Baltimore Orioles New Logo Brings Back Memories!

The Baltimore Orioles made a few key changes going in to 2012 with the biggest being the change from the real life bird logo back to a logo similar to the logo they played with in the 60's through 80's in. The hat is more of a cartoon logo and is a big hit with fans of all ages and fans not even located in Maryland. Baltimore made a huge jump in merchandise sales in 2012 with the added logo and the success the team had. 

The O's hat also made a top 5 for hat logos as well you can check that out here!

Baltimore Orioles nab 3 gold gloves!

The Baltimore Orioles started the 2012 as one of the worse defensive teams in MLB but down the stretch the defense got better behind strong play of J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones and Matt Wieters. All three of those guys got Rawlings Gold Gloves to back it up to start the awards for the O's!

Now the defensive improved when Buck Showalter moved Mark Reynolds to first base full time and called up Nate McLouth in slotted him in full time in left field as well. The team also called up the young super star Manny Machado to anchor down a third base position that lacked a true fielder.

Congrats to J.J. Hardy on his first Gold Glove while Jones & Wieters both got their second. Wieters anchors down a very young staff and does a great job calling a game!

Bryce Harper & Manny Machado future for MD & DC market!

The Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles both moved in the right direction in 2012. The Nationals finished first in the National League East with the best record in major leage baseball. While the O's had one of the best turnarounds ever as they finished second in the American League East. The Nationals have a young core of pitching led by Stephen Strasburg and called up the young superstar Bryce Harper to help get things going in 2012.

The O's called up fellow young superstar Manny Machado late in the season to help keep the club playing great ball. The callup not only gave them a solid option at the plate but a great fielder at third base.

Both of these clubs have great futures with Manny Machado and Bryce Harper in the Majors. Look for a possible beltway World Series in the near future! Both of these superstars are also making a buzz in the sports memorabilia world as people from all around are trying to collect these two players along with Mike Trout. From autograph baseballs to baseball cards to McFarlane SportsPicks they are on the top of the game. Bryce Harper made his debut on the SportsPick collection just this week the same day he turned 20 years old. While Manny Machado autographs have jumped from $50-$60 range to over $100 on some sites and stores.

The game of baseball has so much promise and for areas of Baltimore and DC they have so much to look forward to going in to 2013!

A Big Thank You To the Orioles!

As a die hard O's fan I want to take the time out to say Thank YOU to all the Baltimore Orioles, Buck Showalter and the rest of the O's staff. I have only experienced this excitement a few times as 7 year old with the WHY Not O's of 1989 and the O's teams of 96,97.

The team played every game and didn't let what the media had to say get in front of their goals. They played as a team if one guy wasn't playing well the next man stepped up. No major superstar not taking anything away from Adam Jones. Jones is a great ball player but Super Stars focus on me me me and Jones played as part of this team. From the shaving cream pies to the bubble gum bubbles in the outfield. 

Lets Go O's in 2013! Can't wait for free agency and spring training to start!

Joe Saunders pitches O's to playoff matchup against the Yankees!

Buck Showalter decided to hand the baseball off to Joe Saunders on friday night against the Texas Rangers even though his stats were not good at the ballpark in Arlington. His decision was the right call as Saunders went 5 2/3 innings striking out 4 Rangers while only allowing a first inning run.

The O's would get him a run in the first on a JJ Hardy base hit after Nate McLouth stole second base. They would add on in the 6th with a sac fly off the bat of Adam Jones and that is all the team would need. The O's would add rbi's from McLouth in the 7th, Machado in the 9th  and McLouth again in the 9th.

McLouth finished the game 1 for 4 with 1 run scored and 2 rbi's. He also stole a base. Jim Johnson would come on in the 9th to wrap it up moving the O's in the best of five match-up with division rival the New York Yankees with game 1 on Sunday.

O's look to Saunders in 1 game playoff against Texas!

The Baltimore Orioles will travel to Texas to take on the Texas Rangers tonight in a battle of 2 wild card teams in the Major League Baseball Playoffs. Buck Showalter has elected to give the ball to Joe Saunders tonight over the rookie Steve Johnson. This is the first time the O's have made the playoffs since 1997 with many people around baseball having us as one of the worse baseball teams in the Majors.

The O's will go up against rookie ace Yu Darvish who over the past month or so has been one of the best pitchers in the American League. This won't stop the O's led by Adam Jones and Chris Davis as tonight's contest could be a high scoring game with the way the ball fly's out of the stadium in Arlington!

Lets Go O's! I got the O's winning 8-5 ballgame and moving on!

Orioles sweep Boston out of Baltimore!

The Baltimore Orioles are on the verge for the teams first postseason birth since 1997 but had to get through Boston first. Last Season the O's spoiled the Red Sox chances to head to the playoff behind Robert Andino. This season the Red Sox had the chance to be spoiler but the O's had other ideas in store.

The Baltimore Orioles swept Boston on Sunday to move their record to 92-67 on the Season. They are currently tied in the American League East with the New York Yankees. The O's hit 3 solo homeruns including shots from Nate McLouth, JJ Hardy and Chris Davis. That is all that Joe Saunders would need to win his 3 game for the O's.

The O's will travel to Tampa to take on the Rays while the Red Sox could help the O's as they take on the Yankees in the remaining 3 games of the Season. Both teams will be fighting to win the division with a good chance the other team getting a wild card spot. The O's need a Angels loss or a O's win to lock up a wildcard spot!

Ravens looked ready for the regular season against Jaguars!

The Baltimore Ravens have had many doubts about their offense and if Joe Flacco could lead them through the air. The only problem is that he did that in the post season last season when he put up better numbers then future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady. The only problem was Lee Evans didn't hold on to the ball! Now in the third of four pre-season games Joe showed that he can be calm and run the offense.

Ray Rice ran for 30 yards on 2 carries while making 1 catch for 13 yards for his day to be over. Rice didn't need to show much and no one wanted him to get injured. The team, the fans and the opposing teams around the NFL know how good this running back is. Most of the evening consisted of Joe Flacco throwing to different receivers. Flacco was 27 for 36 for 266 yards and 2 touchdowns. He did throw 1 interception but that was a deep ball thrown before the half that you wouldn't normally see in the regular season. These two players look poise to help the Ravens offense put up big numbers this season. Look for both of these players to be big fantasy producers.

While the Ravens put up 48 points against 17 of the Jaguars many positives came out from the starting squad as the starting defense only allowed 3 points in their tune up for the regular season. The only problem I saw was the 7 penalties for 57 yards while Michael Oher still showing false start issues at the tackle position.

Last thing I saw is the rookie kicker Justin Tucker who booted 2 field goals with one being from 53 yards to stay perfect through the preseason. This puts pressure on the Ravens as who should be the opening day kicker.

In all the team looks ready to play on Monday Night against the Bengals to kick off the season.

Ray Rice a top five fantasy football player!

Ray Rice just keeps putting up numbers on the ground while also reeling in passes from Joe Flacco. Rice has put up over 1000 yards rushing and over 550 yards receiving in each of the past three seasons. While Rice gives you a dual threat coming out of the backfield it gives the Ravens offense a little security blanket that a lot of other teams don't have. Add in his stats and the fact I love to draft running backs and it makes him very attractive.

                                     Rushing Stats                                              Receiving Stats
                           Attempts   Yards    Touchdowns          Receptions    Yards     Touchdowns
2011 Season:         291         1364          12                         76               704               3
2010 Season:         307         1220           5                          63               556               1
2009 Season:         254         1339           7                          78               702               1
2008 Season:         107          454            0                          33               273               0

Those stats have continued to get better along with the amount of touchdowns going up. Last year he had the most yards from scrimmage, the third most rushing touchdowns and was second in rushing yards.

The only teams I would put ahead of Ray Rice in my draft would be a select few and at this moment a gamble as we don't know what injuries will pop up and if Adrian Peterson will return to his old self. The players I would draft ahead of him are Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Calvin Johnson. Now I would draft Adrian Peterson if I knew he would be 100 percent as long as the league is not a point per reception.

Keep an eye out for my fantasy rankings, fantasy tips and mock drafts.

Three tips to think about before your fantasy football draft!

The 2012 NFL Season kicked off with the Hall of Fame game on Sunday while many teams get their first pre-season games in tonight. With this happening it means it's almost time to draft your fantasy football team or if your like me your multiple teams. So I have three tips to consider before drafting.

1. Print out ranking sheets for each position you need to draft. This will give you an idea and a way to track who gets drafted. You can also use this to build your draft list. 
2. Rank all players on a piece of paper or on a note pad on your computer. Take in counts the type of league your in and the points each position receives. For example one of the leagues I am in you get 6 points for field goals over 50 yards or if you are in a league where you get point per catch. Don't just go through quarterbacks followed by another position bounce around on how you would draft.
3. Research all rookies and injuries that have happened in the pre-season games. Stay to your plan and don't draft players on their name. 

Those are 3 draft tips I use before drafting my team! Now keep looking back for my mock drafts, rankings of top players for each position including quarterback, runningbacks, wide receiver, tight ends, defense/st and kickers. 

Manny Machado called up as Steve Johnson gets his first win!

The Baltimore Orioles had a lot of things to be happy about at the end of the day on August 8th. The team just swept the Seattle Mariners with a strong outing from Steve Johnson and big production from Nick Markakis and Matt Wieters. After the game O's nation found out that O's have called up Manny Machado the organizations top prospect to make his Major League Debut on Thursday against the Kansas City Royals. We also learned that Dylan Bundy will be moved up to double A Bowie Baysox. Steve Johnson's first win in his first Major League start is the big news around Baltimore as 23 years ago on August 8th, 1989 his father Dave Johnson won his first big league game for the same Baltimore Orioles. Steve was brilliant in the Win while striking out 9 batters in 6 innings. The O's would jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first and add 2 more in the third inning and 3 in the fourth. That would be plenty of run support for Johnson to pick up his first Win. O's got home-runs off the bat of Nick Markakis and Mark Reynolds while Matt Wieters collected 5 Rbi's in the win. Adam Jones also added 3 of the 14 hits for the Birds who have won 5 straight games. After the game we learn that the O's top prospect Manny Machado was being called up to start at the third base for the O's in the opening game of a 4 game series against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night. Machado was batting .266 for the Bowie Baysox but has been hot since the all-star break. The O's are hoping Machado can get off to a hot start while helping the team such as other big name rookies Mike Trout and Bryce Harper has done for the teams they are playing for. The O's nation will be all eyes on the T.V. set with many more fans deciding to head down to Camden Yards to watch the game live! Wait so fast that is not all the O's did on Wednesday as the O's decided to move Dylan Bundy up to the Baysox where he will make his debut August 14th. As a O's fan we all have a lot of things to be happy for! Let's Go O's!

O's fall to Yank's look to bounce back against the Rays!

The Baltimore Orioles were unable to complete the sweet against the Yankees on Wednesday as Zach Britton gave up 7 runs in 2.2 innings. The O's would end up losing 12-3 but still took the series in New York.

Now the O's will travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Rays for 3 games. Tommy Hunter will take on Matt Moore in the first game of the series. The O's will need Nick Markakis to thrive in the leadoff spot.

The O's and Rays are tied at the moment with a 55-50 record. In game 2 the O's will have Wei-Yin Chen oppose Jeremy Hellickson. The O's will have Miguel Gonzalez versus the Rays ace David Price.

The O's need to jump on both starts for games 1 and 2 to avoid having to win a game against Price for a series win. This is a big series for the O's as a playoff spot is still up for grabs for the Birds!

The Orioles look for sweep against Yanks!

The Baltimore Orioles have rode a up and down roller coaster all season. They play really well for a stretch lose a couple games and then find ways to win games. The same thing happened on Tuesday Night in New York as Chris Tillman gave up 5 runs in the first inning. The O's bounced back in the top of the second to score 7 with the big blast coming on Chris Davis first career grand slam. The O's would go on to add 4 more runs and win the game 11-5. O's got 3 hit games from Nick Markakis & Wilson Betemit in the win.

The O's & Yankees will wrap up a 3 game series today at 1:05 pm in New York. Zach Britton will throw for the Birds while Phil Hughes will throw for the Pin strippers. The O's have picked up 2 games in the standings and now trail the Yankees by 5 1/2 games.

A look at the A's, Rangers & Royals!

A quick mid-season look at three different teams the Oakland A's, Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. The Oakland A's are currently the hottest team in baseball winning 8 of the last 10 games they have played and positioned themselves in a wild card chase.

Texas has played to a 58-40 record on the season and are 31-18 at home at the Ball Park in Arlington. The best place to see them play get your texas rangers tickets today and catch an up and coming game. The Rangers have made 2 consecutive runs at the World Series and this could be the season behind Josh Hamilton.

Oakland A's are currently in position for the second wild card spot and would take on the Los Angeles Angels in a one game playoff. The A's are riding high while playing great ball at home and oakland athletics tickets are still available. Come watch Josh Reddick and Billy Beane's moneyball team make a run at the playoffs!

The Royals are a team on the rise with many young talents and a unique ball park. The team has a few big name young stars with Billy Butler, Mike Moustaskas & Eric Hosmer and with a little time could be a contender. The Royals also just hosted the 2012 All-Star game with all the big names in the game playing at Kaufmann Stadium. Come check out these young superstars on the rode to glory kansas city royals tickets still available. Let them know your still routing.

Texas has a test down the stretch as the Angels just added former Royals ace Zack Greinke to a rotation that has Weaver, Wilson, Haren & Santana. The A's another team that has to fight off teams for the wildcard such as the O's, Tigers and Tampa Bay. The push for the playoffs should be fun get out there and support your team!

Davis, Tillman keep O's from being swept!

Chris Davis had 2 hits and 4 runs batted in helping him to bust out of a slump and help the O's from being swept. Davis drove a bases clearing double to left center field and a solo home-run deep into the seats in center. Add in an Adam Jones 2 run single and thats all Chris Tillman would need.

Tillman would go 6 innings allowing 2 runs while striking out 5. Tillman won back to back games for the first time of his career. Moving his record to 3-1 on the season. The O's bullpen would get 3 scoreless innings and 3 strike-outs.

The O's will welcome the red hot Oakland A's to Camden Yards for the weekend series while the Rays head out to the West Coast to take on the Los Angeles Angels.

Thome crushes number 610, O's crush Indians!

The Baltimore Orioles coming off a 4 game trip to Minnesota earning them a split by winning the last 2 games before heading to Cleveland to take on the Indians. The O's jumped right on Derek Lowe and the tribe getting a run in the 1st on a wild pitch that the tribe would match in the bottom half. The flood gates would open in the top of the 3rd as the O's would put a 6 spot on the board. 2 coming across the plate on Mark Reynolds deep double and 3 more on Ryan Flaherty 3rd home-run of the season. This pushing the lead to 7-1.

The O's would getting 2 more in the 4th with one of those coming off Jim Thome's 610th career home-run in to the right field bleachers. The O's wouldn't look back and that is all the run support Miguel Gonzalez would need. Gonzalez would go 6.2 innings allowing 2 runs while striking out 5 and the O's bullpen would hold on for the win.

Thome with his home-run passes Sammy Sosa on the all-time home-run list and moved to #7 all-time by himself. Thome trails Ken Griffey Jr by 20 for 6th all-time. O's and Indians will square off in game #2 of 4 tonight at Progressive Field with the first pitch comingat 7:05 pm. The O's will have Chris Tillman going against Zach McAllister for the Indians. Tillman will look to perform better than his last start in which he lasted .2 innings while allowing 1 earned runs and 7 runs in total. Bad fielding led to 6 unearned runs for Chris and he couldn't get himself composed and out of the 1st. McAllister on the other hand is coming off 6 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 5 and walking 4 in a win against the Tampa Bay Rays!

Ray Rice lands new deal!

The day that all Baltimore Ravens fans have been waiting to hear about since the end of the 2011 season. Ray Rice received a new 5 year deal worth around 40 million dollars with 25 million coming in the first 2 seasons. The bulk of the money is upfront with 17 million in 2012 and 8 million in 2013. This is great news for a team that needs to get franchise quarterback Joe Flacco locked up long term.

The deal also gives the team around 2.7 million dollars in cap space for the upcoming season! As far as Ray Rice he can now show up to work happy and ready to run which he would have down under the franchise tag to! Now Flacco can give a sigh of relief that his favorite check down will be coming out of the back field this season!

The deal is good for both sides now its time for some football!

Michael Phelps just that good?

Baltimore swimmer Michael Phelps who recently got called out by fellow U.S. Swimmer Tyler Clary for not having a good work ethic made me start thinking about him just having the natural talent to win? With the 2012 Summer Olympics in London just a couple weeks away we will all find out if he was ready. Now if he does anything like the 2008 Summer Olympics then Clary may have justified my point as he didn't train hard enough but still won. That may just say that he is better then all the rest and he was born with the gifts to swim.

Personally I wouldn't have taken jabs at Phelps till the Olympics were over as if he wins multiple gold medals it will not only make Phelps look better then he all-ready is but may make Clary look a little jealous of the attention that Phelps gets? I will be waiting to see the match up of the two go back and forth in the 200 meter butterfly.

I know I ll be paying attention not that I am a big fan of swimming but I want to see if Phelps brings his A game and if he will bring home more gold to go along with his other 14 gold medals and 2 bronze medals from the Olympics!

Ravens need wideouts to step up games!

Baltimore Ravens are only a couple of weeks from training camp and a big question is will Ed Reed but thats not my biggest question. I am worried about what the wide receivers will bring to the team this year. Who will be the number 3 and who will step up to shine.

My thoughts are Torrey will continue to grow and only get better on his route running. His speed and deep threat allows Anquan Boldin to get back to what made him so good. The third receiver position will be up for grabs with newly acquired Jacoby Jones the leading candidate. Jones has big play ability the downsize is his inconsistencies have hurt him. The team also drafted 6'5'' Tommy Streeter out of University of Miami and have Tandon Doss. I love the physical attributes that Streeter brings but he is unpolished and may take a awhile to develop route running.

This is the year in my opinion that Joe Flacco has a big season. The tight ends are a year older and the receiving corps are maturing. We still lack the true number one such as Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson or Larry Fitzgerald but other those 3 teams many teams don't have that pure number 1 and still have great passing attacks. Look for Flacco to spread the ball around more this year and the team lets him pass on first down more.

Baltimores trio of allstars looking to shine!

The first half of the 2012 season has come and gone now the mid season classic is upon us. The Baltimore Orioles for the first time since 2005 have multiple all-star selections heading to the game. Matt Wieters, Adam Jones & Jim Johnson. For Wieters and Jones this will be there second appearance with it being Jim Johnson's first.

Jones has batted .289 with 20 home-runs in the first half and will look to continue those numbers over the next couple months to put up career highs. Wieters who has been praised with the work he does with pitchers and his defense is also looking to put up career highs offensively this year. The last player Johnson has pitched to a 1.21 e.r.a with a league leading 26 saves.

These 3 players are a big part of the O's first half success that has them in second place in the American League East at the break. Look for all 3 to help the American League win against the National League squad tonight on Fox.

My prediction is Jones will go 1-2 with a 2-run homer and Johnson will pick up the save!

Chipper and Cal a lot alike!

Growing up a Baltimore Orioles fan and watching Cal Ripken Jr play the game you learn to respect the game of baseball. Cal played his entire career for 1 team not choosing to leave for more money. He played it day in and day out while giving it all he had. He didn't want to take days off either from being tired or injured. He played as if he had to go to work the same as you and me. Now Cal & Chipper have different careers but they are a lot alike. They both played in the steroid era while never being brought up in those conversations or being linked. They both also played for 1 team and 1 team only. They both also have a World Series ring and an MVP award with Cal having 2.

Cal and fellow hall of famer Tony Gwynn both made the All-Star team in there final season and now Chipper has the chance to do that as well. Chipper got word today that he will replace Matt Kemp on the National League all-star team for this 8th time. Chipper will go out an all-star as the likes of Cal in his final season. Now many people will argue this and they did with Cal & Tony but its well deserving honor based on the career Chipper has put up. Fans vote players in every year that is not well deserving just based on who they play for, what team they play for and how they get attention. As an Orioles fan I tip my hat to Chipper Jones and wish him the best of luck the rest of the way and a great time in Kansas City at the all-star game. Now if he homers in the game he can add another thing he has with Ripken. Chipper now gets to end his career an all-star the same way Cal did!

In years down the road he will join Ripken in the Baseball Hall of Fame! Both great ball players who played the game of baseball with the same love you play it as a kid!

O's bats can't wake up!

The Baltimore Orioles headed out west to play a series against the Seattle Mariners followed by a series against the Los Angeles Angels before the All-Star Break. A break that can't get here fast enough for the boys in orange & black. The problem over the course of the last couple weeks has been the teams lack of hitting in the clutch and now all of a sudden its just hits in general.

The O's managed to get 3 hits off the Mariners including 1 of those being a 3 run home-run off the bat of Chris Davis. Davis also had a second hit gaining 2 of 3 hits with the third hit coming of the newly acquired bat of Jim Thome. Jason Hammel started for the O's and had a solid outing going in the 7th after a strike-out Matt Wieters attempted a strike them out throw them out double play but Robert Andino dropped the ball. The catch would have cleared the bases with 2 outs. Instead it was 1 out and a runner at second. The Mariners were able to load the bases before Casper Wells cleared them on a bases clearing double.

The O's would fall to the Mariners 6-3 as the slide continues. Over the the course of the last 7 games the O's have 47 hits in 218 at bats with a team batting average of .215. The one bright spot Wilson Betemit who is 11 for 27 over that stretch. Other then him the rest of the team is not hitting including Mark Reynolds who is 0 for 15, Brian Roberts 1 for 22, Robert Andino 1 for 13 and JJ Hardy who is 4 for 30.

The O's are in need of the All-Star break and it can't get here fast enough! The question entering the break will the O's still be over .500?

Mikes Trout's catch just that good on replay!

The Baltimore Orioles on a trip to the west coast to play the Seattle Mariners followed by the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels just left Baltimore after sweeping the O's last week. In one of those games Mike Trout robs JJ Hardy of a home-run. The catch made a lot of noise as he went well above the wall in right center to rob the O's shortstop. If you haven't seen the catch you can see it here! As far as the catch goes after watching it you can tell me what you think but my thoughts are that it was amazing and one of the best catches at Camden Yards!

His catch made me actually look into acquiring some of his autographed memorabilia and rookie cards. Here is a good read about Mike Trout and being a player to collect!. Maybe I'll put together a list of the top 5/10 greatest catches at Oriole Park At Camden Yards. Let me know what you think is the best catch in the stadiums history!

The Orioles unpredictable starting rotation!

As spring training gets underway down in Sarasota for the Baltimore Orioles the big question is what will be the starting rotation? After a trade that sent former number 1 starter Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies and a splash of free agent signings of starters who should be no more than a number 4 or 5 starter to fight for the top of the rotation.

The first test to fill out the rotation is who will be the number 1 starter that takes the mound on opening day? Guess time will tell but with Zach Britton recovering from a sore shoulder and Brian Matusz terrible 2011 season it leaves you to wonder who it will be. My guess it will come down to Jake Arrieta or Tommy Hunter depending on who has the better spring.

The rotation I am going with at the moment which I will update it when the spring games start looks like this.

Jake Arrieta
Tommy Hunter
Wei-Yin Chen
Brian Matusz
Chris Tillman (Long shot chance but I have the hopes he regains his power arm)

Now don't flip out after not seeing Zach Britton as he will more than likely be added to the list but till he throws off the regular mound that puts him behind the other starters!

What does your starting rotation look like? I would love to see it!

The comeback of me and my posting!

Wow what a lay off I have been a slacker and have not dedicated any time to this blog. That is about to change as today begins a new day and tomorrow will only be brighter! The baseball season is only weeks aways and as spring training kicks off my heart starts to beat a little faster. To go along with baseball the NFL Combine, pro days, the draft and free agency are right around the corner. Also add in March Madness & NBA playoffs you have to love this time of the year!

What I know is its a great time to be a sports fan! Check back often as you never know what I might be talking about next!