“[A] lot more Orioles fans than in pervious series or maybe they’re just louder/drunker,” MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli tweeted.

Hey, whatever it takes.

“My favorite part about tonight was . . . → Read More: Red Sox Fans Are Suddenly No Where To Be Found In Baltimore]]> 25,171 fans attended Tuesday night’s Orioles/Red Sox game and for the first time in years, the crowd was dominated by fans of the black and orange.

“[A] lot more Orioles fans than in pervious series or maybe they’re just louder/drunker,” MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli tweeted.

Hey, whatever it takes.

“My favorite part about tonight was the amazing O’s fans,” Orioles public address announcer Ryan Wagner tweeted.  ”Showed up big time.  Never allowed the Sox fans to get going.”

As stupid as it sounds, hearing that the Orioles fans dominated the crowd at Camden Yards for a Red Sox series put a smile on my face.  I’ve been to far too many games against Boston that felt like I had traveled north to Fenway Park.  The “let’s go Red Sox” chants make my skin crawl when I’m sitting in the bleachers in Baltimore.

The times they are a changing.

The first place Orioles find themselves 6.5 games ahead of the last place Red Sox and suddenly the local support for the Red Sox has vanished.  Fans are excited about the great baseball being played in Baltimore and they should be.

Let’s take back the Yard.  Let’s fill the ballpark with black and orange every night.  And let’s support the first place Orioles.

They deserve it.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was spotted at Tuesday night’s Orioles/Red Sox game sitting behind the home dugout.

Baltimore’s QB and his pregnant wife Dana watched as the O’s downed Boston 4-1.

The twitterverse quickly spotted Flacco and began tweeting the local beat writers for verification.  Later in MASN’s broadcast, Flacco . . . → Read More: Joe Flacco Spotted Watching The Orioles Beat Boston On Tuesday]]>

Image Credit: WSNT

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was spotted at Tuesday night’s Orioles/Red Sox game sitting behind the home dugout.

Baltimore’s QB and his pregnant wife Dana watched as the O’s downed Boston 4-1.

The twitterverse quickly spotted Flacco and began tweeting the local beat writers for verification.  Later in MASN’s broadcast, Flacco was shown up close signing baseballs for fans that saw him at the Yard.

We just need to get Joe a cartoon bird hat.  Good to see him supporting the Orioles.

Adam Jones celebrated it by pieing him in the face.

I think my favorite part about this GIF is the camera guy grinning at Tolleson's pain.

“That was a knock out punch” Tolleson . . . → Read More: ANIMATED: Adam Jones Pies Steve Tolleson]]> Steve Tolleson belted his first home run as an Oriole in Baltimore’s 4-1 win over the Red Sox on Tuesday.

Adam Jones celebrated it by pieing him in the face.

I think my favorite part about this GIF is the camera guy grinning at Tolleson's pain.

“That was a knock out punch” Tolleson said in his postgame interview with Gary Thorne.

Today Orioles media members jokingly tweeted that they saw Ortiz finish rounding the bases after the Red Sox took batting practice for game two of . . . → Read More: Did David Ortiz Over-Admire His Eutaw Street Home Run On Monday?]]> Last night, Red Sox slugger David Ortiz blasted a 442 foot home run against the Orioles.  Ortiz’s homer became the 62nd to reach Eutaw Street and his second.

Today Orioles media members jokingly tweeted that they saw Ortiz finish rounding the bases after the Red Sox took batting practice for game two of the three game series.

According to Baseball Prospectus’ Tater Trot Tracker, Ortiz’s recorded the slowest trot of the 26 homers hit on Monday at 27.35 seconds.

So I’ll ask the question I asked last week about Nick Markakis; did David Ortiz over-admire his home run and will the Orioles retaliate tonight?

Nothing against Reimold, I was just excited to . . . → Read More: The Reim-Time Timeline: Chronicling Nolan Reimold’s Injury-Plagued Orioles Career]]> While watching the Birds last week, I tweeted my excitement for Xaviery Avery when he recorded his first double, triple and RBI against the Yankees.  I jokingly used the hashtag #NolanWho and quickly received a few annoyed responses from the Nolan Reimold fan club of Baltimore.

Nothing against Reimold, I was just excited to see what the 22-year-old could do at the big league level.

I’ve quickly become known as the guy that doesn’t like Reimold, but that’s neither a fair or true analysis of my thoughts on the Orioles left fielder.  I don’t dislike him, I enjoy watching him play, I just don’t think he’s proven enough to believe he’s a legitimate big leaguer.

One of my most recent fond memories of watching the Birds live at Camden Yards was Nolan Reimold’s walkoff home run against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 27, 2009.  I was at the Yard with my dad during the middle of the week for a day game when Reimold delivered the game-winner in the 11th inning.  It was a cool moment to witness from the third baseline as Reimold rounded the bag and headed to home for the mobbing he was about to receive from his teammates.

But that was 2009 and I haven’t seen enough from Reimold over the past two-plus seasons to prove that he’s a real-deal big leaguer.

So I thought that in order to defend my point I would look back at Reimold’s career in Baltimore and justify my opinion.  Here’s a timeline of Reimold’s career in Baltimore to date:

• May 14, 2009 – Reimold gets called up from Triple-A Norfolk.  He recorded his first hit off of Royals pitcher Ron Mahay.
• September 17, 2009 – Over 104 games, Reimold hit .279 with 15 home runs and 45 RBI.  He won the American League Rookie of the Month award in June.
• September 18, 2009 – The Orioles shut down Reimold for the remainder of the season due to a fraying in his left Achilles.  He underwent a successful surgery and aimed to return on Opening Day 2010.
• April 7, 2010 – Reimold began the season for the Orioles in left field after an uncertain Spring Training.
• May 12, 2010 – The Orioles optioned Reimold to Triple-A Norfolk to make room for Corey Patterson.  In his first 28 games of the season, Reimold went 16-for-79 (.203 average) with two home runs and 10 RBI.
• September 1, 2010 – When rosters expanded in September, Reimold was called up.  While down in Triple-A, Reimold hit .249, with ten home runs and 37 RBI in 94 games.
• October 1, 2010 - Reimold played 10 games for the Orioles after being called up, he hit .212 with a homer and four RBI.
• October 12, 2010 - Reimold turns 27-years-old.
• May 28, 2011 - The Orioles optioned Reimold to Triple-A Norfolk after spending most of the offseason working on a failed trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.
• May 20, 2011 - Reimold gets recalled from Norfolk.
• May 26, 2011 - Reimold went 4-for-4 with two home runs, 4 RBI and a walk against the Royals in the O’s 6-5 win in 12 innings.
• June 7, 2011 - Reimold misses two games with neck spasms, likely the same he is experiencing this season.
• September 28, 2011 - The 2011 season concludes.  In 87 games played at the big league level, Reimold finished the season with a .247 average, 13 home runs and 45 RBI.
• October 12, 2011 – Reimold turns 28-years-old.
• April 6, 2012 - Reimold begins the season with the Orioles in left field.
• April 16, 2012 - Reimold returns to the Orioles lineup after missing two games with hamstring tightness.
• April 26, 2012 - Reimold returns to the Orioles lineup after missing four games with neck spasms.
• May 4, 2012 - The Orioles place Nolan Reimold on the 15-day disabled list with a herniated disk in his neck.
• May 11, 2012 - Reimold received an epidural injection and the Orioles announce that he will not return form the disabled list when he is eligible.
• May 15, 2012 - Buck Showalter informs the media that Reimold will receive a second epidural injection.
• May 21, 2012 - Reimold tells the MASNSports.com’s Roch Kubatko that his first epidural shot only helped to ease the pain he’s experiencing, not the numbness and weakness in his left thumb, arm and shoulder.

My opinion and point with Reimold’s career, is that he’s proven that he can provide some pop in the Orioles lineup, but hasn’t shown he can stay healthy enough to hold onto a spot.  At 28-years-old, time is running out.

I’ve been asked if I think Reimold could become a Jayson Werth type player, who showed everyone that he could live up to expectations long after his time in Baltimore.  My opinion is that his path will probably be closer to that of Lou Montanez, another former prospect whose career was plagued by inconvenient injuries.

As I’ve said here on BSR, on our podcast and numerous times on Twitter, I want to be wrong about Reimold.  I hope that he stays healthy from here on out and shows that he can be the 40 home run hitter that Rick Dempsey says he can be.  But I can’t keep justifying putting an injury plagued 28-year-old in left field when the 22-year-old could be getting big league experience.

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.

It’s tough to be worried about a 5-2 week, but I’ll try and make sure you are anyways. Baltimore’s starters ERA this month is an awful 5.17 (27th in MLB). After seeing that number, it shouldn’t surprise you that the already heavily taxed bullpen has . . . → Read More: I’m From Out of Town: May 22]]>

Come on Kevin Gregg, just smile...I'm getting nervous

It’s tough to be worried about a 5-2 week, but I’ll try and make sure you are anyways. Baltimore’s starters ERA this month is an awful 5.17 (27^th in MLB). After seeing that number, it shouldn’t surprise you that the already heavily taxed bullpen has had an oversized load of innings dumped on it in May (80.2 to be exact, the most in the majors). With one of its better members on the D.L., it was surprising it took until last night for the bullpen to cave (good to see Kevin Gregg’s completely emotionless face again. It legitimately borders on sociopathic, he terrifies me for a whole myriad of reasons).

Down below I’ve got some interesting questions that are going to need to be answered soon. Stuff like: do you like the new/old Markakis? How many fingers would you cut off to keep Adam Jones here (remember, you have to shake his hand when he signs the contract)? What do you do when Brian Roberts rises from the dead and is ready to play (don’t keep him chained up in the barn, he’s not the Brian you knew anymore)? You’re welcome to all of that, and whatever is left in the fridge, make yourself at home.

Nick Markakis is on pace for 30 HR’s (career high)…and 124 strikeouts (career high)

A lot of Oriole fans had been wondering the past few years exactly where Nick Markakis’ power stroke went after back-to-back 20 HR seasons in 2007 and 2008. Well call off the search party, because it appears Nick has unearthed it. Markakis hit his 8^th HR of the season over the weekend – a no-doubt crush job to right field – a mark he didn’t reach until his 90^th game last season. In fact, this the quickest Markakis has EVER gotten to 8 home runs (DRAW CRAZY CONCLUSIONS! HE’S GOING TO CATCH BARRY BONDS!)

With this uptick in power, Markakis is experiencing a drop off in batting average and he’s striking out A LOT more than he usually does. Those 124 strikeouts would be 11 more than his career high in 2008, and his .257 batting average doesn’t look like it’s an aberration (.273 BABIP).

The question is, now that power hitting Nick is back, how do you feel? Do you miss the ’09-’11 version who was a steady .291-hitting influence on the lineup, someone who would never surprise you but was great to come home to? Or, are you a fan of the new/old Nick? One who is at times alternately impressive (.467 SLG) and frustrating (12 straight games with a strikeout)? Kind of like picking the sweet girl next door or the hot chick on bipolar meds? (Mark Reynolds would be a woman that spontaneously morphs between looking like Roseanne Barr and Rose Byrne. Kind of like Mystique from X-Men with less plate discipline).

(Insert Awesome Adam Jones stat here)

Three 10+ game hitting streaks. Tied for the 2^nd most home runs in baseball. Currently on pace for 50+ HR’s and 20+ steals. These are all facts that are fun to say for you, me (#SupportYourLocalFantasyTeam), and a man named Nez Balelo. Nez Balelo will be taking a lot of Dan Duquette’s money this offseason. I’ll let you figure out if it’s because he’s Jones’ agent or the head of a Russian crime syndicate. Either way, I’d have Liam Neeson on speed dial for the negotiations.

I like to compare Jones to my other favorite CF in baseball, Andrew McCutchen, but unlike the Dutchman, AJ is doing the contract year right. I picture his deal falling right in between McCutchen’s (6 yr/51.5 mil) and the government bailout money that was offered to Matt Kemp (8 yr/160 mil), so about 6 years, 90 million dollars.

Coming from a person who went through a similarly….interesting situation with his own team last year, I would set a financial breaking point for what you want to pay Adam Jones. Again: I would pay up, he’s just entering his prime and is plenty of people’s pick for “best centerfielder for the next 10 years not named Kemp”. But, there is always a chance that Balelo asks for Kemp money in unmarked bills if Jones keeps this up. IF that unfortunate situation does appear to be occurring at the trade deadline, and the team and player are at opposite ends of a chasm on contract negotiations, start shopping his MVP-level talent, and look to stock the minor leagues with 3 or 4 outstanding talents along with a starter in return.

Or Duquette can take the opposite route, keep his star that he knows he can’t resign, not offer a contract in the offseason, and watch the fans favorite player sign with a division rival thus killing any goodwill between him and the fans. Maybe then he can make some bad investments and fall deep in debt. Maybe hire bankruptcy consultants that he denies are bankruptcy consultants. Maybe give an interview that slanders the rest of the players on the t- I HATE THE WILPONS, I HATE THEM WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY THIN PREYING MANTIS-LIKE BODY.

Left-Handers are not welcome here

This is amazing to me. Opposing lefties have the same average versus Darren O’Day as they do against Aroldis Chapman (both .107). I don’t think this will continue, and I say that because O’Day reminds everyone a lot of of former Oriole/Misfit Toy Island resident Chad Bradford. Similar motion, similar stuff, NOT similar success against lefties (the previous sidewinder’s Opp BA vs. LHB was a scorching .315).

But even if this is the case, the Orioles relievers are having amazing success against lefties while having only one subpar southpaw (Troy Patton and his 4.35 ERA) of their own in the pen. So, if you’re Dan Duquette, can you give me a cushy front office job? And also, do you start perusing around Ned Flanders’ Leftorium (Minnesota’s Brian Duensing? New York’s Tim Byrdak?) knowing that you’ll have to give something up? Or do you stick with a bunch of guys who are all having career seasons, but may be at a higher risk for developing arthritis (thank you Wikipedia).

What do you do when the dead come back to life?

            I miss the Walking Dead. Here though, I’m talking about Zach Britton and Brian Roberts. Obviously, both of them have a long way to go. Britton is making his third start of extended spring training, and every sentence with Roberts’ name in it for the last year has concluded with a question mark. But eventually, they’re both going to be back, and…well, what does that mean?

I’m really not sure what to make of Britton, who rocketed out of the gates last year (5-2, 2.35 ERA in his first 10 starts) before tumbling catastrophically back to earth from the end of May-July. Obviously, there’s a term called the rookie wall for a reason, but his 2 starts at Boston and at New York in July last year were hideous. He pitched a TOTAL of one inning and allowed 17 runs.

The most logical solution is to bump Hunter to either a crowded bullpen or the minors and slot in Britton. But, if Hunter continues to struggle (and he will, his FIP is still well into the 5’s), how soon do you slot in Britton? Do you risk using feast or famine Pineiro as a stopgap so Britton can have an extended stay in the minors, or just throw Britton straight in the fire?

On the other hand, Roberts will hopefully be standing in the Camden Yards on-deck circle at some point this season. Robert Andino’s cult following swelled to Big Lebowski and Community levels early in the season, but Andino looks like he might be better suited as a sub at this point. He leads all second basemen in errors (7), leads the team in strikeouts (40), and is hitting a paltry .218 in May. There’s no way to predict what you’ll get from a 34 year old who’s been out of baseball for a year, and was last seen hitting .221 with a .273 OBP. Do you give the former All-Star his spot back when he returns? Slide Andino to a different spot (he played 19 games at 3^rd) or to the bench? I leave Andino right where he is

Three thoughts on the rest of the AL East

• I’m going to condense two players into one, because neither of them deserve an individual thought: can we all just give up on Clay Buchholz and Phil Hughes? The two former blue ribbon winners of the Red Sox and Yankees farm systems have had one full good season between them (Clay Buchholz’s 2010), and have survived based on the run support silver spoon they’re given every year (Hughes 1^st in RSA in 2010, Buchholz 1^st in 2012). On the surface, Phil and Clay look like two young aces with sharp breaking pitches and above average pepper, but under the hood they’re held together with scotch tape. Buchholz regularly has a K/BB under 2, and in Hughes’ 18 win season in 2010 he had the 12^th worst HR/9 in baseball (1.28). The Yankees and Red Sox would be smart to realize that both pitchers don’t even eat innings, and shop them to the highest bidder ASAP.

• The Red Sox are starting to figure it out right now. I had them missing the playoffs to start the season, but Bobby V finally seems to have found the right mix in the bullpen (1.64 bullpen ERA since the start of May). The combination of that, and injuries completely derailing the Yankees pen have left the two teams tied at the start of Tuesday.The Yankees ace in the hole has always been their bullpen, which this season looked exceptional at the start (Soriano-Robertson-Rivera looked like a throwback to the days of Lloyd/Nelson-Rivera-Wetteland). Now, it’s an even race in the pens, with the Yankees having a slight advantage with the lineup, and the Red Sox having a better starting rotation. Should be interesting to see who catches Tampa.

• In the category of things I never thought I’d say 10 years ago: Tampa Bay is again the class of this division. With the exception of struggling phenom Matt Moore, the rotation has been far and away the best in the division. David Price and James Shields finally coordinated their on years, Jeremy Hellickson seems hell bent on not regressing despite what all the advanced metrics say, and Jeff Niemann is a 5^th starter capable of shutting down the Yankees (as he did in his last start). They spot started Alex Cobb, and he conjured a 7-inning gem against the best team in N.L. (seriously, how deep does the pitching go down there?)The team has played .500 ball in the absence of their one consistent source of offense, and if they can stay similarly afloat until he gets back in mid-June, they’ll be in very good shape for the stretch run. As fun as it is to knock off the Yankees and the Red Sox, don’t forget for a second that neither of them is the team to catch in this division this year.

Three Things to Watch

1)   I don’t advocate anything from Duke, which is why it’s so tough for me to admit that I love this. But it’s an awesome commercial, and the best part is how he sold it with a couple of bricks. BACKBOOOAAARRRDD!!! I dare you not to start laughing when you see the “Dinner’s Served”.

2)   Brick, give a nice message to the people

3)   Nick Kroll has a funny video on FunnyOrDie with Selena Gomez, but any time I see him, I just think of this.

Well done, Mike.

In a piece entitled “Fans who yell ‘Oh!’ during national anthem are tainting a moment meant to . . . → 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.

My view in the middle of an inning at Nats Park. Note that the Orioles are on the field and a runner is on first base.

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.

Let’s remember, the kid is . . . → Read More: Dylan Bundy Doesn’t Belong At Low-A Ball]]> You hear both opinions often, but the Orioles seem to be sticking with their original plan.  Some say that Dylan Bundy should have started the year at AA Bowie, while others think the Orioles should keep on their current track with slowly increasing his workload at a lower level.

Let’s remember, the kid is only 19 years old.

But after seeing Bundy pitch yesterday up in Hagerstown, against a Suns lineup that features a good amount of .300 hitters and a potent offense in the South Atlantic League, I have to take a midpoint between those views.  While I like that Bundy started off with the Delmarva Shorebirds, it’s time for a change.  He needs to be moved up to High-A Frederick.

The original goal, according to reports, was for Bundy to work on his offspeed offerings and really establish a fastball/changeup combo as well as get acclimated to the pro baseball lifestyle.  He’s done all that has been asked of him.  No earned runs and 40 strikeouts (along with only two walks and two hit by pitches) in 30 innings through eight starts is more than enough to prove to me that he has the ability to pitch at a higher level.  Not that the Orioles or any scouts doubt his ability to perform, and I understand the original objectives, but they have been reached.

Bundy pitched five scoreless innings in Hagerstown yesterday, recording four strikeouts and only one hit allowed on all fastballs, minus three pitches.  He threw a curveball for his second strikeout of the afternoon and two noticeable changeups in the middle of other counts, but otherwise, Bundy stuck to his heater.  According to a source with the Shorebirds, he sat 94-98 with his fastball all afternoon and touched 99 on the last pitch of his outing, but otherwise only threw three total offspeed offerings all game.

Watching him on the mound, Bundy doesn’t have all that dominating of an appearance, but his fastball was blowing by batters.  He has a Mark Buehrle-esque pace, which is ideal when hitters are so off balance to begin with, and the only contact being made was pure luck.  Guys were honestly just swinging when they expected they would need to in order to make contact, and Bundy just had to throw the fastball to get guys out.

I still believe in the organization’s ambitions to keep Bundy at a good pace and not to rush things, but seeing Steve Melewski’s report yesterday where he quotes Rick Peterson, Orioles pitching coordinator, saying that Bundy may be close to a promotion, was a good step in my eyes.  The team needs to put him in Frederick and let him air it out there.  He should join other 2011 draft picks Mike Wright, Kyle Simon, and Trent Howard in the Keys’ rotation and work on his pitching there.  Keep him on the same schedule and work on the same aspects of his game, but at least let him develop in a league where he can face competition closer to his level.

There is nothing left for Dylan Bundy to learn at Low-A ball.