Well done, Mike.

In a piece entitled “Fans who yell ‘Oh!’ during national anthem are tainting a moment meant . . . → Read More: Washington Post’s Mike Wise Says Orioles Fans “Ruin” Star Spangled Banner]]>

Mike Wise of the Washington Post has successfully fulfilled his duties as a columnist this week.  He’s written an opinionated piece about sports that has people debating a topic that ultimately has no solution.

Well done, Mike.

In a piece entitled “Fans who yell ‘Oh!’ during national anthem are tainting a moment meant to unite Americans“, Wise calls out Orioles fans that rudely interrupting the Star Spangled Banner at Nationals Park.

How dare people from Baltimore do such a thing in our NATION’s capital.

Wise didn’t go as far as to say that Orioles fans were being unpatriotic by yelling “OH”, but did say that they undermined the idea that the song was written to unite instead of divide.  ”A national anthem is a national anthem, not a convenient vehicle for one’s immense pride in his or her team,” Wise wrote.

He conveniently tied an unrelated Davey Johnson quote about the Orioles fan attendance to prove his point about the anthem.  ”I hope I don’t hear, during the national anthem, the ‘Ohs!’ too loud. But I’m sure I probably will,” Johnson said.

“Sadly, Skip, it’s in their blood,” Wise responded.

I tend to side with the Baltimore Sun’s Peter Schmuck.

The Nationals, meanwhile, dress up four employees like giant cartoonish mascots of our greatest presidents and make them participate in a “sausage race” during every home game. Where’s the patriotic outrage?

Right on, Pete.

If we’re looking to be outraged about something allow me to question the fan base for a second. I attended Friday night’s game in D.C. and yes, I shouted ‘OH’ as loud as a possible could, but that’s not my point.

While sitting in section 111, I was continuously blocked by fans in my section getting up in the middle of an inning to go grab some chili fries or chicken fingers or popcorn or cotton candy or overpriced crappy beer.  It got to the point where I wanted to stop one of the constantly roaming Nationals fans and ask them the score just to see if they had any clue as to what was going on during the game.

It seems that Nationals Park is a beautiful place to watch Teddy lose a race during the fourth inning and with its open concourse structure it’s great to roam around if you aren’t interested in baseball.  But I was and I found myself surprised that the same city that watches sixty minutes of hockey so intently could be so carefree at the ballpark.

Now there’s some real drama for you.

Zach Wilt is the Founding Editor of BaltimoreSportsReport.com and Host of the BSR Podcast.  You can follow him on Twitter @zamwi or send him an email: zach@baltimoresportsreport.com.

The O’s slugger is hitting .307 with 14 homers and 29 RBI this . . . → Read More: Adam Jones Ties His Career-High 13 Game Hit Streak]]> Something good did come out of the Orioles loss to the Red Sox last night.  Adam Jones’ single in the bottom of the eighth off of Rich Hill extended the sluggers hit streak to thirteen games which ties a career high.

The O’s slugger is hitting .307 with 14 homers and 29 RBI this season.  During the streak, Jones is hitting .353 with six home runs, a double and 12 RBI.  He’s grounded into two double plays, one of which scored a run for the Birds.

The price tag to re-sign Jones continues to sky rocket as he makes a bid as the American League’s best center fielder.  Right now you have to think he would start for the AL in the All-Star game.

The Orioles are 8-5 during Jones’ streak.

Predicting when or if Roberts will ever return to the Orioles lineup is as difficult as wrapping your head around  the notion of infinity or comprehending the end of LOST.  But here at BSR we’re . . . → Read More: Brian Roberts Watch: Roberts Within Weeks Of Returning To Orioles]]> May 16, 2011 – The last time Brian Roberts took the field for the Baltimore Orioles.  Exactly 370 days ago.

Predicting when or if Roberts will ever return to the Orioles lineup is as difficult as wrapping your head around  the notion of infinity or comprehending the end of LOST.  But here at BSR we’re watching eagerly and hoping that Brian Roberts will someday soon make a triumphant return.

LATEST UPDATE - May 21, 2012 at 4:04 PM EDT

Per 105.7 The Fan’s Jerry Coleman on the Twitter machine:

Breaking! Brian Roberts just told me he is weeks away from playing. Closer than ever 2 returning to #Orioles

B-Rob Optimism-O-meter

4.5/5 Smiley Brians – “For a long time I wasn’t sure where the finish line was,” Roberts told MASNSports.com’s Steve Melewski. “When you get a glimpse of that it’s nice.”

Roberts told reporters on Monday that he will not report to Sarasota, but will rehab at an affiliate close to home. MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli tweets that Bowie is most likely and that Roberts could report within a week.

Me neither.

Sunday in Hagerstown, Bundy pitched five scoreless innings for the Shorebirds and surrendered just one hit.  He struck out four and earned his first win of the season.  South Atlantic League batters are hitting .053 against the Orioles prospect.

Deep in the heart of Texas a local champion is crowned every year.

The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros interleague matchup, better known as the “Lone Star Series”, awards its local champion with the Silver Boot Trophy every season.

As you could imagine, the Silver Boot has been . . . → Read More: ‘The Battle Of The Beltways’ Needs Its Own “Silver Boot Trophy”]]>

Image Credit: Bob Levey/Getty Images

Deep in the heart of Texas a local champion is crowned every year.

The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros interleague matchup, better known as the “Lone Star Series”, awards its local champion with the Silver Boot Trophy every season.

As you could imagine, the Silver Boot has been housed in Arlington for the past five years straight.

This cool local trophy got me thinking that the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals need to come up with a crown of their own for the Battle of the Beltways.  I’ve got just the idea.

How about a trophy that features three lanes of traffic stopped at a standstill.  We could call it the Traffic Trophy or Standstill Crown.

If you want to build up a friendly rivalry between two local teams, this is the perfect way to get fans of either the O’s or the Nats more excited about the local matchup.

What would you call the Battle of the Beltways trophy?

Say what you will about interleague baseball, but it puts buts in seats.

120,929 people visited our nation’s capital this weekend to watch the Orioles take two out of three in the Battle of the Beltways from the Nationals.  36,680 came out to game one on Friday, 42,331 . . . → Read More: ‘Battle Of The Beltways’ Brings Big Crowds To D.C. To Watch Orioles/Nationals]]>

Image Credit: Greg Fiume/Getty Images

Say what you will about interleague baseball, but it puts buts in seats.

120,929 people visited our nation’s capital this weekend to watch the Orioles take two out of three in the Battle of the Beltways from the Nationals.  36,680 came out to game one on Friday, 42,331 on Saturday and 41,918 on Sunday for the series finale.

“We as players were impressed by the 3 game turnout for the Battle of the Beltways,” Adam Jones tweeted.  ”That was awesome.”

I was fortunate enough to make the trip to D.C. on Friday and watch Nick Markakis hit the game winner in the 11th inning.  Even though Nationals Park isn’t far from home, it was nice to hear the Orioles fans support the team on the road.  I’m sure the players were appreciative of the support as well.

From MASNSports.com’s Roch Kubatko comes some nifty stats about Jim Johnson’s dominance in the closer’s role for the Birds.

Johnson is a perfect 15-for-15 in saves this season and 23-for-23 dating back to August of 2011.

The Orioles have won . . . → Read More: Some Stats About The Orioles Dominance On The Road]]>

Baseball's best catcher and best closer discuss the business of the latest save.

From MASNSports.com’s Roch Kubatko comes some nifty stats about Jim Johnson’s dominance in the closer’s role for the Birds.

Johnson is a perfect 15-for-15 in saves this season and 23-for-23 dating back to August of 2011.

The Orioles have won 19 of their last 26 and 9 in a row on the road against the Yankees, Red Sox, Royals and Nationals. Their 15-5 road record is the best in all of baseball.

Since September of 2011, the O’s are 14-3-2 in their last 19 series.

This pace would be historic if kept up, but what would you be satisfied with now?

Write it down.

VICTORYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!