Baltimore Orioles

We like Opening Days

At the Baltimore Orioles home opener at Camden Yards -- because the O’s are on pace to go 162-0 you know . . .

Virginia Beach’s Mark Reynolds, the Orioles’ new third baseman, put on a pretty good power show during batting practice, unleashing his looooong swing – that results in so many strikeouts – and launching numerous balls deep into the leftfield seats.

Reynolds, who played four seasons for the Arizona Diamondbacks, told me after his round that he expected a bunch of friends and former teammates from AAU ball and First Colonial High to be in attendance for the 3 p.m. game against the Detroit Tigers. But he said he only left four tickets at the gate for family.

Reynolds will see a lot of new ballparks this season, coming over to the American League as he did in an off-season trade. But he was correct when he recalled playing a three-game interleague series at Camden Yards as an Arizona rookie in June of 2007. “I don’t remember much about it, though,” he said.

Wasn’t much to remember, from a personal standpoint at least. The D-backs swept the series, but Camden Yards wasn’t much of a hitter’s park for Reynolds: He went 1 for 10 with two walks and four strikeouts.

So he begins a longer-term relationship with the place today . . .

Personal observation: It’s nice to see this ballpark, the forerunner to the retro-stadium boom in the ‘90s, filled with people and general baseball noise. It’s held up wonderfully – Camden Yards opened in ’92 – and might actually have a team worth getting excited about, and trekking to see, this season.

http://hamptonroads.com/2011/04/we-opening-days


MLB Standings: A Look at Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers & Rest of AL Leaders

MLB Standings Hold Some Surprises After The First Weekend of the Season, But Will It Stay That Way?

If I told you that the Baltimore Orioles, the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers would be winning their divisions after the first weekend of the season, you'd laugh at me with the exception of the Rangers.

Somehow, this is reality as both Baltimore and Kansas City stormed out to early leads in the AL East and AL Central. I was more impressed bythe Orioles, who swept Tampa Bay in the first action of the season. Baltimore only gave up three runs in that series and really looked like a team that could make some noise in the AL East. This isn't a group that can win the division, but the Orioles are a squad that can make things interesting for the Red Sox and the Yankees when they meet during the season.

The Royals simply outslugged the Angels, scoring 21 runs while giving up 18. That's something this team can't sustain for a whole season, so look for teams like Minnesota, Chicago and Detroit to be the main players in the race for the division crown.

However, it was the Texas Rangers who stole all of the headlines and sent a message by not just beating the Boston Red Sox, but pounding the life out of them. The Rangers hit home run after home run off of the hapless Boston pitching en route to 28 runs scored, the most in the league entering today.

If Texas can hit like that all season long, then this is a team that has the capability to make it back to the World Series, even without Cliff Lee.

While Boston struggled this weekend, this is a group that has too good of a lineup not to compete this year. It's going to be a two-horse race between the Red Sox and the Yankees for the AL East crown and I can't wait to see those two teams go at it.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/653952-wwe-wrestlemania-27-ncaa-final-four-wayne-rooney-and-mondays-sports-stories/entry/59032-mlb-standings-a-look-at-baltimore-orioles-texas-rangers-rest-of-al-leaders

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