ROAD TRIP

Today, in just a few minutes, Kristen and I leave for the great baseball road trip of '07. Shea Stadium tonight to see Mets/Gnats, wearing our finest David Wright number tee apparel, Saturday we see Pirates vs. Phillies in Citizens Bank Park, and then SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAAAAYYYYY Kristen, me and a dozen friends, family and strangers from the internet join forces to take on the Yankees and their fans at Camden Yards. We'll be represtin' for Cal on His day. Wish us luck, and don't be surprised if my next post is a plea for bail money.

So, we got that going for us. Which is nice.

We can still beat the Devil Rays.
For the first time in a long while, Danny Cabrera seemed to actually pitch, not throw. He still walked some guys, because he's still Daniel Cabrera. But three times in his 7 innings we saw the formula of BB + GIDP = I'll Take It. Another another episode thrown in for Paul Shubacca in the 8th.
Let it be known that Daniel Cabrera pitched pretty well tonight. And let it also be known that I don't believe he's "turning it around". He does this from time to time, just to get our silly hopes up and keep his ass in the majors. Also, it's the Devil Rays, fresh off a 3 day ankle grabbing bender in NY.
In semi-related news, I've decide to apply insults from Anchorman to Aubrey Huff until he produces. For example, tonight I said "Aubrey Huff, you are a real hooker. I'm gonna slap you in public." And whaddya know, he got an RBI. Stay tuned for more results as the experiment progresses.

Don't act like you're not impressed.

(photo from baltimoresun.com)

The Dave Trembley Era Orioles don't suck too much. So far.

They're not setting the world on fire by any means, but hey, I'll take 15-13. I don't know, maybe it's just the new manager honeymoon or Trembley's focus on discipline or his frequent pep talks and improved communication. Maybe he's just making smarter decisions or getting lucky with the ones he makes. It's probably a little of everything. All I know is that 6 weeks ago, under Perlozzo, we don't win yesterday's game. We find a way to lose it. This isn't a statement based in numbers, it is one based just plain observation. A month or two ago, Jeremy Guthrie pitches his mormon ass off for 7 shutout innings, we only give him 2 runs of support and then, through some kind of epic clusterfuck involving Danys Baez, Jay Gibbons and a peanut butter sandwich, we lose 4-2. That's just what happens. You know it and I know it.

Now, Guthrie still pitches his ass off, we still only score two runs, but we play a tight enough game and the right guys get used and lo and behold, we win 2-0. We're not world-beaters by any means, but we're not screwing ourselves like we were, either.

I'll let Brian sum it all up for me:
"We really haven't felt that way in a while, to be honest with you, when we're just waiting for something bad to happen," said second baseman Brian Roberts, who walked twice and scored the Orioles' first run. "Yeah, there have been stretches in my career where that's the way it has been. But we've been playing pretty good baseball. I think everybody feels confidence with what we're doing and the way we've been playing."

Naturally, I expect the downward spiral to begin again any day now, but I'll try to enjoy competent baseball while it lasts.