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Youthful starting rotation starting to lose steam

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Jul 4, 2008 12:00 AM (57 days ago) by Gary Lambrecht, The Examiner
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Related Topics: BALTIMORE

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - The Orioles went 15-12 in the month of June, maintaining a pace that could produce the franchise’s first winning season since 1997.

They did it with an offense that finally carried them for an extended stretch, and got plenty of help from the bullpen that set the tone for this encouraging rebuilding effort in April. And with the exception of Jeremy Guthrie, the Orioles pulled off a winning June by dealing with a trouble spot that could send this team into a second-half tailspin many fans probably are awaiting.

That cracking noise you’re hearing is the sound of a backbone being bent to its limit. That warning sign you’re seeing is a youthful starting rotation that has lost an alarming amount of steam, and threatens to wear out a bullpen that is the heart and soul of this year’s feel-good story.

It’s not simply happenstance that middle relievers Matt Albers and Jamie Walker are on the disabled list, or that closer George Sherrill — the team’s first-half MVP and prime All-Star candidate with 27 saves — began this week by blowing back-to-back save chances in come-from-ahead losses to Washington and Kansas City.

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The starting rotation, the unit that makes or breaks a baseball team, needs to snap out of its funk, something it appeared to start to do Wednesday night following Daniel Cabrera’s complete game win over the Royals. The Orioles‚ starters must follow Cabrera’s lead and get back to going deep into games and holding opponents down early again. The hitters and the bullpen can’t keep combining on come-from-behind wins.

In June, the starters were pretty much horrendous. They led the way to a major-league worst 123 walks issued by the Baltimore staff. The starters ranked dead last in the American League with a 5.99 ERA, had recurring problems getting into the sixth inning and were credited with only eight of the team’s 15 victories.

And that’s with staff ace Guthrie (4-7, 3.50 ERA, team-high 115.2 innings) doing his job almost without fail, even though the offense continues to fail him.

Look at the rest of this mess.

Cabrera (6-4), who pitched brilliantly during the season’s first seven weeks, hadn’t won since May 20 before allowing two runs on seven hits and walking none in the Orioles 5-2 win over the Royals Wednesday. In June, he went 0-3 with a 7.20 ERA over five starts. Brian Burres, tied with Garrett Olson for the team lead with six wins, went 2-1 with a 7.27 ERA last month.

Olson (2-2, 5.81 in June) wasn’t much better. Radhames Liz (2-0, 5.70) was adequate, but averaged fewer than five innings in his five starts.

The Gang of Four each started five games in June. No one reached 30 innings for the month. With so many nights yielding fewer than six innings from the starters, it’s no wonder the bullpen is looking fatigued. Sherrill, for example, already has battled stiffness in his left shoulder, after taking on by far the heaviest workload of his career.

When starters fail with too much regularity, the domino effect inevitably takes shape. The injuries to Albers and Walker forced the Orioles to call up Ryan Bukvich and Fernando Cabrera, both of whom still belong at Triple-A Norfolk. Bukvich has looked overmatched in his few outings up here.

At least Adam Loewen is back from the disabled list, working in the bullpen to build up his arm strength and stamina. Sheer necessity could force him to rejoin the starting rotation sooner than the team would prefer.

Somebody besides Guthrie had better start eating some innings. That was supposed to be the job of veteran Steve Trachsel. But after watching Trachsel struggle to get past the fourth inning, the Orioles had no choice but to release him early last month.

The plight of the starters is hardly a shock. It’s practically a kiddie corps.

Liz just turned 25, and is pitching in the big leagues earlier than expected. Olson needs to sharpen his toughness and focus. He’s only 24. Burress, 27, came into this season with 17 major-league starts. Cabrera, 28, is barely into his second decade of playing baseball. At 29, Guthrie is the grizzled veteran, with one full big-league season behind him.

The stumbling starters could not obscure the fact that Orioles completed the first half of the season with a 41-40 record by giving their fans more hope than they’ve had in a decade. The future still looks bright, especially if more trades bring another bag of prospects in the coming weeks.

But it would be nice of the Orioles not to repeat a staple of their recent past - the late-season nosedive. Unless the starting rotation regains the footing it established in April and May, the swoon is going to happen again.

Gary Lambrecht writes about the NFL, Major League Baseball and college sports. He can be reached at glambrecht@baltimoreexaminer.com

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Comments from Examiner Readers

7:32 AM MST on Thu., Jul. 24, 2008 re: "The thought of replay should be gone in an instant"

 E said:
Wow. Nice examination of the problem. Too bad your arguments contradict themselves. You suggest that MLB "assign two more umps in the outfield, as it does in the postseason, to get a better look at the ball", and yet, that's exactly what they had in Game 1 of the '96 ALCS - and they STILL blew the call! Instant Replay made it apparent to EVERYONE watching that the call was blown. I firmly believe that that call set the tone for the whole series. If that "home run" was called correctly, then the Yankees don't tie the game in the 8th, changing the momentum of the game. The Orioles easily could have held on to that win, and with the ensuing win in Game 2, have taken the series back to Baltimore with a 2-0 lead, having the momentum going their way. While I disagree with IR being used to argue every little call, a major one, like the Jeffrey Maier incident certainly warrants it.

 3 agree | 3 disagree
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6:15 AM MST on Fri., Jun. 27, 2008 re: "Orioles need to find big solution to shortstop problem"

 PIG said:
NO. Brandon Fahey isn'the answer, Alex Cintron is. Have you watched our starting pitching over the last month? They held it down until the bats got "hot" but now they are struggling in a very bad way. Give Cintron some time! He has only had the position for one full week to himself. You guys kill me with this stuff. Cintron's bat is too good to replace it with Brandon Fahey. Sure Cintron has made his mistakes but he will get it straight. When Mora was moved to third, he struggled and now he is a "great" defensive thrid baseman. Our bullpen is still getting the job done but the starters need any power in the lineup that they can get and Brandon Fahey isn't going to give them that. This team is winning on offense and a strong bullpen right now. To have Cintron's bat in the 8th or 9th position of this lineup is too good to take away. And in your entire article you listed "one" error that the man has made. Brandon Fahey is not and never will be the answer. Not even now.

 8 agree | 7 disagree
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4:04 PM MST on Sat., Mar. 15, 2008 re: "Greene has UMBC playing red-hot"

 On the Court said:
The loss is not even recognised. No say so in 24 hours on this game. County down the score board. All for a few egos and all bets are off.

 14 agree | 14 disagree
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10:51 AM MST on Wed., Mar. 5, 2008 re: "Does Terps’ collapse mark beginning to Williams’ end?"

 Sam, College Park said:
Wow, the Terps really did collapse. 73-30? It's impressive when the other team hits a 3 to give them a 43 point win at the last second.

 17 agree | 18 disagree
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1:18 PM MST on Tue., Feb. 26, 2008 re: "Ravens need to draft plan for massive rebuilding project"

 Examiner Reader said:
How is this Gary Lambrecht guy have a job writing about football when he clearly have no idea what he's talking about. To say that Ravens need a complete overhaul through this draft is just ridiculous! About the only thing I agreed w/ in this entire article is that we need to add depth to our secondary. Having said that I think Corey Ivy actually played pretty well playing outside corner rather than his usual nickel position and Chris Mac is still one of the elite corners in the league. I just dont understand how he can say Boller is the biggest bust the Ravens have ever had. Remember Travis Taylor, we spent a 10th pick overall on the guy and he looked like a scared little kid running around trying not to get hit too hard. I think Boller could have a great NFL career if he settles down a little bit and besides if Ozzy thinks we should keep Boller around for another year, I trust Ozzy hell of a lot more than what any writer's saying. In Ozzy We Trust !!!

 49 agree | 37 disagree
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11:24 AM MST on Wed., Feb. 6, 2008 re: "Baltimore Orioles to get better by trading their best player"

 Examiner Reader said:
Like many fans, I have been a supporter of the O's since I was a kid in the early '60's. It has now been 25 years since a World Series appearance,11 years since even being in the playoffs and 10 straight years of sub.500 results. Deal after blotched deal. The price of tickets to watch them loose again and again is,for many families, out of reach. Now we are to believe Angelos is getting over his ego and let McPhail build a winner? I don't think so. I wonder how many fans are interested now, let alone in 3-5 years when they may have a worthwhile product on the field? Good luck,O's-I'll spend my money on some other form of entertainment. A Sad Fan

 73 agree | 68 disagree
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7:53 AM MST on Tue., Feb. 5, 2008 re: "Giants beat Patriots in best Super Bowl ever played"

 Mark said:
I can't stand either team but it was sure nice to see the Patriots lose.

 80 agree | 76 disagree
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6:24 AM MST on Tue., Feb. 5, 2008 re: "Giants beat Patriots in best Super Bowl ever played"

 Examiner Reader said:
Gary, get a grip, then get a real job! This was just another football game and NY pulled one out of their rear end. You guys are too obessed with bringing down the Pats or whoever is on top at the moment. The Patriots are one of the few "teams" in the NFL. Bellicheck is a great coach even if he doesn't kiss the media's fanny when asked. Not too many loud mouth multimillionaires on the Pats like NY, Ravens et al. Get a life!

 88 agree | 59 disagree
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4:26 AM MST on Mon., Feb. 4, 2008 re: "Orioles to get better by trading their best player"

 avid reader said:
In order for the Orioles to really get better they have to trade thier owner. Peter has done nothing but bring the team down and after Cal left that was a total downfall for the franchise. Peter, put your pride down and sell the team to someone who wants to really win.

 85 agree | 56 disagree
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4:05 PM MST on Fri., Feb. 1, 2008 re: "Doing well for themselves"

 Examiner Reader said:
Gary question for you. How Is It a good thing that the Ravens owner Is picking and hiring coaches? If that Is true he should name himself the head coach.Owners who run there teams like that usually have a loser of an organization the Ravens seem to be headed In that direction.I wish them well,but why Is Steve starting to look like Angelos,jr and we all know how good the orioles have been the last 10 years.The Ravens and Orioles both losers It sure look like Its going that way.

 74 agree | 62 disagree
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9:18 AM MST on Fri., Feb. 1, 2008 re: "Doing well for themselves"

 Examiner Reader said:
if troy smith is on the roster on opening day, then this coaching staff is no smarter than the last one. smith showed no signs of being able to perform against a descent NFL team. {now go ahead and say what about Pittsburgh} so where does all of this smith hype come from? the media. not talent.and people eat it up. the ravens should cut all three quarterbacks and go get billy volek who has spent the last 2 or 3 years in camerons system then draft Ryan or brohm, who ever is still on the board. mcnair is done, smith is a never will be, boller will never be given an honest chance. so to move on from all 3 will be the best option.

 70 agree | 67 disagree
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6:11 PM MST on Wed., Jan. 9, 2008 re: "Ryan deserves the keys to the franchise"

 Examiner Reader said:
I'd be quick to judge this comment. We don't need an old, hot-headed defense thinkin' they are great and all if ryan gets hired. Then what happens when the offense still don't score, fire ryan. Not the right choice. Need someone to come in and clean house, start fresh, aka marty ball. then go out and start picking an offense. Let J.O., steve, and ray go to clear out space for the salary cap and free agency.

 112 agree | 117 disagree
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5:03 PM MST on Wed., Jan. 9, 2008 re: "Ryan deserves the keys to the franchise"

 Examiner Reader said:
If Rex is so darn great, then why did his defense rack up more penalties in 2007 than in the prior eight years combined!!! Yeah, I'm exaggerating, but the fact is that a Rex coronation wouold have the effect of reinforcing the super-egos like Ray and Ed as de facto coaches in chief. If that happens, 2008 will be WORSE than 2007.

 108 agree | 111 disagree
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10:56 AM MST on Tue., Jan. 1, 2008 re: "Bisciotti moves in right direction"

 MH said:
well finally, the prince of Severna Park has made a good call, Billick should have been gone after the Super Bowl win. That would have been the best call this team could have made. When Elvis showed up in the building Billick should have left the building. Considering he is an offensive genius he has had some crappy offense.

 94 agree | 121 disagree
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9:27 AM MST on Tue., Jan. 1, 2008 re: "Bisciotti moves in right direction"

 Examiner Reader said:
I have only one word to say about this: SCHOTTENHEIMER !

 119 agree | 106 disagree
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4:45 AM MST on Tue., Jan. 1, 2008 re: "Bisciotti moves in right direction"

 Former Ravens Fan said:
Billick took the fall, but it's Ozzie's player selection and failures to elevate the offensive player quality. As many noted, the Ravens did NOT improve in the off season last year, they declined. We saw the result of this long term decline this year. The Ravens still have no worthy receivers. They have weak O and D lines. At the end they had no starting corners. They don't pass protect (which is why they always seek to run). The team was built around the defense by Ozzie. Ozzie should go also. As mentioned elsewhere, Ozzie took credit for the work of Phil Savage. As Bisciotti, the Head Coach takes the blame. The fault here is much higher. MOST of the blame for this team rests with the players who played when they wanted to, not for their coach.

 128 agree | 88 disagree
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7:45 AM MST on Mon., Dec. 31, 2007 re: "Florida State caps the year of the cheat"

 Examiner Reader said:
Fianlly someone gets it! As a mother of two boys I try to teach the lesson that cheaters never win. Well thanks to the Patriots, that lesson has been thrown out the window! Besides it being a sad year in sports, what message does this send to young athletes? Cheaters do win and they win big. How sad!

 116 agree | 101 disagree
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12:19 PM MST on Wed., Dec. 26, 2007 re: "Johnson finds his fame at Ga. Tech"

 Examiner Reader said:
Thank You for this article

 127 agree | 120 disagree
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3:31 PM MST on Mon., Dec. 24, 2007 re: "Mediocrity, it’s in the numbers"

 Examiner Reader said:
I am trying to have a sort of "Zen" approach. Given that the Ravens have been here 11 years, with all of the playoff appearances they have had, added to the Super Bowl, it is about time we had a bad year. Don't get me wrong, I think Billick has played his last card, and Boller never had a decent hand. I say lose Billick, develop Troy Smith ( who seems to be pretty decent) draft an offensive line and a safety or two and we may have something going on.

 120 agree | 98 disagree
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1:35 PM MST on Mon., Dec. 17, 2007 re: "Smith is the reason to watch"

 Examiner Reader said:
It must be embarrassing being a local sports caster

 142 agree | 98 disagree
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11:16 AM MST on Mon., Dec. 17, 2007 re: "Smith is the reason to watch"

 Examiner Reader said:
Have fun with that suggestion, gentlemen and ladiesthe popular team always wins. Its all about a vision,if they do not think they will win and think like winners, they are loosers. Common Sense, a vision. Should we all sell our season tickets?

 153 agree | 133 disagree
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10:32 AM MST on Mon., Dec. 17, 2007 re: "Smith is the reason to watch"

 Baltimore Bird Fan said:
Second worse...In my eye Rex Grossman to 1000% better then our JV QB Boller. Boller is definitly the worse QB in football (including college & high school). Please explain to me why Troy Smith isn't playing. They don't give out the Heismann for an average player. I understand it takes more that a change in QB to turn around a team. But at this point the Ravens have nothing to lose. Billick, there is another story...In my eyes he's 90% to blame for the failures in the past two-three years. Billick needs to be fired. It's amazing to me that if an employee does not perform up to his/her expectations they are usually fired or put on probation. These bozzo's get rewarded for not living up to there expectations. Also, while we are on the subject of bozzo's lets remove Angelos from baseball forever....

 150 agree | 125 disagree
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9:33 AM MST on Mon., Dec. 17, 2007 re: "Smith is the reason to watch"

 Examiner Reader said:
nobody is saying that troy smith is going to win us a superbowl.. but he is a leap and a jump above kyle boller. boller is terrible. he may very well be the second worse qb in football, ahead of rex grossman.

 157 agree | 147 disagree
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9:31 AM MST on Mon., Dec. 17, 2007 re: "Smith is the reason to watch"

 Examiner Reader said:
dude. thats a stupid comment.

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8:58 AM MST on Mon., Dec. 17, 2007 re: "Smith is the reason to watch"

 Examiner Reader said:
Sell the Ravens like we did the COLTS. Its been a legitimate team taht can win in thepast. Now some players that cant walk and chew gum will force bankruptsy and low attendance. Common sense.

 156 agree | 153 disagree
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7:28 AM MST on Mon., Dec. 17, 2007 re: "Smith is the reason to watch"

 Examiner Reader said:
I think Steve Bisciotti need to have a serious talk to Brian Billick. This season is a loss. It is time to test\develop this team for next year. Troy Smith is one player that need to be tested\developed. McNair is at best a backup next year. Boller is a free agent. In addition, I think Steve Bisciotti needs to force Brian Billick to hire a quality offensive coordinator. Billick has proven himself too conservative to be an effective coordinator a and head coach at the same time

 168 agree | 91 disagree
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4:17 AM MST on Mon., Dec. 17, 2007 re: "Smith is the reason to watch"

 troy smith said:
has looked Ok at best against Indy 3rd stringers and one of worst teams in NFL history. Calm down, he isn't Joe Montana, he's more likely another Stoney Case.

 166 agree | 145 disagree
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7:59 PM MST on Sun., Dec. 16, 2007 re: "Johnson finds his fame at Ga. Tech"

 Yellow Jacket fan said:
Gary, great article about Paul Johnson. We think he is the perfect fit for Georgia Tech, and I'm more sure than ever he can bring an end to the reign of the Georgia Bulldogs. Don't expect him to win them all because of the diffence in the schools, but I definitely think he can win 40 to 50% of the meetings.

 141 agree | 156 disagree
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8:22 PM MST on Fri., Nov. 9, 2007 re: "Time for Ravens to change"

 cletus said:
There is a reason why you write about sports as opposed to actually coaching sports. Think about it

 188 agree | 187 disagree
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8:06 PM MST on Fri., Nov. 9, 2007 re: "Growing young talent paramount"

 Tom O'Connor said:
I'm 52 and I can remeber the Orioles of Brooks Robinson, Mike Cuellar, Frank Robinson and Jim Palmer. I can remember Earl Weaver and his philosophy of give up two runs and give me a three run homer and I'll give you a win and play 666% ball against lousy teams and 500% against good teams and you have a penant.

 198 agree | 180 disagree
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11:30 AM MST on Fri., Nov. 9, 2007 re: "Time for Ravens to make a change"

 Examiner Reader said:
what is wrong with Samari Rolle? Come on coach, full disclosure.

 162 agree | 189 disagree
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11:06 AM MST on Fri., Nov. 9, 2007 re: "Time for Ravens to make a change"

 Examiner Reader said:
The Steelers will make the playoffs but will be kicked to the curb by real teams Pats or Colts. The question now is the future and it's time to fire Billick and retire McNair.

 170 agree | 188 disagree
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2:18 PM MST on Mon., Nov. 5, 2007 re: "Season could be on the line tonight"

 Examiner Reader said:
The steelers are going run over top of the Raven. It will be a slaughter. The Raven should fold up and leave Baltimore. Owe I forgot some are still parole and probation.

 179 agree | 165 disagree
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4:26 PM MST on Tue., Oct. 23, 2007 re: "Loss sets tone for rest of season"

 Examiner Reader said:
McAlister and Heap - OLD MEN? Mathmatically Possible ? Gee I guess so! Could be in first place after next game. " Brian the brain" and " play calling for dummies". So clever! " Billick still is trying to show the world he was right all along about the worst draft pick in team history" ? Gee maybe he should play McNair under any circumstance. If your going to be a name caller you should at least make sense. How about " Sports commentary for dummies" or Gary Lamebrain. Get rid of this guy ! He is trying to out do Preston in the negative , name calling department but his writing is even worse!

 170 agree | 213 disagree
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6:33 AM MST on Tue., Oct. 23, 2007 re: "Sunday’s loss sets tone for rest of season"

 Examiner Reader said:
Call the Mayflower van lines the ravens need a lift...out of town !!!!!

 197 agree | 180 disagree
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8:30 PM MST on Mon., Oct. 15, 2007 re: "Same old story in Baltimore"

 Southernfarmer said:
I love the National Felons League...I mean National Football League.

 186 agree | 194 disagree
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8:00 PM MST on Mon., Oct. 15, 2007 re: "Same old story in Baltimore"

 Examiner Reader said:
pray to god nothing ever happens to matt stover! if he ever gets "turf toe" the ravens might as well call it a year. but than again the name of the game is football.

 214 agree | 194 disagree
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7:42 AM MST on Wed., Sep. 12, 2007 re: "Ravens unimpressive in first game"

 Scott S. said:
The Ravens had no business winning that game, and no business losing that game....all in the same breath!

 210 agree | 215 disagree
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9:21 AM MST on Tue., Sep. 4, 2007 re: "Accepting 21st century version of Oriole Way"

 Examiner Reader said:
I do not know about the rest of the O's fans, but lets face it as long as Angelos owns the team and thinks he knows how to run it each year is just going to be a rebrodcast of the previous one. Also, I stop being interested in the O's once the Ravens training camp opens up. They have an Owner who knows how to sit back and let the right people run the team. However, the O's have an Owner who's ego is the downfall of the team. This is definitely not like the past Owner's of the O's teams from the 60's, 70's and 80's who took pride in putting together a winning and not worry about the almighty dollar. RavensPaul

 220 agree | 200 disagree
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7:39 AM MST on Tue., Sep. 4, 2007 re: "Accepting 21st century version of Oriole Way"

 Examiner Reader said:
Wow an article about being .500 and in third place. Who cares about that it's more important to evaluate the future of the orginization rather that go for .500. We finally have managment thats looking toward the future and your bashing the team. Shame on those who don't know anything about winning.

 204 agree | 219 disagree
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4:22 PM MST on Fri., Aug. 17, 2007 re: "Taking note of rebuilding, doing it the Oriole Way"

 The Oriole way? said:
What was known as the Oriole way of acquiring, cultivating, and retaining young ballplayers left about 10 years ago.

 233 agree | 225 disagree
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12:26 PM MST on Fri., Aug. 17, 2007 re: "Taking note of rebuilding, doing it the Oriole Way"

 Examiner Reader said:
The Orioles are on a pace to score approximately 750-760 runs. That doesn't cut the mustard in the AL East. If they can signifcantly upgrade the offense and add 100 runs then we're looking at an over 500 team. But the likes of Jay Payton, Corey Patterson, and Brandon Fahey will not get the job done.

 314 agree | 231 disagree
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