Red Sox 12 Orioles 1

Lost in the euphoria of last night's Caps win, I didn't do a post about the Orioles latest loss yesterday morning to the Boston Red Sox. After losing a 2-1 nailbiter on Sunday, the O's lost in more conventional fashion yesterday: by seeing their pitchers get torched for double-digit earned runs. I won't go into too much depth here, actually, I'll just give you the Cliff's Notes version of the O's 5th loss in a row.

- Mark Hendrickson was lit up for a second straight outing, yielding 8 baserunners (5 hits and 3 walks) in 5 innings of work, along with 3 earned runs.

- Dennis Sarfate had his worst outing of the season, getting pounded for 4 hits and 3 earned runs in his only inning of work.

- Radhames Liz made Hendrickson and Sarfate look like Sandy Koufax and Dennis Eckersley by getting hammered for 6 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning. With an ERA of 67 in two outings, Liz earned himself a one-way ticket to Norfolk.

- The O's pitchers helped two more slumping Red Sox hitters, David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia, break out. Pedroia finished 4 for 5 with 3 RBIs and Ortiz went 2 for 4, including a two-RBI triple. Yes, only the O's pitching staff could allow the lumbering Ortiz to hit a triple.

- Felix Pie struck out one more time, making it 7 K's in his last 15 at-bats.

- Ryan Freel had to be carted off after getting hit in the head with a pick-off throw. Despite his complaining to the media last week about playing time, let's hope Freel is OK.

- Despite his supposed steady work in the field, Gregg Zaun is an absolute sieve at the plate. The O's catcher is hitting .118 this season. Is Matt Wieters ready yet?

So, another loss in the House Of Horrors that is Fenway Park. The Birds at least get to come back home today, where they will open a 3-game set with the Chicago White Sox. Until, Otto has a special message for this game.

"Ach Du Scheisse!"

Red Sox 2 Orioles 1

There will be no 4th straight series win for the Orioles as they lost their 4th straight game and 3rd in a row to the Boston Red Sox.

This time around, the O's actually got a very good outing from Koji Uehara but couldn't get anything off Sox starter Jon Lester and when they did have chances, they couldn't deliver the big hit.

Uehara deserved better today as he held the Red Sox at bay over 7 strong innings. The only runs he gave up were a Paul O'Neill/Jorge Posada Memorial Bloop RBI Single (Posada and O'Neill were/are the masters of "excuse me" hits) to Mike Lowell and an RBI single to Dustin Pedroia. For most of the game, the O's couldn't touch Lester, who struck out 9. And when they did get some guys on base, the couldn't get them in, as witnessed by getting two on with none out in the sixth. Robert Andino had singled and Brian Roberts walked, and for the first time all day, Lester looked vunerable. But Felix Pie and Nick Markakis struck out and Aubrey Huff grounded out to end the O's rally. The O's only run came off Takashi Saito and even then, they squandered an opportunity for a big inning. Nick Markakis and Huff hit back-to-back singles but then Ty Wigginton hit into a fielder's choice (scoring Markakis but giving the Sox an out), Luke Scott flied out and Gregg Zaun, pinch-hitting for Ryan Freel, struck out to end the game. All told, the Orioles left 6 more men on base today.

Some Hangar Observations:

- Adam Jones left the game in the first inning after pulling up lame running out a ground ball. The postgame report says it was a sore hamstring. Not good.

- Felix Pie replaced Jones and turned several of the balls hit to him in center field into an advensture. At the plate, Pie came to the O's with a reputation as a big whiffer and so far he hasn't disappointed in the season's first two weeks. He's struck out 6 times in his last 12 at-bats. Somebody on the Orioles coaching staff needs to channel his inner Lou Brown and somehow convince Pie that with his speed he should be hitting the ball on the ground and legging them out. Perhaps make him do 50 pushups for everytime he hits the ball in the air? Pie is a guy with the skill-set to be another Al Bumbry/Omar Moreno type but goes to the plate with the mentality of Rob Deer. He's a slasher who thinks he's a home run hitter.

- It's not good for your offense when the light-hitting Andino is your best hitter.

- Ryan Freel has already begun complaining about playing time. Um, Ryan, when you're 1-for-14 it's hard to complain about PT. Here's a hint: Stop chasing balls up in your eyes like you did today. And when you do get in, get on base and rack up steals. It's the only way you're getting to get at-bats. If you're not doing that you're pretty much useless to this club.

- Chad Moeller did make a nice catch in the stands. Unlike Freel, Moeller at least does something when he gets in there. The shame is, he's likely to be out of a job the minute Matt Wieters shows up.

- Does David Ortiz look like he aged in dog years or what? He looks like the guy that got released by Minnesota back in the day, not the feared Big Papi. Injuries and not having Manny Ramirez around can do that but still, it's odd watching Ortiz struggle to hit pitches he either would have taken or mashed into the bleachers just 3 years ago. He's looked awful in a series where, most of the time, the Sox have been feasting on Orioles pitching.

- Brad Bergeson, who was the O's minor league pitcher of the year last year, will be getting the call on Tuesday against Chicago.

So one more O's loss in the bank. I knew I should have taken a picture of that 6-2 record, it would have lasted longer. One more game in Boston tomorrow at 11 a.m. for Patriots Day up there before coming home. With Mark Hendrickson on the mound, the potential for ugliness is at Defcon 4. But until then, one last time, let's get Otto von Bismarck's thoughts on the game.

"Scheisse"

Red Sox 6 Orioles 4

Sorry I'm a bit late to the party on last night's Orioles game but I was in Ocean City without access to my laptop. I was with a buddy of mine and a bunch of his work colleagues. Fortunately, the place we had dinner at had a TV in the bar, and even better, I had a clear view of it from my seat. Since we were dining at a pricey Italian restaurant, the food took forever so I did get to watch the whole game. I love multi-tasking.

Before I get into the recap, while I'm on the topic of Ocean City, Maryland, allow me to go on a quick tangent about the place we ended up, an enormous bar called Seacrets. Most of you that have been to or lived in the Mid-Atlantic and visited Ocean City have heard of it. Quite frankly, it's lame. La-la-la-lame. But at the same time, it's one of the most ridiculous places on Earth. They have this very restrictive dress code (they wouldn't let one member of our party enter because he had a visable white undershirt) and they put you through a metal detector as you go in. As if the terrorists are going to target some beach bar in Ocean City, Maryland. Guys, I think they have better alternatives out there.

Then there are the people. Oh, the people. 95% of the guys look like they are auditioning for the newest season of "Tool Academy." Lots of bright colored polo shirts, Baby Gap size T-shirts, gelled up hair and Jersey Shore meathead swagger. The girls are all in halter tops and some of them seem to have a competition going to see who can look the most like a prostitute. We saw this one gal in hotpants that rode up all the way to her ass cheeks. It was an outfit that screamed "Slip me a Roofie!!!" As if that were not enough, the place has a bouncing dance floor, a lot of bands who cover "Laid" by James and these TV screens showing girls dancing in shadow, which generally resembles an iPod commercial. It truly is like the poor man's Sodom and Gomorrah with plenty of overpriced drinks and faux tough-guy bouncers to make it a pleasant experience for the whole family.

Ok, with that said, here were some notes I took from Saturday's game.

- Last night made it abundantly clear what the difference is between the Red Sox and the Orioles. When it comes to the lineups, the O's are right there with Boston. But when it comes to pitching, the O's are as far from Beantown as Istanbul is. Adam Eaton got the start and was awful. Again. And when the O's did get to Sox starter Josh Beckett, the Boston bullpen was able to slam the door. Baseball is all about pitching, pitching, pitching and the Boston pitching is just miles ahead of the O's at this stage of the game. They can go to an ex-World Series MVP like Beckett, while we have Eaton, who helped the Phillies win the World Series last year by not pitching for them.

- That said, Brian Bass looked much, much better than in his last relief appearance. Chris Ray, Jamie Walker and Jim Johnson also looked good. That trio can form the basis of a very good relief corps, if only the starters could give them a lead to protect.

- The O's lineup, as good as its been at the beginning of the season, is ridiculously weak in the 7-8-9 holes. Last night's trio in those spots (Gregg Zaun, Felix Pie and Cesar Izturis) went a combined 2 for 12, left 7 men on base and are all hitting under .200.

-Can't say the O's didn't get some chances. They left a whopping 17 runners on base. Aubrey Huff and Ty Wigginton, batting in the 4 & 5 spots respectively, left a combined 6 men on base. You need better than that from guys in prime RBI spots to beat a good team like Boston.

- Can I repeat again how awful Eaton was last night? The numbers tell it all: 4 innings, 9 hits, 2 walks and 6 earned runs. His ERA in two starts is over 11. I hope Eaton decided to rent and not buy in Baltimore. Actually, I hope he didn't rent either. For his sake, I hope he bought a timeshare because his next game of 6 earned runs might be his last.

So that's all for my commentary of last night's game. This afternoon's game just ended so I will be right back with a post on that one. For now, get used to seeing Otto von Bismarck today.


"Schiesse"

Red Sox 10 Orioles 8

Two games: 29 runs against the Orioles pitching staff. 19 of them earned. 19 earned runs in two games. I'll repeat one more time, 19 earned runs in two games. I don't know what is a more disturbing number, the 19 earned runs or the 10 unearned runs. The shame of it is, the O's offense has scored 14 runs in 2 games and LOST! That is unacceptable.

Up 7-0, having a conga line around the bases with your supposed "ace" on the hill, tonight should have been an easy time for the Orioles tonight against the Boston Red Sox. But with the O's pitching staff, nothing is easy. And that 7-0 lead evaporated faster than Lindsay Lohan's career (horrible Rick Reilly pop culture reference of the night). After two solid outings to start the season, Jeremy Guthrie reverted back to the very hittable pitcher he was in spring training and the World Baseball Classic. Guthrie walked four and was shelled for 8 hits in 4 and 2/3 innings. Yes, he should have gotten out of the 5th inning, if not for Aubrey Huff's fielding error. To quote George Steinbrenner, Huff "looked like a monkey trying to fuck a football" on that one. By that point though, Guthrie had already unraveled after the O's had staked him to that 7-0 lead. He gave up four runs in the bottom half of the second and let the Sox creep further back after a solo homer by J.D. Drew. Once Brad Penny, who spent his three innings of work walking the ballpark and giving up a grand slam to Nick Markakis in the process, was removed and the excellent Red Sox 'pen entered the picture, the O's offense couldn't keep pace.

Then again, your pitching staff shouldn't be so horrid that a seven run lead is not enough. Now, over the course of a baseball season, games like this happen sometimes. But with the O's staff, you get the eerie feeling that this isn't an isolated incident. This staff is that bad. Usually, when Guthrie or Koji Uehara pitches the team has a chance, but Guthrie didn't have it tonight. There's no way to look at tomorrow's matchup of Adam Eaton against Josh Beckett and not have a certain sense of dread. After all, the O's offense could score 6 runs against Beckett and still lose by 10. That's how bad this staff is. The worst part is, I know it will not be the last time I will write a blog post like this.

So, that's two straight losses for the Birds, both of them bad. Hopefully Beckett tomorrow looks as awful as Penny was tonight and Eaton somehow manages to channel Jim Palmer and the O's can get back on a winning track. Until next time, take it away Otto von Bismarck of the German Empire...

"Scheisse"