Tidbits

Lunchtime baseball at the Great American Ballpark.....the Astros and Reds starting early and I'm getting the chance to enhance my lunch hour and check out Johnny Cueto the young pitcher who's had a good start or two for the Reds.

Ken Griffey needs 3 homers today to reach 600. Doubt he gets it today, but in time it will come. Junior was a dominant player at the start of his career, but has now just become an average player with age. Injuries have had something to do with it. Still one of the best players of this generation and one who deserves everything he gets. We're rooting for him as he approaches the milestone.

Speaking of dominant. Anybody else notice just how good Hanley Ramirez is? I don't think the casual fan has any idea that the best player in baseball might well be on the Florida roster. His leadoff homer last night in Atlanta was an absolute shot. 425 feet on a line to straight away centerfield. His seventh bomb of the year. Do yourself a favor, take in a Marlins game.

Nick Markakis' eighth inning homer won another close game for the Orioles last night. Markakis maybe my favorite Oriole right now. He should be the face of the franchise right now and for many years to come. The Orioles need to do the right thing and lock him up longterm, right now. Make a statement like other teams have done and secure this superstar longterm.

Interesting article in the Daily Orange today about how the SU football team is losing money. That's what losing games does ya. The athletic department has had to dip into the athletic reserve fund to balance the budget as a result. Totally Gross made a comment about how things had been healthy for awhile and that's why we build that up. So basically what he's saying is Paul and Jake won games ran the department on the plus side and then I can come in here and spend the money they've built up as I bury the athletic program. Can you tell I don't like the guy? Get rid of him and let's get back to winning some games. Oh, and maybe we could make the NCAA tournament or a bowl game as well?

Minorleaguebaseball.com has a current poll that wants to know who has the best pitching rotation. The Frederick Keys one of the five choices. Good stuff for the Orioles organization. Beato, Arrieta, Erbe, Renshaw and Bergesen the current five. Look for Tim Bascom to join that mix soon.

Chris Tillman pitched pretty well again in Bowie last night. The Orioles have some arms on the way.