Well, so much for that. Brad Bergesen’s problem has always been that if he loses his delivery for just a second, he is a batting practice pitcher. When he has his location down, he is almost unhittable. Unfortunately, that is not particularly reliable, at least not this season. The 5 runs he allowed in the second inning doomed the O’s, though it was nice to see the team battle back. Seeing Josh Bell strike out with runners at 2nd and 3rd was painful- you expect it from Cesar Izturis (there was no one else on the bench to take that at-bat?) but you hope that maybe Bell will use this as a breakout moment. Alas, he instead continues to struggle. He needed a lot more time at AAA, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him start the season at Norfolk in 2011 if he doesn’t start pulling it together over this last month. Now football season is officially upon us, and so I am more excited than ever to line up for the kick… READ MORE >>>
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Cody has knee surgeryRavens rookie DT Terrence Cody had knee surgery last Tuesday to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. Cody, who had played well during his time on the field this preseason, will be sidelined for 2 weeks. 
Pitching Dominant as O’s Complete Season Sweep of AngelsThe Orioles have swept the Angels- not just for the series, but for the season. Then again, if they were going to do it, they might as well do it in a year when the Angels have hovered around .500 rather than taking control of the division. 
Ravens introduce fight song to tune of Colts jingleThe Ravens introduced their new fight song themed after the Baltimore Colts former jingle for new, re-written lyrics. 
O’s Notes: Matusz continues to roll and Koji for closer?You can count on August and September being more competitive than in previous years. Buck's O's aren't going down without a fight. 
I’m not usually one to make bold predictions, but this is one I just can’t resist. This season will be the one in which a non-BCS school will play in the national championship game, and that team will be the Boise State Broncos. But in order to do so, they will have to do more than just go undefeated. This is because of the new Rose Bowl rule that goes into effect this season that guarantees that a BCS eligible non-BCS school (Boise State) will take the place of a national championship member from the Big Ten. What this means in layman’s terms is that if a team from the Big Ten (possible) or Pac-10 (not possible) qualifies for the national championship game, then a non-BCS team like Boise State will automatically play in the Rose Bowl instead of the national championship game. So basically Boise State needs to go undefeated and hope that Ohio State, or even Iowa, doesn’t qualify to be in the national championship game. The pieces of the puzzle will need to fall perfectly into place for this to actually happen, but I did say it was a BOLD prediction. In this week’s edition of Birds On The Wire, Jeff and Zach discuss the Orioles successful against, Buck Showalter’s impact on the team, September call ups, the Ravens preseason and injuries and give their predictions. All that and more on Birds On The Wire, BSR’s official podcast. Check it out and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes. BOTW - EP 49: Play Now | Play in Popup
Position: Running Back Analysis: Ray Rice is a small, but strong running back that took over the starting job from Willis McGahee in 2009. Rice was second in the NFL in total yards from scrimmage last season, gaining 2,041, over 1,300 of which were on the ground. He’s certainly been used in every offensive situation in his short career to this point. Rice will continue to his strength and quickness to excel on offense. The Ravens close out the preseason with a game against the Rams in St. Louis. While the starters will probably play very little, the game is still important in finding out who makes the final 53-man roster. Several jobs and roster spots will be up for grabs, as this game gives those fighting for jobs a last chance to make a good impression. There are a few things to look for in this game, no matter the result. 1. Offensive line. Considering the injuries the line has suffered, it will be interesting to see how the backups play in extended action. Some of these guys may have to step up at some point in time, and with the line being somewhat subpar this preseason, it will be important to see how the linemen play in this game. 2. Receivers. With the injury to Donte Stallworth, there is a roster spot up for grabs. That means that Demetrius Williams, David Reed, Marcus Smith and Justin Harper have an opportunity to impress. Williams seemingly is always in this position. Reed has been inconsistent after being great before training camp. 3. Troy Smith. Sources say he will play the entire game. Is he auditioning for another team, or just solidifying his status with the Ravens as the third quarterback? 4. Secondary. Who among those battling for jobs will stand out against the Rams? With new acquisition Josh Wilson not expected to play, there is an opportunity for Prince Miller, as well as several other cornerback hopefuls to show what they can do. A win, whether meaningful or not, would give the Ravens an undefeated preseason for the second season in a row. Surely that is far less important for players on the bubble. Within its’ linebacking corp the Maryland Terrapins posses perhaps their most talented group. The only other group that rivals the linebackers in talent is the stable of running backs. Maryland linebackers have a great combo of size, experience and athleticism, as well as an impressive group of underclassmen destined to provide strong play at the position for years to come. The unit will shine for the Terps again this year. The question is will the deficiencies in the secondary and on the line be to great for the linebackers to overcome? READ MORE >>> Position: Strong Safety Analysis: Toughness is what comes to most people’s minds when thinking about Tom Zbikowski. He is a fighter. He plays all out to the point of being borderline reckless. He’s the man. He also plays behind the great Ed Reed. At times, it is easy to wonder if there is a great talent wasting away on the bench. READ MORE >>> Position: Cornerback When it comes to Fabian Washington, it’s hard to say if it is disappointment in him or disappointment in the front office. It’s not that he is a bad player, it’s probably more that he isn’t a shutdown corner. 2009 was a season where Fabian was exposed for the first half of the season. It seemed like he was getting beat all over the place. It was so bad in Minnesota that he was actually benched in favor of Frank Walker. Seriously. Frank Walker. READ MORE >>> There was something different about last night’s 5-2 win over the Red Sox. No, it wasn’t just the fact that the Orioles won, though that is always a pleasant surprise when taking on a team in the AL East. I seemed to notice something in this team that I thought I was going to see back in April. It wasn’t even that Luke Scott set a career high for home runs in a season last night. With all the talk that goes on about what an incredible power threat Scott is, I actually found myself a bit surprised that this was his career high. But that’s beside the point. This was the first time I noticed that the Orioles have had- and used- every part of the roster they hoped would win games back at the beginning of the season. READ MORE >>> Position: Cornerback Analysis: It is beginning to look like the Ravens scored a significant coup when they signed Cary Williams late in the 2009, after he was released by the Tennessee Titans. Williams looks to be developing into a player that can be a factor in the Ravens secondary. Williams is definitely the biggest corner the Ravens have. Williams’ size allows him to cover both slot receivers as well as receivers lined up on the outside of formations. Williams displays a knack for special teams play and is improving at being a physical man-to man corner. READ MORE >>> Holy smokes it’s September. Baseball season is winding down, football is set to kick off and the sports gambling season is about to begin. Not that I condone that sort of behavior, or condemn it for that matter. Typically around this time of year the Orioles lose all relevancy with Baltimore fans and out comes to purple flamingos, literally. But in 2010 the Orioles have accomplished a goal they have struggled with for the last thirteen seasons, keeping fans attentions over the last month of the season. Ravens rookie DT Terrence Cody had knee surgery last Tuesday to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. Cody, who had played well during his time on the field this preseason, will be sidelined for 2 weeks. His status for the Monday night opener vs. the Jets is up in the air according to Coach John Harbaugh. “There’s a chance he could be back for the opener against the Jets or, for the bigger guys, sometimes it takes a little longer,” Harbaugh said. “The plus is we have a lot of depth on the defensive line right now. That’ll be day-to-day as we get closer to the game.” I guess it could be worse but I’d be very surprised if Cody was back for week 1. Big guys like that tend to take more time to heal. Josh Wilson is coming back to Maryland… Baltimore, specifically. The former college shut-down corner and second round pick of the Seattle Seahawks has been traded to the Ravens for a conditional pick. The move bolsters a shaky Ravens cornerback unit that was relying only on high hopes for Fabian Washington, Lardarius Webb, and a host of also-ran cornerbacks hardly worth counting on for a Super Bowl caliber team. At worst this team has answered a glaring hole with a stable placeholder- at best this team has found another turnaround story a-la Fabian Washington. Either way, it is hard to argue that a move like this wasn’t sorely needed and answered well. READ MORE >>> The Ravens cut cornerback Doug Dutch yesterday and placed special teams player/linebacker Brandon Ayanbadejo and running back Matt Lawrence on the reserved physically-unable-to-perform list to get the roster down to 75 men. For Ayanbadejo and Lawrence, this means that the earliest they could see football action would be six weeks into the regular season. The Ravens have to option to observe them for two weeks after deadline and decide whether to cut them or place them on the 53 man roster. The Red Sox come into Camden Yards tonight for a three-game series against the O’s. The O’s completed a three-game sweep of the Angels on Sunday and held them to just one run in three games. This is an extremely good sign for the O’s considering they usually have a couple double digit losing streaks at the end of the season. But it looks as if Buck Showalter isn’t going to allow his team to lay down this season, which is a very good sign for O’s fans. The Red Sox have been plagued by injuries all season and currently sit seven games behind both the Yankees and Rays in the AL East and Wild Card standings. They missed a chance on gaining ground after losing two of three at the Rays over the weekend. The two teams have split the season series so far, with both teams grabbing six wins each. READ MORE >>> |
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