O's and Vin Scully

It was clear when the O’s traded Huff that they weren’t interested in bringing him back next year, at least at a salary established through the ridiculous arbitration system (i.e. The player’s representatives present and salary, team management present a salary, and an arbitrator decides. Stupid really, but that’s baseball for you) Anyway, with Michael Aubrey playing pretty well in AAA and a big upgrade from Huff defensively, as well as Wiggy being signed for next year, Brandon Snyder, and potentially Hughes, who we got from TB, there are options. None with the kind of pop Huff can display, but I don’t think it’s a bad move at all. And, I’d welcome him back next year to primarily spell the regular 1B, whoever that turns out to be, and DH, at a reasonable salary, b/c we will miss his bat. It saves the O’s some cash too, and it never hurts to have another arm in the farm, and the kid sounds like he potentially could be a middle reliever. I really want to see Aubrey succeed though, and his swing is as sweet as old batting helmet Olerud, so we shall see. It’s a low risk high reward type deal.

As for last night’s game, the O’s just can’t seem to get over the hump. Not that we have any options right now, but I hope Trembley and Kranitz are really working with Berken, both physically, and mentally, b/c the kid could be ruined after this stint in the majors. Now I know a few years ago Bonderman, while pitching for the tigers, had a similarly brutal year and came back very strong the following year, but I also think he was considered to have had much more upside than Berken. We’ll see, but at a minimum, I am hopeful Berken can stick in the BP for the O’s in the future. Wieters AB in the 8th last night was brilliant, resulting in 9 pitches and a 2-run HR to the opposite field, as all 4 of his HR’s have been. He’s got a long swing, to be sure, but he’s had the toughest job of anyone this season, and has done a very good job. In fact, his improvement over the last two months alone make this year a big success for him, and I think he’s going to have a long and successful career in black and orange.

Obviously the team is still not winning, but there are still a lot of positives to take from the year so far, which is what I need to keep reminding myself of. That, and the fact that there is only 6 weeks left of regular season baseball, so I’ll soak in as much as I can before October. That’s why I tuned into the Cards v Dodgers on Tuesday night in the 9th inning, hoping that Pop Pop’s Cardinals would hold on 3-2. I was watching the Dodgers broadcast since Vin Scully is one of the all time greats, and he didn’t disappoint. In fact, he said one of the greatest things I’ve ever heard listening to a game, on the radio or on TV. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th at Chavez Ravine and the Dodgers down 3-2, Casey Blake launched a long fly ball to left center. The crowd immediately started to roar as if the game would be tied with Blake’s HR (how many times have you witnessed this?), when Vin Scully says “That split second when the crowd is seeing things with their heart…” In my opinion, an absolutely perfect description of that particular moment in time. Brilliant! Thanks Vin, keep doing what you’ve been doing since the Dodgers were in Brooklyn. Man do I love baseball. Go O’s!