Sidney Ponson, 2004 Topps Cracker Jack #158

Has any quotation gotten more use than P. T. Barnum's old chestnut that "there's a sucker born every minute"? That phrase was the first thing that came to my mind earlier this evening when I heard that the Royals had hopped aboard the Sidney Ponson train, giving everyone's favorite drunken, ruddy, judge-punching Aruban a minor league deal and an invite to camp. It's hard to say anything about Sir Sidney that hasn't already been said, so let me share a hilarious anecdote from Sam Walker's book Fantasyland. In a nutshell, a sports columnist who had never played fantasy baseball talked his way into the 2004 season of Tout Wars, the most prestigious rotisserie league in the country (other participants included Matthew Berry and Joe Sheehan). To make up for his novice, he went completely overboard, touring Spring Training sites and interviewing players to try to determine who was worthy of his team...and more importantly, who wasn't. To wit:

"...Ponson had managed to win seventeen games in 2003, and the Orioles, desperate for arms, rewarded him over the winter with a new $22.5 million contract. Ponson promptly showed his appreciation by ballooning to 266 pounds on a diet of beer and cholesterol and showing up to spring training struggling to do calisthenics. 'I swim,' Ponson said when I asked him about his winter conditioning program. 'I swim in the ocean at my house.' "

It gets better. During the live auction draft, the owners take turns nominating players for bidding. The idea is to toss out a guy that you have no personal interest in or need for, and to sit back while your opponents screw up their budgets. Naturally, Sam's sacrificial turkey is Sidney. In addition to the weight gain, Sid's pitching philosophy is lacking:

"...He'd been pitching around people. In other words, when tough batters came up, he tried to retire them by throwing garbage and hoping they'd flail away. Not only was this a dubious strategy, it was a dramatically dumb thing to admit to a guy with a tape recorder. When hitters finally caught on to him, Ponson would start walking more people than a pack of leader dogs."

So Sam nominates Ponson (valued by some roto previews as high as $19) at $12, and...deafening silence. Of course no one in that league of experts would be dumb enough to fall for Sidney. They started jeering poor Sam, referring to Ponson as the "fat hobbit", and in one case, even tossing out a joke bid of $11. No one made a serious bid; per the rules of rotisserie, Walker was stuck with the pitcher that he least wanted.

You know most of the rest of the story. Indeed, Ponson was hideously awful in the first half of 2004: 3-12, 6.29 ERA. But before the bottom completely dropped out, Sam was lucky enough to hook up with another relative newcomer to the league and unload Sidney for Jose Guillen. Crisis averted, right?

Um...right. Until he reacquired him in a failed attempt at a three-team trade. Inexplicably, the trade didn't end up a total loss, as Sidney went 8-3, 4.21 in the second half. Walker continues visiting with "his" players throughout the season, and his encounter with Ponson on September 3 at Yankee Stadium is one for the ages. The pitcher claims that he was opening up in his delivery too early during the extended slump. Later, Jim Palmer explains to Walker that the majority of Ponson's struggles can more accurately be blamed on his weight:

"While Palmer elaborates on the problems of rotund pitchers, Sidney Ponson walks up behind him. It takes a few seconds for Palmer to register the look of panic on my face, but when he wheels around Ponson is glowering at him. Palmer, trying to play it off, points to me.

'He has you on his rotisserie team.'

'Ya! He traded me!' Ponson says, stomping off."

Oh, to be a fly on the wall. Naturally, Ponson shut out the Yankees the next night, giving up two hits and winning 7-0. It was his last career shutout to date.

Caveat emptor, Kansas City.

Billy O'Dell, 1957 Spire #376

A few months ago, I told you about my growing addiction to the online baseball card game known as Baseball Boss. I eventually gave in and decided to purchase one of the more budget-conscious monthly memberships, but even so, I realized that trying to collect all of the cards in their various virtual sets would be a tall order. I'm trying to keep it simple by focusing on certain themes; for instance, I'm attempting to assemble the best possible All-Kevin team (per another recent blog entry). Unsurprisingly though, my main focus is the Baltimore Orioles.

Today, I completed one of my team sets: the premium 1957 Spire 39-card set. I love this design, as it's low-key and uses a darker shade of orange that adds to the retro feel. These cards commemorate an important milestone in team history. In just their fourth season in Baltimore, the young Birds finished at .500 (76-76) for the first time. Paul Richards had laid the groundwork for a future dynasty. By my count, all but four of the players who suited up for the O's in '57 are included, including 20-year-old Brooks Robinson and 18-year-old Milt Pappas. The card I've highlighted is that of Billy O'Dell, one of the most heralded of the "bonus babies" and the most valuable Oriole in the set. He was given this honor based on his 2.69 ERA and career-best 1.04 WHIP.

Now that I've completed this set (and only need four cards from 2007), I can turn most of my attention to the new sets that are rolling off the...um...presses. Last week the 2008 cards hit, with Aubrey Huff and Jim Johnson slotted as the big prizes. The set that I'm anticipating the most is being released tomorrow: 1998. While this season was the zenith of the steroid era (topped off by the McGwire-Sosa home run battle) and marked the beginning of the Birds' lengthy decline, there are lots of great names and notable individual performances to be found in that group of Orioles. Rafael Palmeiro (.296, 43 HR, 121 RBI) ended his first stint in Charm City on a better note than the second one, and Roberto Alomar, Chris Hoiles, and Eric Davis (.327, 28 HR, 89 RBI) also bid farewell to the O's. There are also fan favorites like Cal Ripken, Jr., Brady Anderson, Harold Baines, B. J. Surhoff, Mike Mussina, and Scott Erickson...

If they ever churn out a 1970 or 1983 set, I'm going to be in trouble.

Harold Baines, 1994 Studio #121

I can't believe I beat Steve to this one. Today is Harold Baines' fiftieth birthday. I'm not entirely sure that he couldn't still bat .300 with 15 home runs, but the White Sox seem content just to have him on the coaching staff. Their loss, I'd say.

Actually, March 15 is a busy day for Oriole birthdays. Also born on this day were third baseman Mike Pagliarulo (49 today) and utility player and current Nationals camper Freddie "Boom Boom" Bynum (29 today). Between them, the three birthday boys hit 115 home runs for the Birds. Of course, 93% of those longballs came off the bat of Baines, but who's counting?

Brooks Robinson, 2005 Upper Deck Past Time Pennants #10

Since last week's 1979 Orioles photo gallery was such a big hit, I thought I'd dig back into the family archives. The photos below aren't quite as old as the shot of Brooksie that was used for the card above, which was likely taken between 1958 and 1962. But they're still great pictures of Brooks and Jim Palmer, the two cornerstones of Baltimore's glory years. They were clearly taken on a photo day, and I love the "B. ROBINSON" placard on the ground at Number Five's feet. "Oh, so THAT's Brooks Robinson! Ya know, I thought he would be taller." Also, how many pictures have you seen of Jim Palmer holding a bat? It figures that he would forgo the hat, the better for the ladies to see that handsome helmet of hair.

So when were these snapshots taken? We can take our cues from the uniforms. Brooks is wearing the black cartoon bird cap, the "Orioles" script has no tail, the sleeves have a black-white-orange striping pattern top-to-bottom, and the pants have a matching striped waistband in lieu of a belt. That narrows it down to the era of 1971-1974, some very good years for the Birds.

Looking at these photos transports me back in time. I feel like I'm there in Memorial Stadium on a summer afternoon, with Rex Barney on the P.A. and Chuck Thompson on the radio, not to mention Wild Bill Hagy leading the Roar from 34. Maybe the Yankees are in town, and they're clearly no match for Brooks, Boog, and Blair. Palmer or Cuellar will keep the game rolling at a crisp pace. The crowds might not exactly fill the multipurpose stadium on 33rd Street, but if you're one of the faithful that come out to the game, you're in for a treat.

Vintage Fridays: Doyle Alexander, 1975 Topps #491

Hey, it's Friday the 13th. Didn't we just have one of these last month? I don't mind, because 13 happens to be my favorite number (my birthday is August 5: 8+5=13). I wore it when I played fresh-soph lacrosse in high school, and kept it for three years of CYO softball. So I'm not big on triskaidekaphobia.

Baseball is a sport that is choc-a-bloc with superstitions, so it's not surprising that some teams refuse to even hand out the number thirteen. The Orioles are not one of those teams, and it's never done much to hurt them. There have been 16 players who have worn #13 in Baltimore, in addition to two coaches and one manager. Many of them were forgettable (Roger Freed, Mike Figga, and the like), but three especially notable players have bucked the hoodoo.

Aside from Bill Miller, whose O's career lasted five games in 1955, lefty Steve Barber was the first to wear the one-three. After donning #29 as a rookie, the Maryland native switched to the spooky number in 1961 and wore it right up until his trade to the Yankees in mid-1967. In between, he won 85 games, was an All-Star twice, and won 20 in 1963. He was a member of the 1966 World Champions, and is seventh in team history in strikeouts. Of course, arm troubles plagued him for much of his career, so maybe he was a bit jinxed.

Lanky righthander Doyle Alexander might have felt a bit spooked when he joined the Orioles as a 21-year-old in 1972. He had just been traded (along with three lesser players) for Frank Robinson, the emotional leader of a Baltimore team who had just been to three straight World Series and four Fall Classics since 1966. Doyle pitched to a 2.45 ERA in a mostly relief role in his first season with the Birds, but never really took flight in Charm City. His overall record as an Oriole (1972-1976) was 35-37. But he makes this list because of another headline-making trade. On June 15, 1976, he was one of ten players swapped by the O's and Yankees. Though he would go on to win 194 games in a nineteen-year career, he was a journeyman; meanwhile, the players that came to Baltimore in the deal would become the glue of the next ten years. Tippy Martinez. Rick Dempsey. Scott McGregor. Not too shabby, huh? Alexander had a knack for being trading for big names. Near the end of his career, the Tigers nabbed him from Atlanta for the stretch drive. Heading to the Braves was a minor league pitcher by the name of John Smoltz.

Finally, there's a more recent Oriole pitcher, Rodrigo Lopez. I've talked about him recently, so I don't want to belabor the point. Suffice to say, he rose from relative obscurity (a 26-year-old with just six MLB games pitched) to win 15 games in 2002 and finished a close second to Eric Hinske as A.L. Rookie of the Year.

Well, by the time you read this, Friday the 13th will almost be over. That wasn't so bad, now was it?

Eugene Kingsale, 1997 Bowman Foil #129

I don't really remember having much interest in the first World Baseball Classic as it unfolded in 2006, which might have something to do with the United States being bounced in the first round and my reluctance to root for the abominable Roger Clemens. But this year's competition has already exceeded my expectations. I watched several back-and-forth innings of Saturday's USA-Canada thriller while having a beer with my friends at Uno's, and on Monday night it was a blast to see American players from Chris Iannetta to Kevin Youkilis contributing to an eight-run sixth-inning outburst to pull away from Venezuela.

But the most thrilling game was undoubtedly Tuesday night's elimination game between the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands. The heavily-favored Dominican, stacked with big names like Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Miguel Tejada, and Hanley Ramirez, had already been upset once by the Dutch baseballers. In the early going, D.R. starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez was the story, striking out a WBC-record ten batters in four scoreless innings. But the Netherlands players were game, and the teams traded zeroes for ten innings.

In the top of the eleventh, former Oriole outfielder Eugene Kingsale misplayed a Jose Bautista fly ball, allowing Jose Reyes to race around the bases with the go-ahead run. But Kingsale redeemed himself almost instantly. In the bottom of the inning, he tied the game with a single off of Cubs closer Carlos Marmol. Distracted by the outfielder's speed, Marmol threw away a pickoff try, allowing him to race to third. It was unreal to watch the Netherlands players jump to their feet in jubilation, even though Kingsale was only on third and hadn't scored yet. Three batters later, Yurrendell de Caster's two-out grounder deflected off of first baseman Willy Aybar's glove, allowing Eugene to race home with the winning run. His teammates game unglued, as well they should have. They had just singlehandedly brought down a team whose players outpaced them in 2008 Major League Baseball earnings, $83.4 million to $400,000.

Obviously, I hope Team USA beats the Netherlands this weekend. But it's hard to root against a team that has Bert Blyleven as a pitching coach and wears black and orange...

Even if that team includes Sidney Ponson.

Tim Stoddard, 1981 Fleer #176

Well, it seems that I've stirred up some interest with my All-Kevin team! Several of my readers and fellow bloggers have taken it upon themselves to compile their own All-Namesake teams, with some fascinating results.

-In the comments on the original post, reader Commish (a.k.a. Bob) typed up his All-Bob team. If I were him, I totally would have stuck Grich at second base; most of his Topps cards referred to him as "Bob".

-Reds fan Nachos Grande has put together his All-Chris team, featuring Hoiles and Ray for us O's fans. Again, if I'm calling the shots, I would put Chris Young in the rotation. I'm a fan.

-Dodgers fan Night Owl goes for broke with the All-Greg team. He's got ZAUN, Olson, and both Greg Harrises! Oh, I guess that Maddux guy is a decent #1 starter, too.

-Billy Suter of West Virginia Cards isn't fooling around with the All-Bill(y) team. His lineup includes three Hall of Famers.

Finally, I got an email from Tim, who often comments as Rounding Thirty3rd. He took the time to draw up an all-Tim team, and after all that he's contributed to this blog (both sending cards and making comments), it's only right that he supply the first-ever guest post. So I've copied and pasted the All-Timothy Team below. Enjoy!

**************************************************

I don't know how this will match up with your team. I have good starting pitching (hopefully giving me plenty of innings), weak middle relief, but a decent closer. My bats are not overly powerful, but solid with a bit of speed.

I have 7 All-Stars (denoted with *) on the team and one Hall of Famer.



All-Time All-Timothy Team

*Smiling Tim Keefe - Starter - Hall of Famer - 554 complete games - enough said!

Tim Lincecum - Starter - Young star with lots of potential, ironically his middle name is same as my grandfather's first name, down to the same capitalization (LeRoy).

*James Timothy (Mudcat) Grant - Starter - 21-7 in 1965, 145 career wins, his middle name was Timothy, but with a nickname like Mudcat, I had to include him on my list.

Tim Wakefield - Starter - 2-time World Champion but never an All-Star?!?

Tim Belcher - Starter - First overall pick in 1984 draft. Never fully fulfilled his potential.


*Tim Burke - Mid Relief - 2.72 career ERA

Tim Worrell - Mid Relief - former Oriole, brother Todd was better, but Tim had longer career

Tim Crabtree - Mid Relief - good name, need someone to mop up in the bullpen

Tim Crews - Mid Relief - just need another arm in the pen

Tim Stoddard - closer - Orioles second coming of Don Stanhouse, plus had an appearance in "Rookie of the Year"!



*Tim McCarver - catcher - 1967 MVP runner-up and can also fill-in the broadcast booth on off-days

Tim Jordan - 1B - had to go old school to find me a first sacker

Tim Teufel - 2B - needed another infielder - solid but unremarkable.

Tim Foli - SS - almost banned from team for hitting career high .291 for 1979 Bucs

*Tim Wallach - 3B - 5-time AS, 3 Gold Gloves, and 2 Silver Sluggers

Tim Salmon - OF - ROY and 5 30+ homer seasons

*Tim "Rock" Raines - OF - former Oriole, ROY runner-up, 808 stolen bases, potential Hall of Famer??

Tim Hendryx - OF - I was really struggling for a third Outfielder



*Tim Laudner - catcher - 1988 All-Star - I am sure he called a good game.

Voiceless Tim O'Rourke - Utility Infield - great nickname, and swiped 81 bases without a CS (look it up in B-R).

Tim Hullett - Utility Infield - makes team as a former Oriole

Tim Naehring - DH - better bat than my other utility players

Tim Raines, Jr. - batboy, 4th outfielder - former Oriole

T. R. Lewis, 1994 Upper Deck Minors #11

Every once in a while, there's a surprise waiting for me in my inbox. On Sunday, I had a new email from T. R. Lewis. Someone had made him aware that I'd featured him on this blog, in a December entry in which I lamented the unfairness of the universe. A guy with a name like Theodore Roosevelt Lewis, who survived being tossed from a car at 75 mph, would have made a great story as a major leaguer. T. R.'s email was entitled "What's fair got to do with it?", but it really sounds like he's got a positive outlook. He says that he has been making lemons from lemonade, and that his derailed path to the majors was complicated by the fact that he was a clean player in the steroid era. However, he rightfully asserts that his namesake would have been proud, and assured me that he has no problems sleeping at night.

T. R. is currently working as a scout from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Gulf Coast region (Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi), and is a father of two boys. His optimistic approach to life may have been influenced by the car accident that was referenced on his 1993 Bowman card. As he told me in his last email, a passenger in his car was also ejected and died as a result of his injuries. Despite not making it to Camden Yards, Lewis recognizes that he is lucky to be alive, much less to have played pro baseball after the accident.

T. R., if you're reading this, thanks for taking the time to get in touch.

Kevin Brown, 1995 Topps Traded #148T

Yesterday I had my first fantasy baseball draft of the year, a true sign that Spring is on its way. Through pure happenstance, I came to select two Kevins to my team (Messrs. Youkilis and Kouzmanoff). My mind started wandering, which I'm sure will come as a shock to most of you. I began to wonder whether I could compile a full all-time team of my namesakes, and if so, how it would take shape. It's times like this that I'm really glad to have baseball-reference.com in my life. So let's take a peek at the All-Kevins, including their career-best seasons, shall we?

C Kevin Cash - Definitely a weak link. 2008: .225, 3 HR, 15 RBI.

1B Kevin Youkilis - Elbows his way onto the team with a monster '08. 2008: .312, 29 HR, 115 RBI.

2B Kevin Jordan - Former Phillie split time at 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. 1999: .285, 4 HR, 51 RBI.

SS Kevin Stocker - The Devil Rays traded Bobby Abreu to get him...yikes. Peaked as a rookie. 1993: .324, 2 HR, 31 RBI.

3B Kevin Seitzer - A quintessential contact hitter. 1987: .323, 15 HR, 83 RBI.

RF Kevin Bass - One of four Orioles on this team, and the only one to end his career in Charm City. 1986: .311, 20 HR, 79 RBI.

CF Kevin McReynolds - I knew a Mets fan who absolutely hated this guy. 1988: .288, 27 HR, 99 RBI, 21 SB.

LF Kevin Mitchell - Hey, we've even got an MVP! 1989: .291, 47 HR, 125 RBI, 1.023 OPS.

DH Kevin Millar - I'm glad I could find a spot for Kevbo in the lineup. His on-base skills give him the nod over Kevin Young. 2001: .314, 20 HR, 85 RBI.

The bench includes catcher Kevin L. Brown (.254 in 189 career AB), first baseman Kevin Young (1999: .298, 26 HR, 106 RBI, 22 SB), shortstop Kevin Elster (1996: .252, 24 HR, 99 RBI), third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff (2007: .275, 18 HR, 74 RBI), corner outfielder Kevin Mench (2004: .279, 26 HR, 71 RBI), and left fielder Kevin Reimer (1991: .269, 20 HR, 69). Just missing the cut was 1B/DH and Yankee flash-in-the-pan Kevin Maas (1990: .252, 21 HR, 41 RBI, 12.1 AB/HR).

And the pitching staff:

SP Kevin Brown - This is a slight cheat, as his given name is James Kevin Brown. 1996: 17-11, 1.89 ERA.

SP Kevin Appier - As a KC Royal, he used to kill the O's. 1993: 18-8, 2.56 ERA.

SP Kevin Millwood - Should become third-winningest Kevin early this year. 1999: 18-7, 2.68 ERA.

SP Kevin Tapani - The Twins' major yield from the Frank Viola trade. 1991: 16-9, 2.99 ERA.

SP Kevin Gross - The man currently tied with Millwood at #4. 1985: 15-13, 3.41 ERA.

RP Kevin Kobel - The swingman on this staff. 1978: 5-6, 2.91 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 108.3 IP.

RP Kevin Rogers - Really a one-year wonder, but I'm comfortable with that. 1993: 2.68 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 80.7 IP.

RP Kevin Hickey - A unique career took him from the softball field to the 1983 ALCS to the Cinderella 1989 Orioles, with a six-year absence from the majors in between. 1989: 2.92 ERA, 1.23 WHIP.

RP Kevin Saucier - Nicknamed "Hot Sauce" because of his demonstrative nature on the mound. 1981: 1.65 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 13 SV.

CL Kevin Gregg - With just two seasons as a closer, leads all Kevins in saves. 2008: 7-8, 32 SV, 3.41 ERA.

Well, that's not such a bad team. We've got a big hole at catcher, and not a lot of speed, but there's tons of power up and down the lineup (though that 1996 season for Elster is a crazy fluke). The starting rotation is strong from one through five, and it's a good thing, because there's not much sustained success in the bullpen. I'd like to think that the Fightin' Kevins would hold their own against most any other namesake All-Star team out there.

Billy Ripken, 1987 Donruss The Rookies #16

This is Bill Ripken's only rookie card from 1987, the year he debuted with the Orioles. As you might have guessed, the photo was taken during Spring Training, as Billy never wore #56 in the regular season. Judging from the blurry figure in the dugout behind him, the opponent was the Rangers.

Former Orioles second baseman and manager Davey Johnson is the skipper of this year's United States team at the World Baseball Classic. If you watched yesterday's win over Canada or tonight's game against Venezuela, you probably saw another ex-O's second baseman in the first base coaches' box: Mr. William Oliver Ripken. Nice work if you can get it, but Billy's had a bit of rough sailing this Spring. Last Tuesday, Team USA traveled to Steinbrenner Field (urgh) to face the Yankees in an exhibition game. Someone apparently entered the locker room during the game and stole $400 and a credit card from Ripken's wallet. Nothing else was reported missing, though pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre's wallet seemed to have been taken and moved to another part of the clubhouse.

If you have any information concerning the whereabouts of Billy Ripken's personal effects, feel free to contact USA Baseball. Maybe they'll offer you an autographed Joel Hanrahan ball or something.

Rodrigo Lopez, 2003 Topps Heritage #27

Where is Rodrigo Lopez these days, you ask? Well, I hope at least one of you really is asking. It can't just be me. After all, the righthander is the winningest Orioles pitcher of this decade, having notched 60 victories between 2002 and 2006. In addition to representing Mexico in the ongoing World Baseball Classic, he just signed a minor-league deal with the Phillies. It's a longshot attempt to get his career back on track after a couple years of arm problems. In 2007, he pitched reasonably well with the Rockies, going 5-4 with a 4.42 ERA. But he was shut down that summer with a bad elbow, and missed a year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Last August he signed with the Braves, but pitched only three games in the minors and had his 2009 option declined. With Philadelphia, he doesn't even have an invite to big league camp but is expected to make the AAA Lehigh Valley staff if he's in decent shape. It's a far leap from the IronPigs to the Phillies, but stranger things have happened.

Vintage Fridays: Baltimore Orioles, 1973 Topps #278

I went looking for a team card today because no particular player was jumping out at me. As I perused the group shots of the entire Orioles club, there was a constant presence on the margins of each year's photo. Take a look at the rotund, white-haired man in the white pants and black Orioles jacket standing front row right. Longtime O's fans know him to be Ralphie Salvon, who got his start working in the St. Louis Browns' organization in 1953. He followed the team to Baltimore and worked his way through the ranks before becoming the head trainer for the big league club in 1968. He would stay in that position for two decades, right up until his death in 1988. He did a lot with a little - the trainer's room in Memorial Stadium was 10' by 5'.

According to Mike Flanagan, Ralphie was something of a confidant to the players, serving as a sympathetic ear when they were fed up with Earl Weaver's abrasive personality and then deflecting the tension by telling amusing anecdotes in his own genial, boisterous way. It also goes without saying that he was very skilled at his job. Under his care, Oriole arms stayed healthy enough to post twenty-three seasons of twenty wins or more.

But the most memorable stories about Salvon involve food, as you might imagine by looking at him. Jim Palmer wondered if "there was a maitre d' between Baltimore and Tokyo that Ralphie didn't know on a first-name basis". The squatty trainer was on such good terms with a restaurant owner in Milwaukee that he would call ahead when games ran late and get the guy to keep the place open for the team. Palmer also claimed that a friend was honeymooning in Puerto Rico, and even in San Juan, the mere mention of Mr. Salvon served as an international credit card: front row table, meal on the house, the whole nine yards. Flanagan mused about Ralphie having "sponsors". He would apparently wait around the lobby and intercept different players on their way out the door. Guys would be so honored to have his company that they would pick up the tab, and he was covered for three square meals a day!

Ralphie Salvon is one of the great characters of Orioles history, the unheralded working men that did the grunt work to make this team one of the model franchises in baseball.

Gary Roenicke, 1981 Topps #37

It's hard to believe that this look didn't catch on. You might have to click on the image to get a closer look, but Gary Roenicke's batting helmet is adorned with a football-style face mask on the left side of his jaw. It was a temporary precaution that was taken after he was hit in the face with a pitch. There's a clearer shot of the makeshift guard here, and an excellent article by Uni Watch's Paul Lukas here. It largely focuses on former Pirates outfielder Dave Parker; to be fair, his helmet stylings were much more terrifying and unusual than Gary's.

What's your favorite unusual uniform modification? Brooks Robinson's sawed-off helmet brim? Frank Robinson's extended stirrups?

Scott McGregor, 2004 Maryland Lottery #20

On an absolutely frigid day in the mid-Atlantic, it's as good a time as any to reminisce about one of the all-time great Orioles teams. I just remembered a decrepit old photo album stuffed in a box in my closet. In that album are ten pictures of the 1979 Orioles, photos that my Aunt Denise snapped at a rally for the team that autumn in downtown Baltimore. In the process of scanning them, I discovered that they're a little worse for wear, but I still think they're worth sharing. Enjoy!


Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Jim Palmer.


Dave Skaggs and Rick Dempsey prepare to catch some tosses as Cal Ripken, Sr. and other team personnel observe.


El Presidente! Dennis Martinez is ready for his closeup.


Eddie Murray: The Man.


Elrod Hendricks flashes the smile that made him the goodwill ambassador of Orioles baseball. There's also a rear view of Jim Palmer...ahem.


Check out the banner behind Mike Flanagan: "Go to bat for the Birds."


It would be a shame for Don "Fullpack" Stanhouse to hide that outstanding hair underneath a cap. (ETA: A subsequent email from Ed brought it to my attention that this is probably Steve Stone.)


Do you suppose Ken Singleton is signing one of his baseball cards?


There's a lot of funny business going on for Scotty McGregor. His eyes are obscured by his cap. Speaking of the cap, that can't be an official Orioles uniform piece. The Bird looks grotesque and distorted. Then there's the WJZ Channel 13 jacket with yellow t-shirt underneath. Why was the young lefty out of uniform? Did his luggage get lost?


A great picture of Tippy Martinez, with Cal Senior in the background.


To close things out, who else but "Brother Lo", a.k.a. John Lowenstein?

Mike Devereaux, 1993 Upper Deck Fun Pack #132

Now more than ever, we need to embrace truth in baseball card advertising. The very brand name of this card promises fun, and it is in fact one of the most fun photos I've seen on a baseball card. We see a flattopped Mike Devereaux having a good laugh while seemingly sumo wrestling with teammate Mark McLemore. What could be the cause for their impromptu grappling match? It's hard to say. After all, it was the mid-1990s, when Cal Ripken, Jr. ruled the Orioles clubhouse with an iron fist (pardon the pun). If there's anything I know about Junior, it's that he loved to wrestle with teammates such as Brady Anderson and Ben McDonald before and after games. Rumor has it that he flat-out beat the hell out of his peers. So Devo and Mac probably just figured, "When in Rome..." Then again, Cal never clamped a bear hug or a headlock on a teammate in mid-game. Something must have gotten lost in translation.

David Haehnel, 2007 Bowman Prospects #BP30

I have something to confess. I will never, ever make a living as a baseball scout. How do I know? Because of David Haehnel.

David and I (weren't not really on a first-name basis) arrived at Aberdeen within weeks of each other. He was the Orioles' eighth-round pick out of the University of Illinois-Chicago, a thin 6'4" lefthander who was just a few weeks older than me. I was an unpaid fall intern, putting off the inevitabilities of the real world by hanging around a baseball stadium and doing whatever was asked of me and generally loving every minute of it. I only caught a few baseball games, as the season ended at the beginning of September and I'd come on board in late August. But from what I saw of David Haehnel (and heard from those around the team), I thought he was a star in the making.

David was the ace reliever of the IronBirds in his first stop in the minors at age 21. He'd blanked the opposition in 17 of his first 18 appearances and 23 of his first 25. A late season mini-slump bumped his ERA from 0.82 to a still-miniscule final figure of 1.69. He struck out at least one batter in 26 of his 28 games, and whiffed 14.7 per nine innings. From August 2nd through the 22nd, he factored in the decision in each of his eight appearances, winning two and saving six. To my untrained eyes, this guy could deal.

I lost track of the southpaw after we both left Ripken Stadium, but he seems to have avoided the sophomore jinx. Beginning at lower-A Delmarva, David barely broke a sweat, saving 16 games and tossing up a 0.79 ERA in 34 innings with a strikeout per inning. The O's gave him some stiffer competition, promoting him to higher-A Frederick. He was no longer called upon as a closer, but he still held his own with a 3.41 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 9.7 K/9 IP. But the road to the Show was about to get rocky.

Returning to Frederick to begin 2006, Haehnel was inexplicably converted to a starter. He hit the ground running, posting a 2.60 ERA in April, but couldn't maintain that momentum. He wound up leading the Keys with 11 losses against just two wins, racked up an awful 6.23 ERA, and walked two more batters per nine innings than he had in 2005, and his K/9 IP dropped by three. But the Baltimore brass apparently saw enough promise to bump him up to AA Bowie in 2007...either that, or the rest of the pitching in the organization was even worse. Thankfully, the ill-conceived starting experiment was over and David was back in the bullpen. But the spark was gone. His ERA was a lofty 6.00 even, and he was now walking an inexcusable six batters per nine innings. The Birds cut ties with the lefty after just three and a-half seasons in the minors.

Despite a functioning left arm and relative youth (25 at the start of the 2008 season), Haehnel did not catch on with any other MLB team in 2008. Instead, he found himself in the independent Northern League, toeing the rubber for the Kansas City T-Bones and rubbing elbows with such illustrious ex-major leaguers as Bo Hart and Ken Harvey.

Whether Haehnel just crumpled against more experienced hitters or the Orioles organization botched his development by yanking him out of a role that he had seemingly aced, it's hard to say. It's probably a combination of the two. At any rate, I wish he would have made it, so I could have said that I spotted that talent way back when.

Mike Young, 1988 Score #393

In their inaugural baseball card set, Score really did it right. I think these bright green borders might have been the best of the six colors they used; they really pop, and nothing says baseball like green. Each card back had a full-color headshot and paragraphs full of biographical details about the player, giving you insight that you just didn't get from the other cards out there. And some of these photos are fantastic.

Here we see power-hitting outfielder Mike Young during a road game, most likely on AstroTurf (Toronto? Minnesota?), running the bases. Though he's contorted in sort of an odd and ungraceful position, you still get the impression that he's turning on the afterburners because his batting helmet has been left behind. It's shades of Willie Mays, who reportedly wore his cap one size too big so that it would fly loose while he was on the move and make it look like he was even faster than he actually was. After I read about that, I used to knock my own hat loose when I played kickball at recess in middle school. Considering my lack of coordination, I probably should have paid more attention to the intricacies of the game.

This card is already great because of the sort of midair moment that some of my fellow bloggers appreciate so greatly. But it's made even better because while Mike Young's attention is fixed off-camera and on the next base (and possibly his base coach), his helmet is facing the camera, straight ahead. It's almost as if one of the ghosts of the diamond has inhabited the inanimate piece of equipment and has begun to slide into the upcoming base.

Can you think of any other cards that capture a disembodied batting helmet? How about a regular cap? For some reason, I imagine the latter is more prevalent.

Jim Palmer, 2005 Donruss Classics Team Colors #TC-19

I just realized that I never told you guys about the outcome of my commercial audition for MASN. I didn't get picked, because I was too good-looking. Well, that's not what the rejection email said, but I chose to read between the lines. On the bright side, instead of spending a day stuck in some stuffy studio taping the ad, I got to stay at home and recover from the previous day's flight home from San Diego. As my new Nintendo Wii arrived in the mail that day, the timing was pretty fortuitious.

One of the lucky few who did get chosen for the ad campaign was fellow Camden Chatter "jobe", who I had the pleasure of meeting at the auditions. If the commercials pop up online, I'll link to his spot later! I might not be joining Jim Palmer as a popular television pitchman, but I will gladly settle for a little vicarious living in that regard.

Vintage Fridays: Mike Fornieles, 1957 Topps #116

Okay, tonight's card has to stand on its own merit. I am running out the door, and picked this one without much forethought. I do love the orange stirrups with black and white stripes, though. By the way, it's pronounced For-nee-AY-less, if I recall correctly. See you tomorrow!

Brian Roberts, 2009 Topps #273

All I wanted was a few packs of 2009 baseball cards. I never expected my simple curiosity over the newest bunch of cardboard rectangles to turn into a frustrating odyssey, but as early February gave way to the middle of the month, my repeated trips to the nearest Wal-Mart and Target kept coming up empty. As if to add insult to injury, there were barely any baseball cards of any sort at Wal-Mart. The disorganized, haphazard end cap was chock full of football and basketball cards (who cares, right?), including a few blasters of 2007-08 Topps basketball! I wasn't about to hold my nose and settle for a few packs of Timeline or Stadium Club. Target was even more disappointing. There was a greater selection of 2008 baseball cards (Documentary, Heritage High Series, Topps Updates and Highlights, etc.), but they were inartfully stuffed into a cramped aisle at the end of the checkouts designed to make a collector feel like a second-class citizen. There was even a shopping cart full of unsorted merchandise obstructing my path. Maybe I wasn't meant to collect this year's offerings.

I decided to give up the hunt for a few days when I flew to San Diego to visit my friends Jill and Tristan. But on Saturday of that weekend, Jill mentioned her desire to go to Target to pick up ingredients for Rice Krispies Treats. Well, I know an opportunity when I see one. Ultimately, we ended up at Wal-Mart instead, and I made a beeline to you-know-where. Lo and behold, there was a feeder box of 2009 Topps packs with A*Rod's purple-lipped mug all over it. I plucked out four packs and went merrily on my way, realizing with a little bemusement that I had to travel cross-country to find 2009 cards. Even as I pored over my first 48 cards of the new year, delighting in the much-improved design and photography (compared to 2008 Topps), I wasn't sated. Four packs, and no Orioles. I'd have to try again when I got home.

In the ensuing week, I first returned to my nearest Wal-Mart...still the same picked-over hodgepodge as before. I made a mental note to stop wasting the effort on that particular megastore. But surely Target would have fresh stock by February 21, right?

Wrongo. The same muddle of 2008 products, the same cramped aisle. I was so annoyed that I bought a blaster of WWE Heritage IV. That's right, I blew $10 on wrestling cards. I was at my wits' end.

So this past Tuesday, I had a dentist's appointment in Columbia and made the most out of the long drive by having dinner with my former roommate Mikey. Since there was a Target near the restaurant, I took another shot. What I found was simply breathtaking, and made me long for the days when I still lived in the suburbs nearby. The aisle was actually wide enough for more than one person to stand in, and the cards were neatly organized and plentiful. As for 2009 Topps? Oh, it was there, in all its forms. Jumbo packs, blasters, even the new 55-card "cereal boxes". So I decided that variety was the spice of life and grabbed two jumbos and a cereal box.

When we got back to Mikey's apartment I ripped open my haul, starting with the cereal box. There were some great cards, including an exclusive Mickey Mantle chrome card, but still no Orioles! I was starting to suspect a conspiracy, especially since I'd already pulled approximately 27 Yankee cards. So I turned to the first 36-card jumbo pack with a little anxiety. After ripping the top half, I was 121 cards into 2009 Topps with not a single card to represent my favorite team! Finally, in the bottom half of that pack, I was face-to-face with Brian Roberts, my favorite current Oriole. Whew! It's certainly got to be a better omen than the first Baltimore player I pulled from 2008 Topps: Ramon Hernandez.

FYI, backup catcher Guillermo Quiroz was waiting for me in the second jumbo pack. I'm certainly happy to have those two cards, but 2-for-175 is a troubling ratio.

Mike Johnson, 1997 Fleer #532

You might have heard that the official World Baseball Classic rosters were released yesterday. I scanned them with mild interest this morning, looking for familiar players who have fallen off of the Major League Baseball radar (the biggest name among these being former Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams). I was also curious to see which former Orioles will be representing their home countries, or the countries of their ancestors in some cases.

There are four current Orioles who will play in the WBC next month. Default ace Jeremy Guthrie will pitch for Team USA, while the left side of the O's starting infield (shortstop Cesar Izturis and third baseman Melvin Mora) will wear the maroon and gold of Venezuela. Lastly, minor league infielder Mike Costanzo joins Team Italy.

Some of the ex-Oriole participants are familiar and expected names, while others may give you pause:

-Former closer B.J. Ryan will be in the American bullpen, and on the other end of the spectrum is Australian lefty Damian Moss, 1/3 of the disappointing return in 2003's Sidney Ponson trade.

-Fifth outfielder type Adam Stern will once again be catching flies for our maple-leaf-loving friends to the North. He'll be teaming with pitcher Mike Johnson (more on him in a moment).

-A foursome of one-time Birds join forces for the Dominican Republic: reliever Julio Manon, ageless catcher Alberto Castillo, shortstop/person of interest Miguel Tejada, and outfielder Jose Bautista.

-Trios are all the rage in Mexico: currently unsigned pitcher Rodrigo Lopez, infielder Jerry Hairston (whose heritage was a surprise to me), and forgettable two-time O's outfielder Karim Garcia.

-Speaking of free agents, our old pal Sidney Ponson will squeeze into an XXL jersey for the Netherlands, and will reunite with former teammate Gene Kingsale, an outfielder.

-Pitcher Bruce Chen rides again for Panama!

-It's mildly surprising that Puerto Rico has no Baltimore flavor. I guess Javy Lopez really is retired.

-A couple true Birdland favorites will join Melvin and Cesar on Team Venezuela: 2007 garbage heap hurler Victor Zambrano and sluggish catcher Ramon Hernandez.

You've got to agree, that's quite a list, featuring plenty of guys that you haven't thought about for years (assuming you're mentally sound). Mike Johnson might be the biggest wild card in the bunch, both in terms of his Orioles footprint - 0-1, 7.94 ERA in 14 games as a Rule 5 rookie in 1997 before being traded to the Expos in midyear - and his career in general. Mike is now 33 and has not pitched in the major leagues since tossing 11 and 1/3 innings with Montreal in 2001. He last played minor league ball in 2004 for the Expos' AAA club in Edmonton. These are things to keep in mind before you put your money on Canada in your WBC office pool.

Rick Dempsey, 1983 Topps #138

I've only sent two cards through the mail to be autographed by former players, but I've already learned that the results can be varied and unpredictable. I sent both cards, a Mike Boddicker and a Rick Dempsey, in March 2008. I received my signed Mike Boddicker card four weeks later, tucked neatly into the plastic toploader that I'd sent with it. I just received the Rick Dempsey card you see above, nearly a year after sending my request. It came back in the self-addressed stamped envelope I provided, but with no toploader. There's one more thing...

It's not the card I sent.

I mailed off a copy of the Dipper's 1981 Fleer card, a lovely one indeed. Fortunately, it wasn't my only copy, because there's no telling what has become of it. I'm happy to have gotten a response at all; after eleven months, I'd resigned myself to an ignored or lost autograph request. So where did this card come from?

It's most likely that Rick (or a family member) opened a pile of mail and there were other cards in the batch that got mixed together. Of course, I like my mother's explanation better; she suggested that he knocked over a soda, drenching my card and ruining it, and went scrambling for a replacement. If that's the case, I hope he realized that he might be able to make some money on eBay auctioning off a Rick Dempsey 1981 Fleer card with authentic Coke stains.

Thanks for the card, Rick, wherever you found it!

Bobby Bonilla, 1996 Topps #329

Eventually I'll stop piggybacking off of Brian at 30-Year-Old Cardboard, but his birthday posts are excellent reminders and inspiration on slow days. Much as my offhand reference to Mike Cuellar's age (71) made reader Bob feel a bit old last week, it startled me to learn that Bobby Bo was turning 46 today. I remember Bonilla as the ultimate midseason pickup, a guy whose excellent half-season in Baltimore in 1995 (.333, 10 HR, 46 RBI) seemed to go to waste on Phil Regan's muddled sub-.500 team. Given a full season to bat in the midst of Rafael Palmeiro and Cal Ripken in 1996, the slugger turned in a .287-28-116 stat line for a team that finished three wins short of the World Series. From what I've heard, he was a good teammate as an Oriole, and I remember him and Palmeiro calling a team meeting after Tony LaRussa and the A's got a little too comfortable throwing chin music at the Birds.
Happy Birthday, Bobby. You were one heck of a hitter...but not much of a pitcher!

Russ Ortiz, 2006 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH16

If you're not an Orioles fan, or if you're an O's fan and you're smart enough to repress bad memories, you probably don't even remember Russ Ortiz's 40-plus hideous innings in Baltimore. Even though Leo Mazzone couldn't strike gold twice with Russ, the righty did win one Major Award during his stay in Birdland. He was the recipient of the Eleventh Annual Kerry's Pinata Award, a glorious booby prize of which I have just been made aware.

The Pinata Award is sponsored by the Birds in the Belfry fan site, and has been awarded each year since 1996 to the worst eligible Oriole pitcher. The award was born when the aforementioned Kerry tried to assess the performance of young Jimmy Haynes for a postseason yearbook. The genius result was a statement that Haynes had done a wonderful imitation of a pinata: "people holding sticks were beating the hell out of him". If you go to the site, you can see the entire cringe-inducing roll call from 1996 to present. I won't spoil the 2008 winner.

So how bad was Mr. Ortiz in 2006? Despite tossing just those forty-point-three innings, he was judged to be more putrid than Bruce Chen (0-7, 6.93 ERA, 1.75 WHIP in 98.7 IP). Indeed, Russ was that much worse. He gave up 38 earned runs in those 40.3 innings, a sparkling 8.48 ERA. He gave up FIFTEEN home runs, one every 12.7 at-bats. He allowed nearly two baserunners per inning, and one batter out of 2.4 reached base. He brought a little bit of terror and pain to every one of the 20 games in which he pitched.

So yeah, that dude is the gold standard for crumminess. Maybe some day the Pinata award will go to someone who is merely below average. In the meantime, I'd settle for a year when there wasn't so much stiff competition for it.

Jim Traber, 1989 Upper Deck #294

With my 418th post to this blog, I have decided to answer the impassioned cries and pleas from my long-suffering readers. I am finally giving the people what they want: Big Jim Traber. I should probably feel some sort of solidarity with the beefy ex-first baseman, considering that we both used to reside in the ultra-suburban confines of Columbia, Maryland. But he's not a guy that I give much thought, unless his name randomly pops up in the news.

What's that, you say? Jim Traber was in the news this week? How 'bout that! Talkers magazine, which is apparently a radio trade publication, named its Top 250 talk show hosts recently. Why 250? I suppose it makes sense to those in "the biz". Jim Traber is currently the host of "The Locker Room", a radio program in Oklahoma City. The fine folks at Talkers selected Traber's show as one of those listed between 101 and 250 (in no particular order). Of course, I have no idea what the criteria could have been, since obnoxious goatee-clad yakker Jim Rome (#29) was the highest-ranked sports talker and Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic also cracked the top 50. Then again, Anita Marks was nowhere to be found, so they got a few things right.

While Jim is undoubtedly proud of his achievement, most sports fans will probably continue to know him best for this hilarious incident, which occurred in the early 1990s when he was a member of Japan's Kintetsu Buffaloes:

Vintage Fridays: Dyar Miller, 1975 SSPC #379

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Exhibit A in the case of Why Baseball Players Wear Caps: Mr. Dyar Miller. Is that a combover? His hair doesn't look particularly thin. Is he just in dire need of a haircut, a brush, a mirror, or all of the above?

I joke, but Dyar Miller is perseverance personified. The Phillies signed him as a catcher in 1968, but he quickly converted to the mound and showed quite a bit of talent. Still, he found it incredibly difficult to break through the glass ceiling that was the Oriole pitching staff. For instance, his 12-10 record with a 3.23 ERA (and 149 hits allowed in 170 innings) at AA Dallas-Fort Worth in 1970 earned him...another season at AA in 1971! Dyar was 29 years old and in the midst of his third straight season at AAA Rochester when the O's finally came calling for him in 1975. In 30 games as a rookie reliever, he went 6-3 with a team-leading 8 saves and a 2.72 ERA. He would go on to pitch seven seasons in the big leagues with a 3.23 career ERA.

Even though Dyar Miller didn't know the meaning of the word "manscaping", he also didn't know the meaning of the word "quit".

Rick Krivda, 1997 Collector's Choice #44

I'm a little chagrined that Patricia and Lucy featured this card before I did, but I hope it's worth seeing twice for those of you that read both of our blogs. To the best of my knowledge, Rick Krivda may be the only player to ever be photographed biting into a baseball bat...at least for trading card purposes. I wonder how it tastes? He seems to be chomping on a Louisville Slugger. Was this a deliberate choice? Does this brand taste richer, more full-bodied than a TPX? Or is it not a matter of taste - is he lashing out at the bat because of something that it did to him? Or is he taking out some unrelated frustration on the bat? Perhaps it's something much more serious. Maybe Rick is having a seizure and an unseen teammate has placed the bat in his mouth to keep him from swallowing his own tongue. After all, we can't see the hands that are holding the lumber.

So many questions, and so few answers.

Mike Cuellar, 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #136

On the list of promising sights as the first full week of Orioles Spring Training commences, 71-year-old Mike Cuellar in an O's uniform instructing the lefthanded pitchers of today and tomorrow is right up there. No matter how far the team has fallen in the past decade-plus, it still has a rich and successful history to draw upon. Not only is the screwball-tossing southpaw sharing his knowledge and expertise with younger generations, but he is serving as a living bridge between the model franchise of the 1970s and the club that is now taking baby steps toward being a potential superpower in the 2010s.

Though you might expect that Cuellar has more to offer to the younger pitchers in camp, guys like Brian Matusz and Rich Hill, today it was 37-year-old Jamie Walker that spent the most time picking the Cuban's brain. Walker is a true rarity: a professional baseball player who is a student of the game's history. When he signed with the Orioles as a free agent two years ago, he apparently devoured a few books about the team's past. He was effusive in his praise of Cuellar and his storied career, and acknowledged that pitchers like him "set the foundation" for Walker and his contemporaries. He also expressed awe for the amazing durability of pitchers from that era, who often exceeded 300 innings and completed upwards of 20 starts per season.

It's really a breath of fresh air when the oldest pitcher in a team's camp (who is also one of the highest-paid), says something like, "I don't know it all." I'm not sure whether Walker is healthy and able to rebound from his miserable 2008 season, but I like his chances that much better with a 185-game winner offering suggestions for his release point and grip.

Adam Jones, 2008 Upper Deck First Edition Update #309

I have safely returned from San Diego, birthplace of Mr. Adam Jones. It was a great vacation. The plane trip (Baltimore-to-Atlanta-to-San Diego) was uneventful, and the plane to California even had in-seat TVs, the better for me to kill four-plus hours watching ESPN and some NBC Thursday night comedy. Even though the weather was chilly by local standards, the sun was out for two of the three full days I was there; 60 degrees and sunny beats your run-of-the-mill February weather in Maryland. We ate outdoors at two restaurants, which is certainly not something you'd want to do back home!

The great thing about the entire weekend was that time passed slowly. I never felt rushed. We did just enough that I didn't feel like I was wasting time. While my friend Jill was at work on Friday, I got to hang out with her fiancee Tristan. We knew each other reasonably well, but it was good to get a bit closer. I went with him on some errands and got to explore Coronado, the quaint island below San Diego where they live. I walked along the Pacific Ocean for the first time, and saw the hotel where they filmed Some Like It Hot. Friday night, T made a delicious salmon dinner and we stayed in and watched Anchorman, since Jill inexplicably hadn't seen it.

Saturday afternoon was spent at the San Diego Zoo, where we walked ourselves ragged and gawked at lions, polar bears, hippos, and so forth. My favorites were the gorillas, who were very expressive. One of the young'uns was a real showoff, coming right up to the glass and gesturing wildly and wrestling with his sibling. That night, I had my first In-N-Out cheeseburger (very tasty) and finally got my first few packs of 2009 Topps at Wal-Mart (no Orioles, dangit).

Sunday was the chilly, overcast day, so we weren't motivated to do much. We did go out for a diner lunch (breakfast for lunch, oh yeah) and ice cream sundaes. Then we chilled out at home until that night, when we headed back into S.D. proper for an Andrew Bird concert. I wasn't familiar with him, but it was an entertaining and quirky show. He plays several instruments (violin, mandolin, glockenspiel, and guitar) and whistles. So that was my culture for the weekend.

The trip home wasn't as smooth, as windy, rainy conditions delayed my flight from San Diego to Cincinnati and left our plane sitting on the runway for over an hour. Luckily, the tailwinds allowed us to make good time, and I made it to Cincinnati just in time to board the connecting flight home to Baltimore. It was the first time I've ever touched down at BWI at night, and it was pretty cool to see my hometown in lights.

I certainly would have liked to have stayed longer, but it was a good weekend. As I said my goodbyes at the airport, I realized that the next time I see Jill and Tristan will be two months from now, at their wedding. Time marches along.

Luis Matos, 2003 Fleer Tradition Update #U68

My flight from San Diego (by way of a connection in Cincinnati) is scheduled to arrive at 9:33 this evening. Since timely air travel isn't always predictable, and in the best-case scenario I'd be back at home by 11:00 PM, I'm going with a failsafe post. And since this is a bit of a lazy entry, here's one of the laziest O's in recent memory. Happy President's Day to one and all!

Melvin Mora, 2005 Topps #337

As I've navigated the darkness of the last eleven years of Oriole futility, I find myself clutching at the little shreds of relevance, the symbols that Baltimore still has a place in Major League Baseball. Whether it's the rare series win against the Yankees or Red Sox, or George Sherrill coming up huge in the All-Star Game, I just want to know that my team is still a part of the national conversation. I always hope against hope that one of our players will win a major award, or even lead the league in a significant category.

For Melvin Mora to challenge for the American League batting title in 2004 was borderline surreal. Going into that year, he was a 32-year-old utility player. He'd hit .317 the year before, but injuries limited him to 96 games and the O's can't have been sure whether they were getting that Melvin Mora or the guy who had hit .233 two years previous. But they finally settled on a position for him, and their new third baseman caught fire. He was hitting .385 on June 1, and though he didn't maintain that pace, he was still in the running until Ichiro pulled away in August. Mora had to settle for second place, but at least he was beaten by the best. Besides, he established career highs in every major offensive category and won a Silver Slugger Award. Being chosen as the best hitter in the league at third base is a pretty good consolation prize, I'd say.

Lee Smith, 1995 Topps #394

This card evokes a bittersweet memory for me, as Lee Smith was an All-Star in his only season in Baltimore. He was already 29-for-33 in save opportunities at the break, but he blew a save for the American League by allowing a game-tying two-run home run in the ninth inning to Fred McGriff. The National Leaguers went on to win in the tenth when Jason Bere yielded back-to-back hits with no outs. Bleah.

However, there are a lot of close, tight games represented in this card. 2,141 games pitched in a combined 39 major league seasons. 902 saves altogether. Lee stands third all-time with 478 games saved, and John Franco is fourth with his 424. Will Cooperstown come calling? Time will tell.

Vintage Fridays: Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson, 1968 Topps #530

Talk about a loaded card. The Robinsons combined to lead the Orioles to four World Series in six years, and two World Championships. They each won an MVP award in Baltimore, and combined to hit 447 home runs for Baltimore. They are, of course, both in the Hall of Fame, both wearing a smiling bird cap on their bronze plaques. On this card, they appear poised to burst from the visitor's dugout and charge the field, striking fear in the hearts of their fleeing enemies. They are the mighty Robinsons of Charm City.

Jay Spurgeon, Lesli Brea, and Carlos Casimiro, 2001 Upper Deck Vintage #347

Just why were the Orioles so lousy at the turn of the century? Check out this bumper crop of Floating Head Rookies. If the fact that you've likely never heard of any of them doesn't convince you of their irrelevance, let's peek at the cumulative minor league stats on the back:

Spurgeon had gone 31-16 with a 3.51 ERA in 86 career games. That would make him the cream of this particular crop.

Brea was 16-29 with a 4.37 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. In the MINOR LEAGUES.

And Mr. Casimiro, while he had a pretty great name, was a .242 hitter who averaged an RBI every 7.5 games.

Be still, my heart.

So as we receive reports on the progress of Matt Wieters, Brian Matusz, and Jake Arrieta this Spring, just remember that they might not all pan out, but the odds are certainly a lot better than they once were.

Cal Ripken, Jr. and Brady Anderson, 1993 Upper Deck #44

As you might imagine, there are tons of multi-player cards featuring Cal Ripken, Jr. Just in my collection, I have Cal sharing cards with Eddie Murray, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Lou Gehrig, Alan Trammell and Tony Fernandez, Jeff Blauser, Bobby Bonner and Jeff Schneider, Brady and Rafael Palmeiro and Roberto Alomar, Cal, Sr. and Billy, the entire 2000 Orioles starting lineup (I may just get to that one later this week)...the list goes on.

I've chosen this card as my favorite Cal combo. First of all, it's from the beautiful 1993 Upper Deck set, and is part of the great Teammates/Team Stars subset. Each team had a card featuring two to six of its stars, with some kind of theme and accompanying fun nickname and logo. While some cards featured flashes in the pan like Pat Listach or Geronimo Pena, the Orioles are represented by Cal and Brady, who were teammates and good friends for a whopping fourteen seasons (1988-2001), a rare feat in the big-spending free agency era. Brady spent practically his entire major league career in Baltimore, excepting 41 games in Boston as a rookie and an ill-fated 34 games in Cleveland in 2002. #9 played alongside #8 longer than any other Oriole: longer than Eddie Murray (1981-1988, 1996), even longer than Mike Mussina (1991-2000).

Cal's tireless work ethic rubbed off on the speedy outfielder, as Anderson attempted to play through setbacks ranging from broken ribs to appendicitis. He even famously played a game in the late 1990s after being hit by a bus while rollerblading to the stadium! I think it's pretty fitting that Brady and Cal both played their last game in Baltimore on October 6, 2001. It wasn't a storybook finish, with Anderson striking out to end a 5-1 loss to the Red Sox, leaving Cal waiting in the on-deck circle for a final at-bat that would never come.

But this card preserves them in happier times, both in the primes of their careers playing for a contending team in a revolutionary new ballpark. They're posed in front of the trademark of Camden Yards, the towering B & O Warehouse. Everything is as it should be.

Stacy Jones and Gregg Olson, 1992 Fleer #701

It's been a while since I did a theme week, and since I'm headed to San Diego on Thursday, this seemed like a good time for another. I sort of stumbled into it when I realized that I wanted to use multi-player cards for both Sunday and Monday, so now it's officially Combo Card Week.

I just picked up this card in my most recent meet-up with Ed, a loyal reader and avid collector. I love it for several reasons. Fleer's Super Star Specials were always great for unconventional shots of your favorite team's players posing with guys from other teams. In this instance, they were able to find four players from the Orioles and White Sox who had all played at Auburn University. You've got one of the greatest athletes of the 1980s (of all time, really), the young star who would become the greatest hitter in Pale Hose history, a stud closer with a killer curveball, and some random righthanded rookie who pitched 11 innings. In a funny coincidence, Stacy Jones pitched only two more innings in his major league career...for the 1996 White Sox. It's somewhat fitting that the gradient border fades to white on Stacy's end of the card. There's also a great view of the new Comiskey Park behind the quartet, with the famous scoreboard on full display.

In case you're interested, this picture would have been taken during the weekend of August 2-4, 1991. The visiting O's won two out of three. Ben McDonald beat Alex Fernandez 3-0 in the opener, despite Chicago outhitting the Birds 8-5. Bob Milacki tossed seven strong innings to best Jack McDowell by a score of 6-3 in the middle game. But ancient knuckleballer Charlie Hough salvaged the finale, shutting out the Orioles and rookie Mike Mussina 1-0. Gregg Olson saved the two Baltimore wins, the Big Hurt went 5-for-10 with 2 HR and 4 RBI in the series, and Bo (who was still sidelined with his hip injury) and Stacy Jones did not play.