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***The 2008 Baltimore Sports: Ravens/Orioles MEGA THREAD!!*** - Click HERE to go to the original thread with graphics

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***The 2008 Baltimore Sports: Ravens/Orioles MEGA THREAD!!*** - Click HERE to go to the original thread with graphics mkriss5681 The 2008 Baltimore Sports: Ravens/Orioles MEGA THREAD!! 2008 Orioles Schedule: 2008 Ravens Schedule: mkriss5681 2007 was probably the worst year in a very long time for Baltimore Sports. With the disastrous Orioles season that fell apart after the historic 30-3 loss and the Ravens plagued by injuries. There is no way it can get any worse :D New coach for the Ravens and new President for the Orioles should make this a very interesting year. KingOfAllWhites I fear any team having to do ANYTHING with Baltimore. Hi Robin Quivers :hw: mkriss5681 mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by KingOfAllWhites I fear any team having to do ANYTHING with Baltimore. Hi Robin Quivers :hw: :jj: Welcome to my hell jerrybobphil jerrybobphil mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by jerrybobphil :rock: mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by jerrybobphil I'm looking forward to the Redskins @ Ravens this year. I should be at that game. I love the DC/Baltimore rivalry. I also plan on seeing the O's play at the Nats new stadium also. LAWN JOCKEY mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by LAWN JOCKEY We'll have another ring real soon :btu: LAWN JOCKEY That fucking cocksucker Jeffrey Maier mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by LAWN JOCKEY That fucking cocksucker Jeffrey Maier :( I predict the O's will be in the playoffs again in the next few years. Andy is doing a decent job dumping some of the dead weight on the team and getting young players. That's how we won in 83 with young home grown players. mkriss5681 Eric Bedard trade is a done deal it seems.... http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...0,2233086.story LAWN JOCKEY LAWN JOCKEY LAWN JOCKEY mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by LAWN JOCKEY Fucking old school! Driving past the abandon lot where Memorial Stadium is pretty depressing. Pussah2 mkriss5681 Ravens play 3 of the best teams away next year: Indianapolis, Dallas, N.Y. Giants :uhoh: mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by Pussah2 What a fucking nightmare that was. At least we can't sink any lower this year.... knock on wood LAWN JOCKEY Player 1 not a orioles fan, sorry. cant particpate here mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by LAWN JOCKEY :rofl: My GF used to be a reporter for the Aegis which is the Harford County Locap Paper. She was covering an event at Ripkin statium and she said she met Billy and he was completely drunk and was hitting on her. To this day she hates that man. mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by Player 1 not a orioles fan, sorry. cant particpate here Come back in the the late summer/early fall :D LAWN JOCKEY Quote: Originally posted by mkriss5681 :rofl: My GF used to be a reporter for the Aegis which is the Harford County Locap Paper. She was covering an event at Ripkin statium and she said she met Billy and he was completely drunk and was hitting on her. To this day she hates that man. I live in Harford County and get the Aegis. The Ripken Stadium is first class mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by LAWN JOCKEY I live in Harford County and get the Aegis. The Ripken Stadium is first class I love that place. Awesome concessions. You can get a hot dog and a 32oz beer for less than 10 bucks. Player 1 Quote: Originally posted by mkriss5681 Come back in the the late summer/early fall :D it'll still say orioles there mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by Player 1 it'll still say orioles there Don't worry we'll be so ashamed we won't even talk about the O's by then :D jerrybobphil mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by jerrybobphil mkriss5681 O's trade Bedard to Mariners http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...0,7533190.story It's official: Ace dealt to Seattle for OF Jones, reliever Sherrill, three prospects By Jeff Zrebiec | Sun reporter 3:13 PM EST, February 8, 2008 Erik Bedard, the Orioles' first true ace since Mike Mussina, was traded today to the Seattle Mariners for five players, including promising young outfielder Adam Jones. The Orioles also will receive left-handed reliever George Sherrill and three pitching prospects -- Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolio and Tony Butler. The move caps months of trade dialogue surrounding the 28-year-old Bedard, the left-hander who attracted inquiries from more than 10 teams after a season in which he went 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA and set a single-season franchise record with 221 strikeouts. The Orioles and Mariners had agreed to the general framework of the deal Jan. 27, but it stalled when Jones told a Venezuelan reporter that he was leaving his winter league team and headed to Baltimore to take a physical. Jones maintained that he was the centerpiece of the Mariners' deal for Bedard. Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail denied that a deal was done, only to complete it more than a week later. All along, the Orioles said they were more than willing to trade Bedard but that they would need a hefty return. They recognized several teams capable of providing that, and the Mariners were near the top of the list if they were willing to part with Jones. The 22-year-old outfielder, who was drafted in the first round in 2003 and was the Mariners' Minor League Player of the Year a season later, is considered one of baseball's top prospects and has drawn comparisons to Los Angeles Angels center fielder Torii Hunter. Jones made his major league debut in 2006 as a 20-year-old, appearing in 32 games for the Mariners and hitting .216 with one home run and eight RBIs. Last season, he hit .314 with 25 home runs, 84 RBIs and eight steals in 101 games for Triple-A Tacoma before earning a promotion to the big leagues. With the Mariners last season, he hit .246 with two home runs and four RBIs in 41 games. Jones was expected to start in a corner outfield spot for the Mariners this season, but the player, who started his professional career as a shortstop, will likely be the Orioles' Opening Day center fielder. Sherrill, a 30-year-old, left-hander, has spent parts of the past four seasons with the Mariners, with his best season coming last year when he went 2-0 with a 2.36 ERA in 73 appearances. With Chris Ray and Danys Baez likely out for the 2008 season after both had Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery, Sherrill might be asked to serve as the Orioles' closer. A second-round selection in the 2006 draft, Tillman, a 6-foot-5 right hander, is 10-14 with a 4.93 ERA in 38 appearances (33 starts) in two minor league seasons. He was the Mariners' Minor League Pitcher of the Year last season. The trade was easily the biggest decision MacPhail has had to make since taking charge of the Orioles' front office. He has maintained all along that his plan to return the Orioles to respectability will be based on pitching and defense. Thus, trading one of the most dominant pitchers in the major leagues last year tested that theory. However, MacPhail, who jump-started a rebuilding project in December by trading shortstop Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros for five players, knew that Bedard was his most significant trade chip and moving him was the quickest way to add young talent to an organization badly in need of it. Team officials also believe it was extremely doubtful the pitcher, who was eligible for free agency after the 2009 season, would sign a contract extension with the club. MacPhail and Mark Pieper, Bedard's agent, had several discussions about the parameters of a contract extension, but they never came remotely close to a deal. The Orioles never made Bedard an offer after they learned that his preference was to take it on a year-by-year basis. In a recent interview with The Sun, Bedard was critical of the organization for not making a greater attempt to sign him to a long-term extension. But he also acknowledged that he wasn't interested in pitching for a rebuilding team. Bedard, the Orioles' sixth-round selection in the 1999 draft, had an up-and-down tenure with the club, struggling early in his career with injuries and inconsistency. But the stoic left-hander, whose repertoire includes a mid-90s fastball, a knee-buckling curveball and a solid changeup, started to show flashes of brilliance during the 2005 season. He went 5-1 with a 2.08 ERA in his first nine starts before a sprained knee ligament sent him to the disabled list. He returned to the rotation eight weeks later, but he was never the same that season. He had a solid campaign in 2006, finishing ninth in the AL with a 3.76 ERA, and leading Orioles pitchers in wins (15), innings pitched (196 1/3), starts (33) and strikeouts (171). However, Bedard found a completely different level in 2007, when he became one of the front-runners for the Cy Young Award before an oblique injury forced him to miss the last month of the season and likely cost him the league strikeout crown. During one stretch covering more than two months, Bedard was undefeated in 13 starts. That span included the first complete game and shutout of his career on July 7 against the Texas Rangers. In that game, he tied an Orioles' record with 15 strikeouts, allowed only two hits and faced the minimum 27 batters. His trade leaves the Orioles without a proven No. 1 starter and makes second-year pitcher Jeremy Guthrie the front-runner to get the ball on Opening Day against the Tampa Bay Rays. jeff.zrebiec@baltsun.com otto02 Stupid trade by those O's. mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by otto02 Stupid trade by those O's. A lot of people say that but the fact of the matter is the 2007 Orioles fucking sucked. They need to purge all the veterans in order to rebuild as a young team. mkriss5681 KEITH LAW from ESPN thought the Orioles made better in the trade... http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blo... me%3dlaw_keith Quote: M's give too much for Bedard posted: Friday, February 8, 2008 In acquiring Erik Bedard, the Mariners get one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball, but was it worth the cost? Bedard posted one of the greatest strikeout seasons ever in 2007, fanning over 30 percent of the batters he faced, the seventh-best mark in American League history. His out pitch is an 11-to-5 curveball that is poison to both left- and right-handed hitters, and he sets it up well with good command of his 91-94 mph four-seamer and a cutter he's been using more often of late to keep hitters from sitting on the fastball. His control has been steadily improving as he gets older and further away from 2002 Tommy John surgery. The main issue with Bedard to date has been health; he missed all of 2003 after getting the zipper on his elbow, his 2007 season ended early due to an oblique strain, and he has never thrown 200 innings in a single season. He was both effective and strong until mid-August last year, when the oblique strain really affected his performance, so there's some reason to expect him to cross the 200-inning chasm this year. mkriss5681 Billick appears on HBO http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/blog/ In his first interview since being fired as coach of the Ravens, Brian Billick talked about his future on "Inside the NFL" on HBO. "Right now, I'm just going to go back skiing when I'm done here. I know that's very short-term," Billick said. "It is a transition for me. I'm kind of excited about the future for what it holds. But right now, we'll just see what comes our way. "I love this game. I'm not going to get too far away from it in any capacity that I have. It's in my blood. Once it's in your blood, it's hard to get away from." So, does that mean Billick plans to coach again? "Yeah, it's one of those things, right circumstance, right situation," he said. "We're all lying because when one is offered, you usually take it. But I'm old enough that I can be a little more discerning." Player 1 are they going to franchise tag suggs? whats the deal? mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by Player 1 are they going to franchise tag suggs? whats the deal? Suggs while an extremely talented player had some serious problems with penalties. We'll see if the new coach thinks he can keep him under control. baltimore mike i hate that all of our sports suck right now!!! nedmark61 aka the shittiest teams in the shittiest city in america....... mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by nedmark61 aka the shittiest teams in the shittiest city in america....... I knew you show up sooner or later :hw: Derek Anderson looked like shit yesterday at the probowl. A sign of things to come :D mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by baltimore mike i hate that all of our sports suck right now!!! Even the Baltimore Blast? mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by Player 1 are they going to franchise tag suggs? whats the deal? Full Article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...0,6066115.story Ravens won't let Suggs test market Newsome says team will franchise LB if they can't reach long-term deal By Jamison Hensley | Sun reporter 2:53 PM EST, February 11, 2008 The Ravens aren't going to let linebacker Terrell Suggs hit the open market when free agency begins at the end of the month. By using the tag on Suggs, the Ravens will give him a one-year contract worth $8.065 million, the average of the five highest-paid linebackers in the NFL. If another team makes an offer to Suggs, the Ravens can either match it or receive two first-round picks as compensation (which is unlikely to happen). The deadline to assign the franchise tag is Feb. 21. Suggs' agent, Gary Wichard, did not immediately return phone calls. "We will be using the franchise tag on Terrell if we don't have a long-term deal in place between now and then," general manager Ozzie Newsome said today. Despite having a career-low five sacks last season, Suggs would be one of the most sought-after free agents this year. mozman Quote: Originally posted by LAWN JOCKEY sweet, sweet memories. I remember watching that game wasted at a downtown bar. the place went nuts. nyy910 Quote: Originally posted by LAWN JOCKEY I live in Harford County and get the Aegis. The Ripken Stadium is first class Not an O's fan... but Ripken Stadium is first class.. not too far from me... The Ironbirds run a first class organization and always have enjoyed going there... mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by nyy910 Not an O's fan... but Ripken Stadium is first class.. not too far from me... The Ironbirds run a first class organization and always have enjoyed going there... Cal Ripkin has always said he would be able to come up with the investors if Angelos ever wanted to sell the Orioles. With Ripkins minor league ties that would be a great combo. It's a shame we'll have to live with a few more years of this asshole owner. mkriss5681 Good Article about the 88 to 89 season compared with last season with this season http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...,3229890.column Remember '88 At low point, O's rebuilt and became a contender Peter Schmuck February 12, 2008 The Orioles can celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1983 World Series championship team if they want to, but it might make more sense - all things considered - to lift your glass to a less-heralded O's team and its much-less-heralded 20th anniversary this year. I know what you're thinking. What kind of negative nincompoop would bring up the team that lost a record 21 games in a row at the start of the 1988 season and went on to post the worst record (54-107) in club history? And it would be a fair question if I were just trying to remind you of a time when the Orioles were even more hapless than they are now. But there's a reason that team comes to mind as the rebuilding Orioles prepare to open spring training this week in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and it's not to advance some snarky anti-club agenda. (Though you should continue to be on guard for that in the future.) Believe it or not, there are interesting parallels between what's going on now and what happened when the Orioles went from national laughingstock in 1988 to baseball's feel-good story of 1989, though no one is likely to make a case for this year's team fighting for the AL East title down to the final weekend of the season. The 1988 team was flat-out awful, even though it featured Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray and a number of other veteran stars, which put general manager Roland Hemond in an uncomfortable position when owner Edward Bennett Williams asked him for a scouting report during spring training. "We were sitting in the dugout in Miami," Hemond said by phone yesterday. "Mr. Williams said to me, 'What do you think of the club?' I told him, 'I'm sad to tell you, this is the slowest club I've ever seen.' Then we proceeded to lose 21 straight." Soon thereafter, Hemond began to do the same thing Andy MacPhail is doing now. He traded popular veteran pitcher Mike Boddicker for Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling, two of the top prospects in the Boston Red Sox's organization. He dealt Fred Lynn to the Detroit Tigers for catcher Chris Hoiles. He sent future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray to the Los Angeles Dodgers for three young players. And, during the spring training of 1989, he acquired outfielder Mike Devereaux from the Dodgers for pitcher Mike Morgan. When the smoke cleared, the Orioles were a speedier team with a great defensive outfield that included Anderson, Devereaux, homegrown Steve Finley and veterans Phil Bradley and Joe Orsulak. MacPhail has to hope he's creating something similar by putting newcomers Adam Jones and Luke Scott next to homegrown right fielder Nick Markakis. "What Andy is doing to inject the roster of the club with a lot of youth, I commend him for that," said Hemond, who now works as a special assistant to Arizona Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall. "In the position he was confronted with, that is the route to go. It's kind of like '88 and '89, when we had an injection of youthful enthusiasm." Of course, the fan reaction back then was different from what it might be now. When the Orioles came home after scoring their first victory of 1988, they were greeted by an upbeat sellout crowd. "We ... came home 1-23 and there were 50,402 fans at Memorial Stadium," Hemond said. "I remember saying at the time it was the greatest expression of fan support in the history of sport." It was May 2, 1988, better known as "Fantastic Fans Night," and it was historic for another reason. It also was the night William Donald Schaefer announced that the Orioles and the state of Maryland had reached an agreement to build Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Fans were willing to forgive a lot back then. That season was just five years removed from the 1983 World Series, and the town didn't have an NFL team to turn to in August. "I think they were forgiving because we were so bad," said former Orioles public relations director Rick Vaughn, who now is vice president of communications for the Tampa Bay Rays. "We weren't just bad. We were as bad as you could get. The nation had been poking fun at us for a month. I think everybody just rallied behind us. It was like they were saying, 'Yeah, we're not very good, but it's us. It's our team.' " Two decades and a lot of losing later, the Orioles cannot expect that level of indulgence. They are far more likely to be in last place on the final weekend of the upcoming season than fighting for the division title. Even if history does end up repeating itself, it probably won't do so right away. Happy anniversary, nonetheless. peter.schmuck@baltsun.com LAWN JOCKEY Quote: Originally posted by mozman sweet, sweet memories. I remember watching that game wasted at a downtown bar. the place went nuts. http://youtube.com/watch?v=hLXTteYZptA My wife and I were in Oakland. We were pelted with peanuts while Sharpe was scoring. mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by LAWN JOCKEY http://youtube.com/watch?v=hLXTteYZptA My wife and I were in Oakland. We were pelted with peanuts while Sharpe was scoring. Still love Shannon Sharpe :btu: mkriss5681 http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008...t-bet-in-vegas/ The Ravens Are the Hottest Bet in Vegas Josh AlperPosted Feb 9th 2008 11:20AM by Josh Alper If you bet $100 on the New York Giants winning the Super Bowl this time last year, you made $3000 when Bill Belichick scampered off the field before the final whistle. Not a bad return on your investment but it would be peanuts compared to what some Ravens supporters stand to make if Baltimore can win Super Bowl XLIII. When the first set of futures odds came out, the Ravens were anywhere from 100 to 125-to-1 shots to lift the Lombardi Trophy next February. That put them in the company of the 1-15 Miami Dolphins, the directionless Atlanta Falcons and other teams that aren't spending their Super Bowl bonuses just yet. Something strange is happening in Vegas, however, reports Bill Ordine of the Baltimore Sun. The Ravens opened at 100-1 and yesterday, they were down to 50-1. One sports book executive said the Ravens were the most-wagered-on team so far in the Super Bowl futures. What's causing this run on the Ravens? They did hire John Harbaugh since the first odds were set, maybe his brother Jim got some Stanford eggheads to come up with a favorable statistical profile on their chances. Of course, it could also be a bunch of drunken Baltimoreans who won big at craps. Whatever's behind the bullishness, if the Ravens pull off the unlikely in 12 months, Vegas could take another $2.6 million bath like they did last Sunday. mozman nice find. NotRalph Although I live in Tennessee now, Baltimore is still pretty much home to me. I'm still an Orioles fan but SCREW the Ravens. I'm all Titans, baby. My Baltimore sports memories: --The Colts: I mostly grew up in the Bert Jones era. I barely remember Johnny U. playing although I once went to his Golden Arm restaurant. I did see him and his son having lunch at Michael's in Timonium just a few months before he died. I went to a ton of Colts games including the final one in 1983 (although we didn't know it then). Oddly enough, it was a win against the Houston Oilers--now the Tennessee Titans. The Orioles: I miss Memorial Stadium. I attended the final three games against the Tigers in 1991. I lived in Federal Hill at the time and from my rooftop watched Camden Yards being built. I got to go to the first game ever at CY (against the Mets) and then Opening Day the following day when Rick Sutcliffe shutout Cleveland. I missed the game when Cal broke the streak. I had moved down here by then. Titans are coming to Baltimore this season. I'm there. nyy910 Quote: Originally posted by mkriss5681 Cal Ripkin has always said he would be able to come up with the investors if Angelos ever wanted to sell the Orioles. With Ripkins minor league ties that would be a great combo. It's a shame we'll have to live with a few more years of this asshole owner. Yes, Cal would be a great owner of the Orioles. From my perspective though, the O's have some good young players that if given time to develop, could become very good. Let us not forget that several players on the Orioles were Ironbirds only 2 or 3 years ago, and that the NY Penn League is a league that is far below the majors. nyy910 A thought here... how can you do a thread that talks about Baltimore sports and not remember the late great Wild Bill Hagy? NotRalph SECTION 34! R. I. P. Wild Bill :tears: mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by NotRalph Although I live in Tennessee now, Baltimore is still pretty much home to me. I'm still an Orioles fan but SCREW the Ravens. I'm all Titans, baby. My Baltimore sports memories: --The Colts: I mostly grew up in the Bert Jones era. I barely remember Johnny U. playing although I once went to his Golden Arm restaurant. I did see him and his son having lunch at Michael's in Timonium just a few months before he died. I went to a ton of Colts games including the final one in 1983 (although we didn't know it then). Oddly enough, it was a win against the Houston Oilers--now the Tennessee Titans. The Orioles: I miss Memorial Stadium. I attended the final three games against the Tigers in 1991. I lived in Federal Hill at the time and from my rooftop watched Camden Yards being built. I got to go to the first game ever at CY (against the Mets) and then Opening Day the following day when Rick Sutcliffe shutout Cleveland. I missed the game when Cal broke the streak. I had moved down here by then. Titans are coming to Baltimore this season. I'm there. I always liked the Titians especially that Superbowl team. I was very happy when we got Mason and McNair. mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by NotRalph SECTION 34! R. I. P. Wild Bill :tears: :usa: mkriss5681 http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/rumors/...urn=mlb%2C66761 Orioles eyeing former White Sox Cintron Thursday, Feb 14, 2008 8:22 am EST Alex Cintron Getty Images Looking for greater competition at shortstop, the Baltimore Orioles are in discussions with free agent Alex Cintron, who played the past two seasons with the Chicago White Sox the Baltimore Sun reported. Cintron, a 29-year-old switch-hitter, has a .277 career batting average over parts of seven major league seasons. He played in 68 games for the White Sox last season, hitting .243 with two home runs and 19 RBIs. The Orioles, who traded Miguel Tejada this offseason, haven't settled on a starter at the position, with their three candidates — Luis Hernandez, Brandon Fahey and Freddie Bynum. NotRalph Quote: Originally posted by mkriss5681 I always liked the Titians especially that Superbowl team. I was very happy when we got Mason and McNair. ....and Samari Rolle....and had Jeff Fisher not resigned with Tennessee, you KNOW Baltimore would've made a deal to get him to replace Billick. jerrybobphil Didn't see this in the paper this morning but on 1570am I heard that Todd Heap reworked his deal to help create more cap room. Somewhere between 1.5 to 2 mil.. mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by jerrybobphil Didn't see this in the paper this morning but on 1570am I heard that Todd Heap reworked his deal to help create more cap room. Somewhere between 1.5 to 2 mil.. I heard that too. Creekdog Someone once said Baltimore was a horseshit town :dontknow: JTB Watch out AFC north the Ravens will be back this year mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by Creekdog Someone once said Baltimore was a horseshit town :dontknow: There have been worse things said. :D mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by JTB Watch out AFC north the Ravens will be back this year :party: GungaDin666 horse shit teams from a horse shit town mkriss5681 A good article about the rebuilding of the O's and the past 10 less than spectacular years http://wnst.net/Home/tabid/36/EntryID/4733/Default.aspx Thyrl Nelson Maybe things have finally come full circle for Peter Angelos and the Orioles. 2008 has been a full circle year in sports. When Brian Billick was hired as the Ravens coach, replacing Jim Harbaugh with Scott Mitchell was one of his first orders of business. Now Billick finds himself being replaced by Harbaugh’s brother John, full circle. The Patriots dynasty run began with the famous “tuck rule”, and ended after being dominated by Justin Tuck, again full circle. If you had to mark the beginning of the downfall of the Orioles under Peter Angelos, I say it began when we were unable to complete the trade to bring Al Leiter to Baltimore for Esteban Yan when Yan was selected by the D-Rays in the expansion draft. By bringing Yan back this season, perhaps the Orioles have brought their karma back full circle and are poised to begin a new era. It sure feels like a new era, the roster is full of young prospects and we have a capable front office that has been seemingly left alone to do their business. Andy MacPhail has handled his business brilliantly thus far, and I simply can’t remember the last time that I’ve seen or heard from Peter Angelos. This is what I seem to remember us asking for back in 1998 and 1999, and ten years later we seem to have finally gotten our wish. A funny thing happened along the way to rebuilding this team the first time around. Actually a lot of funny things happened; funny that is unless you were an O’s fan. There was the Yan thing, the dismissals of Jon Miller and Davey Johnson, there were tons of bad free agent signings, questionable trades, mistreatment of the fans, indeed it would have been difficult to do more to damage the reputation and viability of the team if they had set out to purposefully do so. But what if they had purposefully set out to do so? As a 35-year old fan, there have been 6 memorable seasons in my lifetime in Oriole baseball. They were ’79, ’82, ’83, ’89, ’96 and ’97. At six, my memories of 1979 are vague, the double header against Milwaukee on Friday night in 1982 remains my favorite Oriole memory to this day, but aside from the championship in ’83, the others all ended in bitter disappointment. When Angelos bought the club and began spending money, it marked the only point in my lifetime to be optimistic about the future of my team. Angelos hired the best GM in baseball and opened up the checkbook for him, the O’s failure to win during Angelos’ early tenure was not because of his lack of trying. Squashing the Bonilla trade will be the point that some see as the beginning of the end, but to this day I contend that was the right move. Early on it was clear that Angelos would be a meddler, but few professional sports owners would not be seen as such. Angelos meddling was clearly for what he thought to be the good of the team. Refusing to field a strike team should have endeared him to free agents. The stance that Angelos took in siding with Robby Alomar and others over Davey Johnson isn’t dissimilar to the way that Steve Bisciotti handled the Ravens coaching situation this off-season. No one would deny that Angelos was more involved in the running of the club than we would have liked, but he was by all accounts a player’s owner, and one who was operating with the highest payroll in baseball too. Yeah, a funny thing sure happened on the way to rebuilding that team. It’s funny how winning the World Series in 1996 would make the world forgive the biggest meddling baseball owner, George Steinbrenner. It’s funny that they overlook the fact that the core of the team that has sustained the Yankees since that season was built in Steinbrenner’s absence due to suspension. While I will admit that David Wells is a noted historian of the game and a huge Babe Ruth fan, I’ll also point out that the Yankees hadn’t sniffed success for the previous 15 seasons. But fresh off of a world championship, the pinstripes began to beckon Wells, and the piling on began. The Yankees and Red Sox blew past the salary ceiling that the O’s had established, and Baltimore’s efforts at rebuilding were failing miserably. Furthermore, never fully able to commit to rebuilding, the O’s continued to try and fill gaps with high priced free agents, and wasted tons of money on contracts for players like Belle, David Segui and Marty Cordova. All of the work that Angelos had done to position himself as a player’s owner was for naught when free agents consistently spurned the O’s for teams with a better chance to compete. Forget about the fact that the Ravens came into town and received a sweetheart relocation package, and a nice bailout loan to boot. They also got naming rights to their publicly funded stadium, while Angelos was denied the same luxury even though he, unlike the Ravens was being forced to compete in an unbalanced salary structure, with the two biggest spenders in the league parked in his division. Is the name Oriole Park at Camden Yards really all that sacred in an era when we’ve seen nearly every historical ballpark in sports renamed after a corporate sponsor? If you placed yourself in Angelos’ shoes at that point, you’d probably be starting to feel slighted. But what would happen next would have left anyone in a precarious situation. Sometime around 2001, the powers that be at MLB decided to roll out the idea of contraction. Contraction was a rouse at best, a threat to leverage against the player’s union in their latest contract negotiations. But few could deny that baseball had some franchises with issues, most notably the Expos, and that big changes were coming. The move of the Expos seemed eminent for 5 years or more before it actually happened, further evidence of the inability of MLB to get out of their own way. Angelos certainly had few friends among the owners, and try as they might, baseball just couldn’t find a city to take the Expos. Pretty early on it became obvious that the Expos would likely land in DC, making it even more unlikely that the O’s would be able to compete with their high priced division foes. Here is where the conspiracy begins. State level politicians seemed more interested in getting a piece of the revenue pie from the new team than in preventing their arrival. And the O’s TV flagship, Comcast Sports Net was looking at big money from a new team too. So without an ally in his fight to keep the team out of DC, and while being subtly trashed nightly on his own flagship, Angelos went about doing the dirty work himself. For the next several years, Angelos desperately did everything that he could to chase the fans away from the ballpark, and that was no easy task. Surely baseball wouldn’t consider us cash strapped while we were selling out the ballpark every night. Losing wouldn’t have been enough to chase the fans out as quickly as he needed. I believe that the club set out to alienate the fan base at every level. As a season ticket holder the change in marketing strategies became obvious. The O's went from putting something in my mailbox nearly every week, to sending little more than an annual bill. The ballpark experience went down too, prices continued to climb, anniversary teams were ignored and the front office was peppered with bad press on and off the field. This is all much too coincidental to be an accident. I refuse to believe that they simply became this bad at marketing seemingly overnight. I began to doubt this theory when the last 2 seasons went much like the previous 8, even though the Expos had already landed in DC, but there still were loose ends to be tied up. First was settling the TV dispute with Comcast, I still find it hilarious that Comcast was leading the charge to bash Angelos and bring a team to DC as they seemed to stand to benefit most. If Angelos was trying to chase the fans away, Comcast sure helped him do it, and they not only got cut out of the Expos deal, but lost the O’s too. The second order of business was convincing a respected and capable front office guy that he could come here and begin to run it like a Major League Baseball team again. The last will be putting a foundation in place that makes Baltimore an attractive destination for free agents again, that one may take some time. Okay, it’s a stretch, I’ll admit, but spring is in the air, and I want to be excited about baseball again. The O’s seem to be moving in the right direction, and finally have a team that I can be excited about again. Although he failed to keep the Expos from moving here, he did get a great TV deal out of it, among other personal perks. Without such a network we likely would never be able to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox who each have their own regional networks. Getting a little money from the DC team should help narrow the revenue gap a bit. If Angelos really does take a step back now, and MacPhail is up to the task of making this a viable franchise again, I will be willing to forgive the last 10 years. I might even be able to see the logic in it, and one day come to thank Angelos for taking the unpopular yet necessary (as he saw them) steps to make this a viable club for years to come. And if things continue the way that they have been for the last ten seasons, I’ll delete this, deny I ever said it and join right in with the rest of the Angelos bashers. All I really want is a team that I can cheer for again. Peace, T (thyrl@wnst.net) JTB Wouldn't it be great if Angelos would finally sell the team and Cal got the financial supportes he says he can get to buy the taem mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by JTB Wouldn't it be great if Angelos would finally sell the team and Cal got the financial supportes he says he can get to buy the taem :pray: That be my dream but at least he is starting to take a hands off approach. The guy is into his 80's now and if his son doesn't take over there is a good chance he'll sell in the next few years. LAWN JOCKEY I look forward to booing this piece of shit on Opening Day Trevell Quote: Originally posted by mkriss5681 A good article about the rebuilding of the O's and the past 10 less than spectacular years http://wnst.net/Home/tabid/36/EntryID/4733/Default.aspx Thyrl Nelson Here is where the conspiracy begins. State level politicians seemed more interested in getting a piece of the revenue pie from the new team than in preventing their arrival. And the O’s TV flagship, Comcast Sports Net was looking at big money from a new team too. So without an ally in his fight to keep the team out of DC, and while being subtly trashed nightly on his own flagship, Angelos went about doing the dirty work himself. For the next several years, Angelos desperately did everything that he could to chase the fans away from the ballpark, and that was no easy task. Surely baseball wouldn’t consider us cash strapped while we were selling out the ballpark every night. Losing wouldn’t have been enough to chase the fans out as quickly as he needed. I believe that the club set out to alienate the fan base at every level. As a season ticket holder the change in marketing strategies became obvious. The O's went from putting something in my mailbox nearly every week, to sending little more than an annual bill. The ballpark experience went down too, prices continued to climb, anniversary teams were ignored and the front office was peppered with bad press on and off the field. This is all much too coincidental to be an accident. I refuse to believe that they simply became this bad at marketing seemingly overnight. Very interesting theory. Stevie4Stern :jj: :funny: mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by LAWN JOCKEY I look forward to booing this piece of shit on Opening Day I'm usually there opening day. It's going to be really rough for that guy. mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by Trevell Very interesting theory. I totally buy the fact that Peter Angelos is pure evil. He is the Lex Luther of Baltimore. mkriss5681 http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...0,4416432.story Ravens clear cap space, aim to keep free agents Suggs, Brown, Green, Katula are target players By Jamison Hensley | Sun reporter February 22, 2008 The Ravens have restructured the contract of offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden, which is expected to give the team enough salary cap room to keep the franchise tag on linebacker Terrell Suggs and re-sign their restricted free agents. Ogden's salary has been reduced from $7.5 million to $2.5 million, which creates $5 million in cap space, according to players union records. It's likely the $5 million has been converted into bonuses Ogden would receive if he attends offseason camps and training camp. But the Ravens might not have to pay those bonuses because Ogden said last month that he is still leaning toward retiring. The Ravens, who earlier restructured the contract of tight end Todd Heap, would have about $11.3 million in salary cap space before making any moves. Nearly all of that cap room will be devoted to keeping Suggs ($8 million) and three restricted free agents: guard Jason Brown (a second-round tender of $1.47 million, which would compensate the Ravens with a second-round pick if another team signs him), backup fullback Justin Green ($927,000) and long snapper Matt Katula ($927,000). EMFBoss Quote: Originally posted by LAWN JOCKEY I look forward to booing this piece of shit on Opening Day Huff is the man...dont hate him because he was speaking the truth... :D mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by EMFBoss Huff is the man...dont hate him because he was speaking the truth... :D Here is the last i'll comment on the Bubba incident here... He was a great guest on Bubba but he's kinda a shitty player on and off the field. It's a fact Baltimore wanted to dump him but no one would buy his contract. His numbers are just not good enough to put up the risk of him making another remark like that some where else for another team to take a chance on him. Huff has since apologized several times so I got no beef with him. I just hope that he steps it up this year. From what I've read he was one of the first people to report to spring training and has been working out a lot. Maybe he just needed a kick in the ass to straighten up. It's a good sign for me that he is at least trying. All will be forgiven if he helps up win games. And in Baltimore fans defense Huff and Bubba kinda bullshitted everyone when they said he was talking about the night life. I was listening to the entire show he said... “It is [respected] because it’s an older organization. It’s got some pride, but what a horseshit city,” He was referring to the fans and the organization or at least that's how it sounded to me and in his defense the fan base has been very lacking in the past few years. You can't be mad at the hardcore fans who have put up with 10 shitty years to have a subpar player shit on the team. Huff was a great guest on Bubba because he was completely out of the mold and candid but as a team player he fucked up but like I said it's all water under the bridge here (at least for me) especially if he plays well next year. If he has another shitty season it's not going to be fun for him and it won't be anyones fault but his own:D EMFBoss Is huff still that big of a story locally right now because of his appearance on the show?? mkriss5681 One a semi-related topic MSNBC just rated Baltimore the most underrated city in the the US... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18024681/ :D mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by EMFBoss Is huff still that big of a story locally right now, because of his appearance on the show?? Nah. It's mostly positive about him. the sports pages are more interested in the recent trades. Here is a recent good article about him... http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...0,7878368.story They say a lot of nice things about his improved attitude but of course they still mention the Bubba thing at the end :jj: EMFBoss Quote: Originally posted by mkriss5681 Nah. It's mostly positive about him. the sports pages are more interested in the recent trades. Here is a recent good article about him... http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...0,7878368.story They say a lot of nice things about his improved attitude but of course they still mention the Bubba thing at the end :jj: Damn...they couldnt even give Bubba a plug..lol He actually had to pay a fine...wtf they call it..conduct detrimental to the team? lmao..do you know how much it was for? Badhandhaney Here is what I think about the Orioles... Cal Ripken Jr. is STILL the big draw at Camden Yards, and hes been retired for quite a while. The stadium is absolutely beautiful and managed VERY well, the area around the stadium is awesome as well. I love the baseball museums and all the statues. The whole area is a great tribute to baseball. And the water is gorgeous. Unfortunately the rest of Baltimore is NOT too nice... but neither is the Bronx... I just don't understand why ownership thinks it is okay to lose year after year. They must be making a TON of money still selling those Ripken jerseys. They could have so much more attendance and get more money for tickets if they spent more on players... Roberts is a great player, but they should just trade him and get way younger. I mean they moved Tejada and Bedard for good prospects. Why not just trade ALL the names at once, it is a better way to do it. Leaving one or two guys is just sad. Get all kids if you are truly rebuiding, and maybe sign a few low risk veterans REALLY cheap, and cut them if they dont work out. Nats are doing it with Brett Boone. I'm not really sure Orioles ownership does the right thing, but it is a nice park, and fans REALLY care. They deserve to see some wins. mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by EMFBoss Damn...they couldnt even give Bubba a plug..lol He actually had to pay a fine...wtf they call it..conduct detrimental to the team? lmao..do you know how much it was for? No clue how much but I'm sure it wasn't a lot. I'd guess like 10k. Huff has gone on local radio shows and apologized. That's all I really needed, but I thought it was pretty funny to begin with. mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by Badhandhaney Here is what I think about the Orioles... Cal Ripken Jr. is STILL the big draw at Camden Yards, and hes been retired for quite a while. The stadium is absolutely beautiful and managed VERY well, the area around the stadium is awesome as well. I love the baseball museums and all the statues. The whole area is a great tribute to baseball. And the water is gorgeous. Unfortunately the rest of Baltimore is NOT too nice... but neither is the Bronx... There is a good article I posted above on some of the motivations on why the team didn't really improve the past few years. Angelos wanted to make it seem like the team was struggling to help him get a chunk of the Nat's TV deal. He was more concerned with that the past few years than running a good team. Quote: Originally posted by Badhandhaney I just don't understand why ownership thinks it is okay to lose year after year. They must be making a TON of money still selling those Ripken jerseys. They could have so much more attendance and get more money for tickets if they spent more on players... Roberts is a great player, but they should just trade him and get way younger. I mean they mover Tejada and Bedard for good prospects. Why not just trade ALL the names at once, it is a better way to do it. Leaving one or two guys is just sad. Get all kids if you are truly rebuiding, and maybe sign a few low risk veterans REALLY cheap, and cut them if they dont work out. Nats are doing it with Brett Boone. I'm not really sure Orioles ownership does the right thing, but it is a nice park, and fans REALLY care. They deserve to see some wins. Your right in order to rebuild they really need to dump most of the players including Roberts and Mora. While the trades didn't happen this year it's not to say they won't happen during the season. I have my doubts about a Roberts trade but there is still a good chance it will happen. jerrybobphil Quote: Originally posted by mkriss5681 No clue how much but I'm sure it wasn't a lot. I'd guess like 10k. Huff has gone on local radio shows and apologized. That's all I really needed, but I thought it was pretty funny to begin with. Most Orioles still don't find it funny and Huff will hear it from the fans. More then half of this roster the fans have no clue about. But they know this guy who sucked balls last year made millions and thought it would be funny to run his mouth off about the town. Huff will hear it and its nice that I have seats behind the Orioles on deck circle so I'll let Aubrey know what I think. He a guy making millions putting out no effort with complete shit stats who admits to having hangovers before games. Fuck him On a side note listening to Billick todays interview on 1300 was great. Love the fact he will not speak to The Baltimore Sun. Wonder why? Might be that fat fuck Preston printing lies as truth. jerrybobphil Quote: Originally posted by Badhandhaney Here is what I think about the Orioles... Cal Ripken Jr. is STILL the big draw at Camden Yards, and hes been retired for quite a while. I just don't understand why ownership thinks it is okay to lose year after year. They must be making a TON of money still selling those Ripken jerseys. They could have so much more attendance and get more money for tickets if they spent more on players... Nats are doing it with Brett Boone. Sorry to put you down. But the Orioles aren't making shit from Ripken sales whatever that is. The Orioles are making money (shitloads) from there TV deal. Spending more money on players is a awful idea that got this club in the position they are in now. Spending money on guys like Tejada & R. Hernandez 3 years ago didn't help shit. The orioles should have been rebuilding 5 to 6 years ago. And at this point until the team starts to win or even put a better product on the field the stadium will be near empty. Bigs names aren't going to work, winning games will. mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by jerrybobphil Most Orioles still don't find it funny and Huff will hear it from the fans. More then half of this roster the fans have no clue about. But they know this guy who sucked balls last year made millions and thought it would be funny to run his mouth off about the town. Huff will hear it and its nice that I have seats behind the Orioles on deck circle so I'll let Aubrey know what I think. He a guy making millions putting out no effort with complete shit stats who admits to having hangovers before games. Fuck him On a side note listening to Billick todays interview on 1300 was great. Love the fact he will not speak to The Baltimore Sun. Wonder why? Might be that fat fuck Preston printing lies as truth. Absolutely. If I wasn't a Bubba listener and didn't heard the whole show in context I'd be pissed too. Most people here only know him as the guy that called us a "horse-shit city". It's tough being a fan of a losing team year after year and hear our players talk this way. I can completely understand how people here are pissed. Huff is going to have a long season here. I still feel that his days in this town are numbered but as a fan I'd rather see the team do well. I hope he has a good season and if he is that unhappy hopefully he'll do well enough this year to be traded. The Billick interview on the other hand was great. I am really torn about his firing. I 100% agree it is time for a change but part of me feels like Billick got screwed. I really would have liked him to have played one more year and retired but I really want to turn this team back into a winner. mkriss5681 Quote: Originally posted by jerrybobphil Sorry to put you down. But the Orioles aren't making shit from Ripken sales whatever that is. The Orioles are making money (shitloads) from there TV deal. Spending more money on players is a awful idea that got this club in the position they are in now. Spending money on guys like Tejada & R. Hernandez 3 years ago didn't help shit. The orioles should have been rebuilding 5 to 6 years ago. And at this point until the team starts to win or even put a better product on the field the stadium will be near empty. Bigs names aren't going to work, winning games will. Angelos thought he could just buy middled-aged veterans and compete in our division. He was wrong. Free Agents are great to plug a quick hole in a team but you need to develop from the ground up. Even if we come in last place this year I feel a lot more confident about future of the Orioles this year than any year in the past 10 years. mkriss5681 Since jerrybobphil mentioned it... http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...0,1502968.story Billick opens up about his firing Former Ravens coach says Bisciotti's commitment suddenly changed Speaking on radio yesterday, Brian Billick indicated he would like to return to the sideline. "The instinct is to say I'm not done coaching," he said. (Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam / November 12, 2007) By Jamison Hensley | Sun reporter February 26, 2008 Brian Billick said yesterday that he still has never been given an explanation for why he was fired as Ravens coach by owner Steve Bisciotti on Dec. 31, a day after the Ravens finished their 5-11 season. In his first expansive local interviews since being fired, Billick told two Baltimore radio stations - WBAL and ESPN 1300 - "it was a shock" to be dismissed because he got a commitment from the team that he would return for the 2008 season. "It did change, and it changed in a day," Billick said. "Don't know why. Haven't had that conversation, and don't know that I ever will. But I certainly respect that Steve Bisciotti has that right, and it did catch me off-guard because of what had been said before both privately and publicly. But I will very much understand that that is the right of an owner, and he's doing what he thinks is in the best interest of the organization." The Ravens gave him indications he would come back even during the days leading up to the final game, Billick said. But a day after the season ended, Billick said he recognized "what was going on." His final meeting with Bisciotti was "relatively short." "Once I saw the resolve in Steve's mind - and he knows what he wants - there was no use in going round and round," Billick said. "Steve has been a good partner and will be someone that I'll want to interact with going forward. I have no hesitation about that whatsoever." In the midst of the Ravens' nine-game losing streak last season, a high-ranking team official told The Sun that Bisciotti had informed Billick he would return, saying the owner understood injuries and poor quarterback play were the reasons for the dismal