The Schmuck Stops Here - baltimoresun.com

Orioles are out of the frying pan

By Peter Schmuck — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:39:00 EDT

For the first five weeks of the season, the Orioles slogged through one of the toughest early season schedules in baseball and came out clean on the other side. An impressive display of power, timely hitting and solid relief that has made them one of the winningest teams in either league at the quarter pole.

Chris Davis is a man on fire

Fri, 10 May 2013 22:39:00 EDT

If you thought Chris Davis was going to be a one-month wonder, he is serving notice that he is going to be a force to be reckoned with all season long.

Don't give up on Brian Roberts just yet

Wed, 8 May 2013 18:41:00 EDT

Despite seemingly endless string of injuries, he could still play key role this season

It's easy enough to digest the news that Brian Roberts is headed for another surgical procedure and presume that it will always be thus -- that he will never be able to hold up long enough to help the Orioles for a reasonable period.

The good news about Chris Tillman

Fri, 3 May 2013 10:44:00 EDT

He's only 25 and he's still got a lot of upside

What was it, two weeks ago that we were all angst-ridden about Chris Tillman and his inability to pitch efficiently enough to get into the seventh and eighth innings?

Roberto Alomar was simply the best at second base

Wed, 1 May 2013 15:39:00 EDT

Former Baltimore Sun Orioles writer Buster Olney told me back in the 1990s that he thought Roberto Alomar was the best all-around player in the game. I don't think I fully agreed with him at the time, but he definitely wasn't very far from correct.

McLouth a steal on a couple of levels

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:56:00 EDT

Orioles GM Dan Duquette must pinch himself every time he sees Nate McLouth victimize another pitcher or catcher as he further establishes himself as one of the best leadoff hitters in the American League this year.

Preakness 2013: Trying to have fun in a dangerous world

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:30:00 EDT

New security measures seem reasonable in wake of Boston Marathon bombings

There probably won’t be many complaints about the new carry-in restrictions that the Maryland Jockey Club will institute for this year’s Preakness weekend. The Boston Marathon bombings have put everyone in the big-crowd business on a heightened state of alert, so everyone should expect to stand in some long lines at Pimlico and feel safer for it.

Should Orioles regret not bringing back Joe Saunders?

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:55:00 EDT

No doubt, there were a lot Orioles fans second-guessing the decision to let Joe Saunders get away while they were watching him tie the O's in knots on Monday night at Safeco Field in Seattle. The contrast was just too obvious, as Saunders pitched a complete game while another Orioles fifth starter candidate struggled to keep up with him.

Orioles show struggling A's how to handle jet lag

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:05:00 EDT

When the Orioles headed off on their 11-game West Coast road trip, it was fair to assume that it would be a very difficult trip and probably just as fair to think that the O's would be satisfied to get back with something close to a .500 record on the trip.

Ravens sticking with the post-Super Bowl blueprint

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:17:00 EDT

Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome always talks about taking the best player available, but the early picks in this year's NFL draft have fit perfectly into the blueprint that he laid out during the team's postseason news conference in early February.