Bruce Chen, 2006 Upper Deck #525

I know that Bruce Chen is from Panama, but I'm still not certain how he came to be holding a large Panamanian flag on the field. Anyhow, I'm glad it was captured for posterity.

Ramon Hernandez, 2006 Upper Deck #380

The Orioles finally suffer their first series sweep of the year thanks to a listless drubbing at the hands of the punchless and largely anonymous Padres. Gross. Two-game series bookended by days off...interleague play...12:35 getaway games after night games...if you ask me, Bud Selig is to blame for this mini-skid.

Okay, I'm only half-serious. But the past 18 hours of baseball made me grumpy, and I figure that nobody ever made enemies by bashing Mr. Commish-for-Life.

Miguel Tejada, 2006 Upper Deck #888

I went to a small card show this morning over in Glen Burnie, and emptied out my wallet at some nickel and dime boxes. About half of my haul was various Orioles cards, the better to keep the good times rolling here. I haven't sorted them yet, but it seems like I plucked out several dozen different cards of Melvin Mora and Jay Gibbons. I may have to become the world's foremost Jay Gibbons supercollector by default, and that's about as sad as any sentence I've ever typed. Anyway, this nondescript checklist card was one of my purchases today, but I'm less interested in what Miguel Tejada is doing and more interested in what's on the scoreboard behind him. It's been a while, so let's do some sleuthing!

The bottom of the scoreboard looks like it's got a Toronto at Houston matchup. #7 is a very unusual number for a starting pitcher, and I remember former Oriole Josh Towers having the #7 jersey for the Blue Jays. Roy Oswalt wore #44 for the Astros, so we should have our starters. That makes this Sunday, June 12, 2005. Oswalt tossed a real gem, two-hitting the Jays in a 3-0 victory. Towers gave up all three runs (two earned) on nine hits and a pair of walks in seven innings. Willy Taveras and Jason Lane each had three hits and an RBI for the Astros.

Oh, but you probably want to know about the Orioles. On June 12, they were visiting the Cincinnati Reds in interleague play, and it didn't end well. Sidney Ponson barfed up a seven-run, eleven-hit masterpiece in six innings of work, and Steve Kline tossed a molotov cocktail on the fire by allowing all three batters he faced to get on base. Todd Williams replaced Kline and permitted those three runners to score on a pair of singles, giving the Reds their full tally of ten runs. The O's batters fought gamely, with six runs in a losing effort. Sammy Sosa had his second (and last) multi-homer game with Baltimore, career home runs #581 and #582. Incidentally, Ken Griffey, Jr. took Ponson deep for the 512th longball of his own storied career. So there you go. 10-6 loss, giving the Reds a pair of wins in a 3-game set.

Raul Chavez, 2006 Upper Deck #534

Well, I'm back from my week-long self-imposed exile, though I did of course make an exception in posting Wednesday about Mike Flanagan's tragic and senseless death. This was a very eventful week to be away from the blog, for better and worse. The Birds honored the memory of their departed pitcher/coach/executive/broadcaster by adding a "Flanny" patch to their jersey sleeves, hanging a black banner with an orange "46" over the press box, putting together a tribute video to air in the first inning at all remaining 2011 home games, and of course requesting a moment of silence prior to Friday night's home game. The players also did him proud by rattling off a 6-game win streak, their longest since early 2008. That run of prosperity included their first-ever four game sweep in Minnesota and their second and third wins of the entire season against the Yankees. Suddenly, the sleepwalking O's were hitting (somewhat), pitching, and even flashing the leather. I felt superstition creeping in, and was loath to jinx the club by posting again. Now that the Orioles have dropped the nightcap of today's doubleheader, it's a moot point.

I also received my goodies from this month's cheapo eBay lot break courtesy of Thorzul. For $10 I secured all of the Orioles cards in a random assortment, which included a bunch of shiny Chrome O's from the past three years, some 1980s oddballs, my first Manny Machado card (to be shown off at a later date), and a card that I didn't know existed, which is pictured above. Raul Chavez played for 6 teams in 11 big league seasons, and only saw action with Baltimore in 16 games spread across April, May, and September in 2006. He had 5 whole hits in 28 at-bats, all singles with no RBI. But I'm thrilled to know that someone that minor in the grand scheme of team history has his own card in orange and black, and I'm even happier to own it. Last of all, as disgusted as I was a week ago, I'm encouraged to know that I spent several moments during the week thinking about tidbits that I would have liked to post on this blog. No matter what may come for the Orioles, I don't think I'm going anywhere.

LaTroy Hawkins, 2006 Upper Deck #533

Thanksgiving is almost upon us, and former Oriole LaTroy Hawkins is helping scores of families in his hometown of Gary, IN to have a better holiday.

Yesterday Hawkins and his family (wife Anita, 9-year-old daughter Troi, and 18-year-old son Dakari) paid a visit to Embassies of Christ Ministries and donated and distributed 250 10-pound turkeys to needy parishioners and members of the community at large. The ex-Oriole and current Milwaukee Brewer now makes his home in Texas, but insisted that he is a Hoosier at heart and that he's appreciative for all that the city of Gary and its people have done for him. LaTroy also gave away 15 gift baskets via a drawing.

Since Thanksgiving is all about being grateful for the things that we have, it's also important to remember that there are millions of people who are less fortunate, especially in these trying economic times. If you have a bit of discretionary income to spare, please consider donating to a local non-profit like the Maryland Food Bank. A little goes a long way.

Corey Patterson, 2006 Upper Deck #528

Tonight's results notwithstanding, Corey Patterson has been having a great time making my last blog entry about him look dumb. The O's won their first three games with him back in the lineup, and he had leadoff hits to ignite rallies in each game. He threw out the tying run at home plate to end a thrilling 6-5 win over Seattle on Thursday, and had three hits, a walk, and robbed a home run from Shin-Soo Choo in last night's 8-1 victory over the Indians. It's almost like he wants to stick around or something. If he keeps it up, Corey can stay as long as he likes.

Melvin Mora, 2006 Upper Deck #64

It's time to gaze at more goofy faces in the crowd at an Orioles-Yankees game at the old Yankee Stadium. My favorites include:

-The guy in the light blue shirt at top left who's shoveling popcorn or peanuts into his craw

-The man in white a row or two below him, who appears to be clutching his hand to his head due to a case of "the vapors"

-The lady in pink at far right who is preparing to hurl her water bottle at Melvin Mora

-The dude in the polo shirt who is standing up to pick his wedgie

-His buddy in the navy blue tee, whose hand he is holding (Melvin is blocking our view of the tender moment)

If you think that two nights worth of silly posts is my way of avoiding any talk of the Orioles' disastrous play, you would be correct.

David Newhan, 2006 Upper Deck #529

Sad news for fans of 35-year-old utility players today, as the Astros released David Newhan. I haven't been able to confirm the rumor that he was stretching his hamstrings like a ballerina on the dugout rail when he got the news.

I liked David Newhan well enough when he played in Baltimore, which admittedly has a lot to do with the unreal blazing start he had in the summer of 2004. He arrived as a 30-year-old journeyman with 63 major league games to his credit, but played 95 in that first year with the O's. He earned his playing time by hitting over .400 for his initial five weeks with the team. Overall he hit .311 with 15 doubles, 7 tripes, and 8 home runs and 54 RBI. He played at all four corner infield and outfield positions and always seemed to be hustling, stealing 11 bases and only getting caught once. His father Ross was a well-known sportswriter, which added a bit of warm fuzziness to the story.

But David never recaptured that initial magic. He was frustrated by a lack of playing time early the next season (four starts in April), and spoke up. Regardless of his recent success, it might not have been smart to play the squeaky wheel when he was still largely a fringe player (one who was struggling to hit his weight in the here and now). Though Newhan got more playing time as the season went along, it coincided with a downturn in the team's fortunes and a rash of injuries, and it didn't do him much good either. His average plummeted to .202 and his status with the club seemed shaky. Though he did return for a third season, a reasonably strong start was derailed by a broken leg suffered while running the bases. David missed four months, and that all but brought his time in orange and black to an end.

Newhan spent 2007 and 2008 in the National League, where his versatility may have been better utilized. But he hasn't come close to matching his red-hot summer of 2004, and he had an awful Grapefruit League run with the Astros this March (.182 with no extra-base hits). Apparently, he wasn't happy that he first heard that he was out of the backup shortstop competition by reading an article on mlb.com. If that's true, I'd have to agree that manager Cecil Cooper could've handled things better. But David's 35 now, and his spring numbers were awful. Considering that he couldn't crack a team that's prepared to go forward with Geoff Blum as its starting third baseman, I wonder if he'll be calling it a career soon.

Miguel Tejada, 2006 Upper Deck #65

Check it out - a midair moment and a bunch of conspicuous light blue wristbands! This is a card worthy of both Dinged Corners and Uni Watch. So why exactly were Miggy, his blurry teammate in the outfield, and baserunner J.D. Closser all wearing those wristbands? A quick check of baseball-reference.com shows that this photo was taken on June 19, 2005; that was the only game of the three-game interleague series between the O's and the Rockies in which Closser played. It was a Sunday afternoon game, Father's Day to be exact. Every MLB team wore blue ribbons and wristbands to promote prostate cancer awareness. Some players even wore "eye blue" instead of eye black.

This was a good one, with the Birds winning 4-2 to maintain their surprising grip on first place. Young Hayden Penn won his second career game while pitching into the seventh inning, and B.J. Ryan notched his 18th save. Rafael Palmeiro's sixth-inning two-run home run was the big blow. Manager Lee Mazzilli had his most memorable moment in a short tenure at the helm of the O's, earning an ejection while arguing a near-miss foul ball hit by Chris Gomez in the sixth inning should have been ruled a home run. Replays would later show that the umps got the call right, but the sight of Mazzilli tossing a tray full of chewing gum from the dugout onto the field delighted fans who were starved for a taste of Earl Weaver-esque histrionics.

The above picture was taken in the top of the third inning, when Closser walked with one out but was wiped from the basepaths by Eddy Garabito's inning-ending double play grounder, 3-6-3. I love the rich detail of Upper Deck's photography. It makes it so easy to do a little sleuthing and to identify the specific moment in time that they've captured.

Chris Britton, 2006 Upper Deck #905

Here we have the pride of Hollywood, Florida, relief pitcher Chris Britton. For the third straight Presidential Election, Chris' home state figures to be hotly contested. I already know that I'm going to spend waaaay too much time tomorrow reading, refreshing, and reacting to political news. With that in mind, I'm getting my "Get Out the Vote" post out of the way tonight. So once again, if you're a registered voter, I hope you take the time tomorrow to exercise your constitutional right and make your voice heard. It doesn't matter whether you're voting for this guy:



Or this guy:



Or even writing in this guy:



Speak now, or forever shut your trap.

Jim Hoey, 2006 Upper Deck #1020

This is one of several cards I received in a recent trade with Patricia and her seven-year-old daughter Lucy, who are responsible for the entertaining and breezy Dinged Corners blog. It's the only card in my possession featuring young reliever Jim Hoey, one of several former Aberdeen IronBirds to play for the Orioles in recent years. Jim and I both spent time in Aberdeen in 2004, though he'd been shut down due to injury by the time I arrived.

My first job after graduating from college was an unpaid marketing internship with the IronBirds in Fall 2004. It eventually became a paid consultancy when my boss quit suddenly and I was needed to complete a series of illustrated reports for the team's sponsors. I had a great time for the three short months I spent at Ripken Stadium, and I did a little bit of everything. For the last few home games of the season I surveyed fans about their experiences and preferences, wrote game notes for the program, operated one of the scoreboards, and even helped out with the video board operation once. Once the offseason began, I spent most of my time working on the sponsor reports, selecting and editing photos that displayed company logos or products around the stadium and writing corresponding copy. It wasn't nearly as exciting as the in-game stuff. But I also took on a task that was good for a few laughs, and will probably get Lucy's attention.

I made several public appearances as the mascot.

That's right; for a brief period, I was Ferrous, the dopey-looking but well-meaning bird of indiscriminate species. The team's previous Game Entertainment Coordinator (and man behind the mask - er, head) had just left for a similar (but more high profile) job with the Ravens. Ferrous was booked for a number of events, and someone had to put on the suit. As a recent grad lacking a full-time job, I was desperate for money and more than a little curious, so I stepped up to take on a few bookings. I shook my tail feathers and bobbed my head on four occasions that I can remember: to help hand out invitations to a private batting practice and luncheon (one of the perks for the team's top-level sponsors), to commemorate the completion
of highway construction near the stadium (along with Gov. Bob Ehrlich), to visit a class of autistic children at an area school, and in one gruesome instance to meet and greet the shoppers at the Harford Mall...on Black Friday.

If you or anyone you know have ever been inside a mascot costume, you know what it was like. The costume was bulky and smelled terrible. It was laundered regularly, but there's only so much you can do with an unbreathable jumpsuit that is being soaked with sweat every time it's worn. In between washings it was liberally doused with Lysol, which seemed to mutate the odor instead of masking it. The head was basically an oversized football helmet; the opening was in the mouth area, so there were several inches of head on top of my own. This was a decidedly awkward sensation and visibility wasn't ideal. The head weighed a ton, as you can probably imagine.

The most difficult thing about playing a mascot is learning to communicate without words. I relied heavily on pantomime and goofy waves and thumbs-up gestures. People would ask me questions, such as "What are you supposed to be?" or "What are you doing here?". Usually I had the team's PR director with me to do the verbal heavy lifting, but at the mall in particular I was on my own, making exaggerated batting and throwing gestures. For the most part, adults were bemused and children curious or even affectionate. One of the autistic children was so excited to see me that he managed to pull me to the ground with a vigorous hug. While the child was exceptionally strong for someone so very small, my own lack of coordination probably didn't help matters much. Of course, there were other, more rambunctious kids who were eager to grab my beak and to pull on my already loosening tail. I was not fond of those children. Then there's Governor Ehrlich, who responded to my good-natured shuffling with a wisecrack: "Does he get paid by the hour?".

Overall, it wasn't a terrible experience. Often it was rewarding, as I was entertaining both children and adults. Besides, it gave me a good story and a smart response when people ask me what I've been able to do with a bachelors' degree in drama.