Brian Matusz, 2010 Upper Deck #5

It's time for a bit of the cutting-edge, insightful analysis that you've come to expect from this blog. Are you ready? Here goes:

Brian Matusz is...not very good.

Ty Wigginton, 2010 Upper Deck #79

Man, it's hard for me to be in a bad mood when I look at photos of Ty Wigginton in a baseball uniform. A quick search of my archives shows that I have compared Wiggy to a fire hydrant in two previous blog entries, so I may as well adhere to the rule of comedy threes. And I just did; that was easy!

Nolan Reimold, 2010 Upper Deck #76

So long, Nolan Reimold. I hope for your own sake that you're finally healthy and pain-free, but I hope you understand that I can't exactly wish you success as long as you're playing in the Great White North for the Orioles' closest pursuers. I'll still remember you fondly for games and moments like the May 27, 2009 11th-inning walkoff homer, or your 2-for-3 outing with a walk, a steal, a homer, and two RBI on September 16, 2011 (I mention this because I was there), or of course, your game-tying double and game-winning run on September 28, 2011 - the day the O's and Rays conspired to eliminate Boston from playoff contention. Thanks for those memories, Nolan.

Koji Uehara, 2010 Upper Deck #83

While I am sorry that Koji Uehara was the pitcher to give up the walk-off home run to Jose Lobaton in the bottom of the ninth inning last night in St. Petersburg, I certainly was glad to see Boston lose. I hope the Rays have some more late-inning magic left for tonight's game. There have been some thrilling games in the 2013 postseason thus far, and another winner-take-all Game Five would be ideal.

Chris Ray, 2010 Upper Deck #86

Just a hunch, guys and girls, but I think Chris Ray is tipping his pitches.

Chad Moeller, 2010 Upper Deck #82

I just can't turn away from 2010 Upper Deck. They're responsible for the only documented proof that Chad Moeller was a Baltimore Oriole, at least as far as baseball cards go. His 30-game stint as a water-carrier for Gregg Zaun and Matt Wieters is forever immortalized in this Spring Training action shot and an indistinguishable black-and-white inset portrait. Of course you won't find the "Orioles" name or any of their copyrighted logos on this card, per legal mandates after Upper Deck lost their MLB license. UD's self-censorship was notably slapdash, perhaps willfully so, with cap logos and jersey wordmarks peeking out on dozens of cards in what's looking to be the last-ever Upper Deck baseball set. It's as though they hoped that no one would pay attention to the photos at all if the other design elements were sufficiently dull. That makes Moeller an apt subject, as his .258/.313/.438 performance in 100 trips to the plate for the O's makes him forgettably acceptable as a backup catcher, forever fated to recede into team history alongside Craig Tatum and Lenny Webster and Jeff Tackett, on down the line.

Robert Andino, 2010 Upper Deck #81

Do you remember back in December, when I pooh-poohed Robert Andino's chances of making the major league roster this season? Yeah, don't forget that I'm an idiot. Though most of the powers that be in the Baltimore organization were fed up with the young shortstop last year, Buck Showalter wanted to see what 'Dino could do with his own eyes. And after spending the entire 2010 season at AAA Norfolk, he hit .295 with a pair of home runs in a September callup. Despite the fact that Buck and others in the O's organization have a man-crush on the aging and offense-deficient Cesar Izturis, Andino joined Cesar on the Baltimore bench to open this season. When J. J. Hardy went down with an oblique injury, I assumed the worst - that Izturis would get the lion's share of playing time at short. But Robert heated up at the right time and seized command of a starting role with three straight multi-hit games. He has gone on to play significant roles in back-to-back wins to open the current road series in Chicago, going 3-for-4 with a walk in last night's 10-4 victory and adding a home run, a single, and two runs scored in tonight's 6-2 win. He is now hitting .348 in a 16-game sample size, and has rendered Izzy virtually irrelevant. I'm still eager to see Hardy return, but it's nice to know in the interim that the #9 spot in the batting order is not an automatic out.

Matt Wieters, 2010 Upper Deck #84

I know it seems cruel and unusual to post two 2010 Upper Deck cards back-to-back, but I have to let the chips fall where they may. This is the fourth of the five autographs that I collected on Saturday. The last will wait for Vintage Friday, which cannot come soon enough.

The hype that accompanied Matt Wieters to the major leagues would have been impossible for anyone to live up to, but it's still funny to see people treating him like a disappointment. He'll be 25 in May, and just completed his first full major league season. In 2010, he dealt with the responsibility of handling a pitching staff for 130 games on a team that wasn't exactly a model of stability. In one year, he became one of the best defensive catchers in the league by any measure. I'm willing to wait another year or two for his bat to catch up. Even though his batting line was a ho-hum .249/.319/.377 (89 OPS+), he did improve slightly in the second half (103 OPS+). I'm not worried about #32.

Lou Montanez, 2010 Upper Deck #78

I'll take a break from posting autographs to show you my impulse buy from FanFest. While strolling the third floor of the convention center, I spotted a sign outside of a conference room: "Silent auction and game-used items". I stopped dead in my tracks and inhaled sharply. I've toyed with the notion of ponying up for a game-used jersey ever since I spotted a rack full of them at the National in August. There was something intoxicating about those polyester uniform tops, brightly colored with 1980s-2000s logos and wordmarks, bearing names and numbers of thoroughly uninspiring ex-players. Anyone can own a Cal Ripken, Jr. or Roy Halladay jersey. But a Kirk Saarloos Athletics jersey or a Peter Bergeron Expos road jersey...these things appeal to my twisted sense of humor and aesthetics.


I entered the room and gravitated toward a table piled high with orange and black batting practice jerseys. They were all available for $50 each, and the names and numbers were a wonderful cross-section of forgotten or soon-to-be-forgotten coaches, instructors, minor leaguers, and fringe major leaguers. I glossed over the instructors and minor league coaches. Even I didn't want something as esoteric as a Richie Hebner #99. Same thing goes for the spring training invitees who didn't sniff the majors; tough luck for you, Chorye Spoone and Blake Davis. I spent several minutes clutching a Jake Fox #47 black road jersey. There's something about that big, hard-swinging lummox that just reaches me. But then I realized that it was enormous, a size 52 that hung to my knees. I briefly considered an Oscar Salazar #16 and an Adam Eaton #56, but ultimately settled on a Lou Montanez #16 (size 48). I like the look of the black road jersey over the orange home jersey due to the "Baltimore" wordmark. Besides, the shade of orange on the other jersey looks washed-out.

Lou also seemed like a good choice because he came across as an articulate and decent guy during his time in Baltimore (and Bowie and Norfolk). He also had some rabid supporters among O's fans, including one Camden Chat member who declared, "LOU CAN HIT. DEAL WITH IT." That phrase became a running joke on the blog. Montanez just signed as a free agent with the Cubs, the organization with which he spent the first seven years of his professional career. I guess that ensures that I will be the only person in Charm City wearing a Lou Montanez jersey. As tongue-in-cheek keepsakes go, it's a good one.

Luke Scott, 2010 Upper Deck #75

Mariano Rivera is the Yankee of recent vintage that I respect the most. He quietly goes about his business year after year and is ludicrously good at what he does. Entering today's series finale, he had faced the Orioles 115 times in his career, more than any other opposing team. Believe it or not, his 3.07 ERA against the Birds is one of the highest marks he has against anyone; the Angels (3.43) are the only American League team that touches him up more frequently. That's not to say that Baltimore has Mo's number by any means. The New York closer has 65 career saves against the O's, and had blown five saves in sixteen years. Only ten of the 481 Oriole batters to face him had hit home runs (Rafael Palmeiro and Aubrey Huff each touched him up twice - Edgar Martinez is the only other hitter with two HR off of him), and only four of those were game-tying or go-ahead homers.

Today the script was flipped from last week's series in Yankee Stadium. It was the Bronx Bombers who were trying to wrap up a road sweep, and who were undone by a ninth-inning homer. Luke Scott (1-for-12 in his career vs. Rivera) led off with a solo shot on a low cut fastball from Mariano to tie the game at three. Though he had blown his sixth career save against the Birds, he did not get the loss. The game pushed along into the 11th inning, at which point Luke did his best to single-handedly deliver the win. He led off with a double off of David Robertson, smartly hitting against the defensive shift to turn a routine fly ball to left field into extra bases. Ty Wigginton was the next hitter, and he delivered Baltimore's major league-best 13th extra-inning win with a wallop to the right-center field gap. 4-3, Orioles. Well done.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards, 2010 Upper Deck #543

I'm running this as a pre-scheduled post because I am at Oriole Park at Camden Yards today. No, I haven't lost my mind...I know the O's are still in Kansas City. OPACY apparently hosts weddings on occasion, which was previously unbeknownst to me. One such wedding is taking place this morning, and my girlfriend (as a family friend of the groom) and me (as the date of a family friend of the groom) will be there. Given the distressing lack of magic on Eutaw Street in 2010 (the Birds are a league-worst 18-33 at home), I wish the happy couple all the luck in the world. They might need it.

Justin Turner, 2010 Upper Deck #39

Just in case (Justin? Get it? I'll show myself out) you haven't laid your hands on any of this year's Upper Deck cards, check this out. After losing their MLB license, the 20-year veteran of the Card Wars goes out with a whimper. Bland design, hideous rookie card logo, nicknameless cities (even though the Orioles and Red Sox are mentioned as such on the card back), and not-fooling-anyone photograph angles. Sure, Justin Turner's torso is contorted in such a way that the insignia on the front of his jersey is obscured, but did they think they could get away with showing half of the bird logo on his helmet? Rest assured that there are much more blatant examples in this set, which I for one have no earthly desire to collect. See you in another life, Upper Deck.