One more night as the visiting team

By Roch Kubatko

Jun 02, 2008 7:47 AM

The sun is out, the sky is blue and, for one more night, Camden Yards will be bathed in red. And not just the cheap seats, or the ones behind the visiting dugout. Pretty much all of ‘em.

Tonight’s game is huge. The Orioles are headed toward a nasty spill, and they need to pick themselves up before hitting the road. They have three games coming up in Minnesota, where they went 0-7 last year.

The Orioles haven’t won a season series against the Twins in the last five years. But at least they won’t have to deal with Torii Hunter, who batted .333 with three homers and nine RBIs against them last season.

They need to jump all over knuckleballer Tim Wakefield tonight and take the Red Sox crowd out of the game. But that would require scoring runs in a Jeremy Guthrie start, and we know how often that happens.

Don’t throw Manny a strike. Don’t throw Jacoby a strike. Walk half the order if you have to. But they have to try a different approach.

Tightening up the defense would help.

Remember how the Reds wouldn’t entertain any offers for Jay Bruce over the winter? Makes sense now, doesn’t it?

More draft talk: If Georgia high school shortstop Tim Beckham falls to No. 4, the Orioles will pounce on him. And since Tampa Bay is considering Florida State catcher Buster Posey as a “need pick” at No. 1, or perhaps Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez, there’s a slight chance Beckham will be on the board when the Orioles’ turn comes up. But my crystal ball shows them taking San Diego pitcher Brian Matusz, a 6-foot-5 left-hander with a 90-93 mph fastball and a plus-curveball and changeup. He was 11-2 with a 1.88 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 96 innings during the regular season.

I’d still take South Carolina first baseman Justin Smoak, a switch-hitter with power and an above-average glove. I know the Orioles aren’t looking for a need pick, but they’d be filling one while also getting an outstanding talent. It wouldn’t be a reach, even at No. 4. But I say they go pitching, with Beckham gone, after taking position players the last three years.

Speaking of the Rays, the scoreboard operators at Camden Yards got the nickname wrong yesterday, causing an elderly woman wearing a TB cap to climb the steps to the front of the lower press box and scold the PR staff, though they had nothing to do with it.

I supposed she just needed to vent. And I’m sure she’s been a fan of the team since she was a little girl.

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