Makin' moves... good riddance Pedro Strop!

According to ESPN MLB Insider Keith Law, the Orioles have dumped... er... traded Pedro Strop and Jake Arrieta for 30-year-old veteran starting pitcher Scott Feldman.

How 'bout dem O's hon

I have to assume Flaherty is high-fiving Davis about something sweet Davis did...

The O's have flipped the script on us a little bit. We came into the season expecting solid, if unspectacular, starting pitching and a shut-down bullpen to pair with an average, sometimes explosive starting offense.

They've gone in the opposite direction. Starting pitching has been below average through the first quarter of the season, and Jim Johnson has only recently worked out of a serious slump. Wei Yin Chen was again performing well until he landed on the DL, Chris Tillman still refuses to decide how good he's going to be and Kevin Gausman is almost a guarantee to put the team in a 5-run hole to start the game.

"Should I throw the fastball middle-middle for a home run? Or hanging slider for a triple? Decisions..."

I don't even know where to start with Pedro Stop. I fully believe that Buck Showalter is among the top 3 managers in the entire league, so it's hard to question anything he does. However. That's exactly what I'm going to do.

Strop was a monster until the All-Star break in 2012, you know, in his first three months as a pro, when he faced batters for the first time with a 98+ mph fastball. The problem is, this is professional baseball. The second time these guys see you, they know what you have, they adjust, and they can hang four earned runs on you in 1/3 of an inning like the basement-dwelling Angels did last night.

"I've been traded to Houston for a AA prospect? Nice move, guys."

If anyone can remember one time this year that Strop has pitched successfully in a pressure situation (i.e., we were up by less than three runs late in the game), please, email me personally and refresh my memory. Because as far as I'm concerned, he's personally cost us four wins this year—conservatively. Realistically, it's probably closer to six or seven. Now on to the fun stuff.

The offense, on the other hand, leads the league in home runs; Machado and Jones have more hits as a pair than any other in the majors; Chris Davis leads all players in home runs; and Manny Machado leads the league in doubles. The offense has also seen contributions from unlikely utility players (sound familiar?) like Danny Valencia, Yamaico Navarro and Chris Dickerson.

All things considered, it's been a fun season so far. Manny Machado has matured beyond anyone's expectations. His plate approach is among the best, if not the best, on the team, and he's arguably the top third baseman in the majors (damn you, Miguel Cabrera). Oh yeah, and recently he strung five consecutive three-plus-hit road games together, joining Ty Cobb as the only two players who have done that in MLB history, and tied Micky Mantle for the most hits in a calendar month by a player under 21.

He also does this ALOT:

In case you're wondering, he was out.

Here are some Manny videos that really never get old. Click on the picture to open the corresponding video in a new tab.

Manny's first major league hit—a triple, of course

Three-run home run in the 9th at Boston for the lead

Gotcha! Gonna get your buddy, too...

He dives...

...he jumps...

...he does other awesome things (notice who is at first; this is in his first month or two in the majors)...

...so was this. He's got a pretty solid arm.

Which brings us to probably one of the greatest plays of the 2012 season:

Look I threw it to first! You can head home =)

Anyway, if you haven't been paying attention hopefully these plays have caught you up.

Beyond that, he's finally getting some national recognition alongside Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. Which is terrifying because, as everyone knows, Baltimore sports is terrible unless the national media isn't paying attention.

And that brings us up to date! Look out for some more relevant analysis of the Orioles periodically, as well as a few preseason articles about the Terps and Ravens.

Up Next: Jordy breaks down the Oriole presence on the AL roster for the Mid-Summer Classic.

The NFL draft and re-signings

Whether it's free agency or the draft, Ozzie always "got this," and 2013 was no exception. Here's a quick rundown of our picks and how they might contribute this year (click on their names to see their NFL.com draft profile):

The post-Super Bowl mass exodus

The Post-Super Bowl Mass Exodus

 

Ray Lewis was nice enough to give us a few weeks to absorb his retirement, and nothing could ease the pain of losing a legend better than watching an historic post-season run. We knew going into the Super Bowl that, regardless of the outcome, the world had seen Ray Lewis strap up to play for the last time in his decorated 16-year career.

I got a job! And some other things that have happened

Well, here we are. I told myself that I would start this thing back up once I got a job, and I’ll be damned if I let myself call me a liar...

If I remember correctly, our most recent post dealt with Cal Ripken Jr.’s retirement and the Ravens’ decision to cut Trent Dilfer following a Super Bowl victory.

Dilfer loads up for a 19 yard pass

OK, so it may not have been that long ago, but it feels like it. Given that so much has happened since our last piece, I’m going to touch on a handful of old(er) topics in a series of posts over the next few days. Once I’ve caught up to the Orioles, I'll start posting about twice a week, covering more current topics.

Ravens ink Rice to five-year, $40 mil deal

I'll go with the cliched "40 million reasons to smile" for this one (Photo courtesy of Baltimoreravens.com)

A couple of months after the Orioles locked up their young, face-of-the-franchise player in Adam Jones, the Baltimore Ravens follow suit in typical, down to the wire fashion.

Ravens, Rice without deal hours before deadline; Reed acting childish

Super Bowl-winning teams are always a perfect storm of elements: the roster is loaded with talent and depth, key players stay healthy, play peaks late in the season, and off-field distractions are minimal, if present at all.

With the deadline to sign franchise-tagged players rapidly approaching--it's todayat 4:00 p.m.--and a first-ballot hall of fame safety becoming increasingly disillusioned and selfish, the Ravens are stumbling into training camp unsure about their ability to satisfy half of the aforementioned tenets.

Graphic courtesy of ESPN Internet Ventures and Getty Images

In an last Saturday today with baltimoreravens.com's Ryan Mink, Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports says, "I don't have high expectations of seeing this deal get done. He sees himself as a top-5 running back in the league; I think nine [million dollars] a year is probably the magic number here and I'm not sure that Ray's going to get that right now. And I don't know that he's going to back down."

Flacco most overrated QB in AFC according to ESPN's Joyner

When I think of an overrated player, I think of someone who consistently garners media attention and accolades regardless of their mediocre on-field performance. Apparently, KC Joyner of ESPN has a different definition of the term 'overrated.'

No, 90's haircut guy, you're wrong.

Joyner explains that, "Flacco put himself on this list by saying in an April radio interview that he thinks he is the best quarterback in the NFL." If I understand the English language correctly--and I think I do--Flacco's assertion would make him 'overconfident,' not 'overrated.'

ESPN's Future NFL Power Rankings

ESPN released their NFL power rankings earlier this month—for 2015. Analysts weighed quarterback situations, drafting, young talent, the front office, and coaching staffs to make their projections, and the Baltimore Ravens came in at number 10. The nine teams who ranked above the Ravens (from number nine to number one) are:

#9. Houston Texans; #8. New Orleans Saints; #7. Philadelphia Eagles; #6. Detroit Lions; #5. Pittsburgh Steelers; #4. San Francisco 49er’s; #3. New York Giants; #2. New England Patriots; and #1. Green Bay Packers. All of the teams ranked above the Ravens are solid teams; I can’t dispute that. Based on the criteria, however, the Ravens appear to qualify as a top-five team.

Here is what the experts said about the Ravens’ long-term projection: 

Top Ten Terps Since 1996

Since we did the list of top 10 Ravens yesterday, we're going to show some love to our Maryland Terrapins and run down the top ten Terps basketball players since 1996.

Unfortunately, since this list will only consider players over the last 16 years, we're leaving out a bunch of Maryland all-time greats like Len Elmore, Walt Williams, Tom McMillen, John Lucas, Len Bias and Albert King.

Let's start with #10...