Art of Storytelling" ARTISTS:

Anonymous artists, Chris Roberts-Antieau, Calvin and Ruby Black, Art Brun, Béatrice Coron, Timmerman Daugherty, Jim Doran, Emily Duffy, Nancy Duvall, Vanessa German, Allen Hicks, Leslie Hope, George Kennard, M.D. (Story provided by historian, Dr. Philip J. Merrill), Esther Nisenthal Krinitz, Patty Kuzbida, Anthony Horton & Youme Landowne, Geraldine Lloyd, P. Nosa, Ben Ortega, Andi Olsen, Brian Pardini, Nina Shapiro-Perl, PostSecret artists, Rescued Children of Friends-International Cambodia, Betty Rosen, Allie Light & Irving Saraf (Light-Saraf Films), Debbie Schramer, Mike Schramer, Marcellin Simard, M.D., William Stoeckley, D.D.S., Judy Tallwing, Alex Todorovich, Mars Tokyo, Frank Warren, Harriet Elizabeth Thompson, a.k.a. "Princess Wee Wee," Matthew "Bay Bay" Williams, Larry Yust.

Study: 80% Of Waking Hours Spent Plotting Revenge

This man, like all people do throughout the vast majority of their day, is contemplating taking his revenge on those who have wronged him.

WASHINGTON—According to a new study published Tuesday in The Journal Of American Psychology, a large majority of the U.S. populace devotes nearly all of their conscious lives to plotting revenge against those they believe have wronged them.

Conducted over a three-year period by observing individuals who have been aggrieved or taken advantage of in a wide range of ways—from being the victim of a breakup to having a DVD borrowed for much longer than initially anticipated—the study confirmed that, on average, one spends 14 hours per day trying to figure out how to “take sweet revenge” on countless friends, family members, celebrities, public figures, and utter strangers.

The researchers confirmed that the vast majority of people devise revenge plans while mentally referring to others as “rat bastards” who “should never have crossed [them].”

“Our data indicate that individuals devote most of their waking days to sitting silently with a demented expression on their faces and going through a laundry list of people who have hurt them and must be held accountable for their transgressions,” said lead researcher Dr. Carl Burke, adding that individuals will then typically go online and try to determine where their revenge victims work, what route they take home, and how many family members they have. “In fact, in a given hour, the typical person is plotting revenge against approximately 56 different people, all of whom, according to those planning their demise, will get exactly what’s coming to them.”

“In all cases, one will angrily whisper, ‘I will have my vengeance,’ at some point during the planning,” she added.

According to the study, even in moments where individuals appear to be focused on something else, such as eating or watching television, the vast majority of their thoughts remain focused on getting back at an ex-spouse, making a subway employee pay dearly for making them late to work, taking down an entire Fortune 500 company from the inside, or getting Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel fired for pulling Roy Hibbert in the fourth quarter of Game 1 against the Miami Heat.

Almost all individuals, the report noted, believe the actions they take in the pursuit of revenge are entirely rational, viewing themselves as agents of justice.

“I think what struck us is how elaborate some of the revenge plots actually are,” said Dr. Burke, adding that many individuals want to settle the score by orchestrating a complex scenario in which their adversary is not only humiliated, but is then laughed at by over 100 people including that person’s parents. “Many have fully formed plans to get into excellent physical shape, attend a class reunion—sometimes three or four years away—and make sure to rub their improved appearances in the faces of a very specific list of former classmates whom the individual researched and found out were no longer in good physical condition.”

“Other plans were more simple and just involved kicking someone or slitting a coworker’s throat at their desk,” he added.

According to the report, revenge is so prevalent that the first three thoughts that go through the human mind upon meeting another person are “Who is this person?” “How will he or she wrong me?” and “How will I get revenge?”

However, while revenge schemes number in the hundreds of billions and are often more intricate and better thought-out than one’s financial and professional future, researchers confirmed that the number of revenge plots actually carried out remains zero.


“One hundred percent of people end up sitting and brooding to themselves,” said University of Kansas sociologist Dr. Edwin Botnik. “They sit and seethe and think about how they have been wronged. And they realize that people, especially that motherfucker Dr. Carl Burke—if you can even fucking call him a doctor—somehow became the lead author on a study even though he knows damn well I did most of the work.”

3rd Orioles Game of the Year

We're on a roll - three games already this year and we won all three of them. Tonight we beat the Nationals 9 to 6. It was Chris Davis t-shirt night and he didn't disappoint - going 4 for 4 with 2 home runs.

2nd Orioles Game of 2013

We went to our second Orioles game of the season tonight. We beat the Yankees 6 - 3 to take the series. It was Tom, my Mom, Natalie, and I. We had those great seats Natalie gets sometimes that are right behind home plate. That's the second time this year and for a Yankees game no less. Great stuff. 

Photos from the Sunpapers by Karl Merton Ferron

Orioles restore order at Camden Yards, taking series from Yankees with 6-3 win

By Dan Connolly The Baltimore Sun

May 23, 2013

Earlier this week, the Orioles were spiraling out of the American League East race, couldn't win at home and were watching helplessly as their staunch bullpen faltered and their starters routinely checked out early.

Suddenly, after winning two straight against the division-leading New York Yankees — including Wednesday night's 6-3 victory — it's May again. There's no need for panic. 

For the moment, it's all Natty Bohs and roses (or Black-Eyed Susans) at Camden Yards.

“I think so,” said Orioles' first baseman Chris Davis when asked if beating the Yankees in the last two games should calm the masses for a bit. “I think the fact that it was against New York, who's at the top of our division and a team we feel we can compete with, I think it was huge. But we try not to get too low or get too high. We try to just stay even keel and go about [our work].”

The Orioles (25-21) closed out an eight-game homestand — which started with a season-worst six straight losses — by winning consecutive contests and, ultimately, the series. It's the first time the Orioles have won a series against the Yankees at Camden Yards since April 2009. 

Orioles manager Buck Showalter, as he does whenever the subject is broached, said his team wasn't caught up in the losing streak, how to get out of it or what it means now that they have.

“There's a difference between being paranoid and being alert, OK?” Showalter said. “And our guys are alert to what's around every corner. Just because something good happens or something bad happens doesn't mean it's going to continue unless you stay on top of your business, and this group will. I've been accused of being paranoid. I like to consider myself alert.”

The Orioles offense was wide awake when Wednesday's game started, bashing the Yankees' ace 1A, Hiroki Kuroda, both literally and figuratively — hitting two homers, scoring five runs and chasing Kuroda in the third because of a bruised right calf. Aninning earlier, he took a Manny Machado liner off the leg.

Kuroda (6-3) brought a 1.99 ERA into Wednesday night and hadn't allowed three earned runs in any of his nine outings this season. He gave up three runs in the first, a solo homer to Nick Markakis (his seventh) and a two-run shot to Davis. It was Davis' 14th homer, taking the American League lead back from the Yankees' Robinson Cano. 

Davis had four hits for the second time this season and is batting .375 since starting May 2-for-18.

After Kuroda left in the third with persistent leg soreness, Matt Wieters launched the second pitch from reliever Preston Claiborne for his seventh homer of the season. The three-run blast gave the Orioles a 6-1 lead, with all six runs coming via home runs. Ten of their 14 runs in the series scored on homers.

The homer trend wasn't the only one that emerged this series After right-hander Jason Hammel's two-run, 6 2/3 inning effort Wednesday, the Orioles have had four consecutive quality starts — at least six innings pitched, three runs or fewer allowed. That's the club's longest streak of the season for quality starts, and it comes after a stretch in which the Orioles' starter failed to go beyond five innings in six of seven games.

“We haven't really been pulling our weight,” Hammel (6-2) said of the rotation. “So once again tonight the guys put up some runs for us and we were able to pitch with a lead, which allows us to be aggressive. That's what they've been doing all year, so it's time for us pitchers to get deeper into games. … We're moving in the right direction.”

Hammel, the club's Opening Day starter who has not been crisp for most of the season, didn't dominate, but he stymied the Yankees offense. He allowed an RBI single to Cano in the third and Curtis Granderson's first homer of the year in the fifth, and that's all. He lowered his ERA to 5.37 with his first quality start since April 25 in Oakland.

“[Hammel] likes to win,” Showalter said. “I like guys who care a lot. Like all of us, we sometimes have to get out of our way a little bit, now and then. I don't think we've yet seen the best of him yet, and that's encouraging.”

As Hammel walked to the dugout after an outing that tied his longest of the season, many of the announced 26,725 rose to their feet for a standing ovation.

Lefty Brian Matusz entered in the seventh and recorded four straight outs. Darren O'Day allowed a solo homer to David Adams, but otherwise preserved the victory. In the club's six straight losses this homestand, the relievers posted a combined 7.94 ERA (20 runs in 22 2/3 innings). In their two wins, the bullpen allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings (1.69 ERA). 

The Orioles now head to Toronto just three games behind the division leading Yankees. And they'll have something else to look forward to: The major league debut of last year's top pick, right-hander Kevin Gausman, who will start against the Blue Jays tonight.

Days ago, the sky seemed to be falling at Camden Yards. 

And now it's just May again, with plenty of baseball remaining.

“When you play 162 games, you're going to have stretches where you don't feel good or you might even feel good but you're still losing ballgames,” Davis said. “I think the biggest thing to remember is to keep your emotions in check and continue to work like we have.”

dan.connolly@baltsun.com

twitter.com/danconnollysun