pete@umcp-cs.UUCP (Pete Cottrell) (06/30/85)
Well, I've been kinda silent lately, for a variety of reasons, but
a significant one is the play of the Orioles. They have stunk in
the month of June; let me count the ways....
Until breaking loose today with a 16-4 win against the Red Sox,
the only team they had beaten since June 5th was Milwaukee. They started
off their horribleness by letting Boston sweep 'em at home, then went to
Detroit where they lost 2 more (one game was rained out). At this point,
Joe Altobelli was fired and Earl Weaver brought in. The O's responded by
sweeping the Brewers in a 4-game series. Then the Yankees came to town
(boy did they come to town!). The Bronx Bombers went thru 10-0, 6-4, and
10-0 again (I had the misfortune of seeing the last 10-0 game. The highlight,
for Birds fans, was the following: Ken Griffey was at second, Dave Winfield
was at first and Scott Bradley was at bat. Bradley hit a hard liner to right
that had a chance of being caught, so Griffey held up. Lee Lacy came running,
made about the shortest short-hop I've ever seen and came up throwing. The
throw to Wayne Gross at third (who was stretched out like a first-baseman)
was right on the money and beat Griffey to the bag. Instead of a single,
Bradley was safe on a fielder's choice. When was the last time you ever saw
that in major-league baseball?). Ricky Henderson ate the Birds up. He
got on base in 14 of his 17 plate appearances, scored a run in the first
inning of each of the three games, and stole about 6 bases. Throw in some
RBIs and he was a one-man wrecking crew. In 3 games he raised his average from
.318 to the .340s.
The Orioles licked their wounds in Milwaukee, winning 2 of three, but they
blew a 7-1 lead in the game they lost (13-10). Then it was on to a rematch
with the Yankees in NY, where they got blown away in 3 more games. They lost
a lead in the 8th inning of one game, and in the ninth of another. Henderson
kicked butt again (much as I hate to say it, him being a Yankee and all, he
is on my All-Star team this year).
At any rate, in this crucial month of June, whilst going head-to-head
with their AL East foes, they have been blown out of the water, falling to
5th place, one game over .500. They have faced pitchers having horrible
years (at the time they faced them) and made them look like world-beaters:
Al Nipper of the Red Sox came in at 1-5, 5+ ERA, gave up 4 runs in the first
2 innings, and then shut them down for the next six, winning 8-4; Ed Whitson,
who was about to be booed out of New York, brought his 5+ ERA into B-town and
pitched the 10-0 debacle I saw. Then last night, Bruce Hurst of the Red Sox
came in at 2-7, 6.67 ERA and beat them 6-1.
Of course, I'll stay a fan, but sometimes it is hard to see the light at the
end of the tunnel. I can empathize with what the Mets fans and especially the
Cubs fans have had to go thru at various time this month.
Turning to other things, the Alan Wiggins deal I discussed in a previous
posting has come about. The O's got Wiggins for Roy Lee Jackson, who was
with Toronto last year and with Rochester this year, and a minor-leaguer
to be named later. Wiggins will go from Las Vegas to Rochester, and probably
be brought after a week or two.
I hop things get better. Thanks for listening. Set up another round and
pour one for yourself....
--
Call-Me: Pete Cottrell, Univ. of Md. Comp. Sci. Dept.
UUCP: {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!pete
CSNet: pete@umcp-cs
ARPA: pete@marylandgates@bdmrrr.UUCP (Al Gates) (07/01/85)
> Turning to other things, the Alan Wiggins deal I discussed in a previous > posting has come about. The O's got Wiggins for Roy Lee Jackson, who was > with Toronto last year and with Rochester this year, and a minor-leaguer > to be named later. Wiggins will go from Las Vegas to Rochester, and probably > be brought after a week or two. Alan Wiggins is not the answer to the Orioles problem at second base. Here is a prediction--Alan Wiggins will disappear again in about two months. Even after seeing Lenn Sakata make two errors in that game against the Yankees, I believe he should be their starting second baseman. On an everyday basis, Sakata could hit about 10 homeruns and bat about .260. When playing on a regular basis, I believe Sakata is a steady fielder. -- Al Gates BDM Corporation {seismo,rlgvax}!bdmrrr!gates 7915 Jones Branch Drive McLean, Virginia 22102 (My opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the BDM Corporation)