Lee Lowenfish

There are almost 150 games left in the regular MLB season so reason should dictate not to jump to any conclusions on such limited evidence.  But as Shakespeare's King Lear cried, "Reason not the need." Yours truly, the Prince of Paranoia, is not ready for a full-bore rant after the Birds opened the season 5-8 (before they resume play at home on Fri Apr 11).

 

However . . . There are disturbing signs that last year's mediocre second half slump and a second straight early exit in the playoffs were not an aberration.  The front office, led by Mike Elias and Sig Mejdal, a former NASA analyst who was bestowed the title of Director of Decision Sciences for the Houston Astros and now the Orioles, had to know that losing to free agency last year's ace Corbin Burnes and 44-HR man Anthony Santander left gaping holes in the roster. 

 

So far in the early going of 2025,  Burnes for the Diamondbacks and Santander for the Blue Jays haven't done much. But their track record indicates they will produce wins on the mound and at the plate, respectively.  As always, I fear the spurned player coming back to haunt his former team. 

 

Santander will get a deserved ovation from Oriole fans when he comes into Baltimore this weekend (Apr 11-13). He didn't do much in their first series in Toronto but I don't expect that drought to last.  Consider that Vladimir Guerrero Jr, fresh from signing his 15-year-$500 million contract, loves hitting in Charm City.  At least the O's don't have to face Kevin Gausman this time - another Oriole castoff, Gausman pitched yesterday as the Jays completed a sweep of the Bosox in Boston..

 

Meanwhile, the new (and holdover) Orioles have been underwhelming except for Zack Eflin who pitched three good games but is now on the injured list with the same shoulder issue that IL-ed him last season.  Former number one draft choice Grayson Rodriguez hasn't pitched all year and won't be available for a few more weeks and maybe longer. 

 

Santander's replacement in right field, Tyler O'Neill, was bestowed with a "modest" by today's standards 3-year $49 million free agent contract by Elias and company. O'Neill possesses a great arm, but relatively new to right field, he has needed a refresher course on what base to throw to.  And his base running has the subtlety of what you might expect from the son of a onetime Mr. Canada body builder.  It was so bad in St. Louis that his Cardinals manager Olli Marmol called him out publicly.

 

Well, I said I won't go full bore Prince of Paranoia. (You have a right to ask what full bore would sound like!) So instead, cue Mendelssohn's "Spring Song" and Beethoven's "Spring" Sonata while I tell you about the celebration of NYU's exceptional women's basketball team.  On Sat March 22 they completed their second straight undefeated season by beating Smith College of Northamapton MA for the second straight year in the Division III final, this year held in Salem, VA.

 

Yesterday (W Apr 9) they were celebrated at the Paulson Center gym on Mercer and Bleecker Streets in the heart of Greenwich Village. Deserved kudos for a team that has won 62 games in a row. That kind of winning has to be celebrated on any level in any sport. It's the 7th longest winning streak in the history of women's basketball on any level.  They are the 4th double champion in NCAA history. The 2024-2025 team won its games by an average of 37 points and their closest margin of victory was 19 points. The seniors were part of a team that went 112-5 in 4 years - perhaps not coincidentally because they were a pandemic team recruited by Zoom, including 3 from NY State, 3 from New Jersey, 2 from NYC, 1 from Australia.

 

Several NYU administrators and District 2 NYC Councilwoman Carlina Rivera spoke glowingly, but I think it was head coach Meg Barber's words that I will most remember.  Addressing her team, she said, "You willed it when no one was watching . . . and when everyone was watching."  

 

A winning culture is one of the great cliches of our age, so easy to say and so hard to achieve. Meg Barber listed some of its attributes that fans don't see:

*A freshman that finally gets a drill right in practice

*A player that learns to get a bad game out of her head while preparing for the next game

*Working well with the men's team [that made the Final Four too this season] - "I learned so much from them," Barber said.

*The off-court bonding of players that means so much once on the court

*The bond-building of parents and the importance of parents of veteran players explaining the ropes to parents of new players

 

Before the Mets' 710P game against the Diamondbacks on W April 30, Meg Barber, a former NYU player and a Mets fan, will have the honor 

of throwing out the first ball.  It is also Bark in the Park night.  So Violet and Mets fans and dog lovers, mark the date down.

 

In closing, some sad RIPs: Former Mets pitcher Octavio Dotel, 51, died in the roof collapse at the Santo Domingo night club early in the morning of Tu April 8.  Nelsy Cruz, a prominent goverment official in the DR and sister of retired slugger Nelson Cruz, also perished.  As did Tony Blanco, Washington Nats first baseman in 2005. Members of the family of Hall of Famer pitcher Pedro Martinez are still unaccounted for.  

 

That's all for now - always remember Take it easy but take it, and stay positive, test negative. 

 

        

Don’t ever say there is no crying in baseball. When shortly before the trade deadline of July 31 the Orioles traded both pitcher Kevin Gausman (to Atlanta along with veteran reliever Darren O'Day) and second baseman Jonathan Schoop (to Milwaukee), many tears were shed by both young players.

The first time you are traded is always an emotional experience because you are literally being kicked out of the only baseball family you have known.

Baltimore infield instructor Bobby Dickerson, a baseball lifer, shed the normally stoic demeanor of a Buck Showalter staff member. As he tearfully explained to Roch Kubatko on the masnsports.com website, he had known Curacao native Schoop from the age of 16 - he had watched close hand the growing pains and emergence of the former Little League champion into a major league second baseman with a great arm and formidable power.

It wasn’t that Gausman and Schoop could walk as free agents after this season. (Which was why All-Stars Manny Machado, Zach Britton, and Brad Brach were all traded.) Their possibly big free agent bonanza won’t come until after 2019 for Schoop and after 2020 for Gausman.

Yet Gausman had never lived up to his billing as the number 4 player picked in the first round of the 2012 amateur draft. His stuff can be electric - a fastball clocked in mid-to-upper 90s and a considerably lower velocity for his split-finger sinking pitch.

But he never could develop a curve or slider to complement his two plus pitches. His pitch count invariably rose early in games and when he needed to make a big pitch, he often did not execute it.

Gausman has remained healthy and durable so he might become an innings eater for the Braves. He did lose his first start to Zack Wheeler and the Mets, 3-0 on Saturday night August 3, not getting out of the sixth inning. (As someone who roots for the Mets to be competitive in the NY market, I'm glad they held on to Wheeler at the trade deadline. He seems to be emerging as a very effective starting pitcher.)

Schoop has gotten off to a slow start with the Brewers, going 0 for 13 before he got his first hit on Saturday night. He will help them I am sure once he gets settled. He even has started one game at shortstop, his original position as little and minor leaguer.

I for one will miss one of the most genuine smiles that I have ever seen in an athlete.
It was a dream of Orioles fans that Schoop and his BFF Manny Machado might comprise a Baltimore double play combination for years and years. Now both are gone and no replacements are on the horizon.

(Interestingly, Machado, who only wanted to play short for the Orioles once JJ Hardy departed after last season, is now playing both third base and shortstop as LAD tries to win a 6th consecutive NL West title.)

So what does an Orioles fan do when his parent team is in disarray and there is no clear evidence yet that any of the minor leaguers received for our stars will really emerge? Try to find hope in the farm clubs, right?

I love the atmosphere and affordability of minor league baseball so I checked in on the Aberdeen Iron Birds' visit to the Brooklyn Cyclones this past Thursday August 2. It started off as a dream day with late breakfast on the boardwalk followed by nearly an hour floating around in the refreshingly mild and surprisingly clean Atlantic at Coney Island.

Alas, the New York-Penn League Short Season A game at MCU (formerly Keyspan) Park quickly spoiled a beautiful day. After taking a quick 1-0 lead on a single by center fielder Austin Hays (last year's Orioles Minor League Player of the Year) and a triple by first baseman JC Escarra, the Iron Birds quickly fell apart.

Southpaw Willie Rios never looked comfortable on the mound, kicking at the ground trying to find a good landing spot I guess. There has been a lot of rain around here lately and the pitching area must have been a little muddy. But nobody on the Iron Bird coaching staff talked to Rios about the problem.

After getting the first out, he walked two and then the defense fell apart. At-'em balls at infielders were misplayed and thanks to a bases clearing double by Cyclones DH Walter Rasquin it was soon 6-1. Then 9-1 after 2, and 12-1 after 3.

Four errors of commission in the first three innings and many more of omission, eg. not covering bases or throwing to wrong bases. Final score of 13-6 was deceptive - it was not a competitive game.

But it was fun to see Austin Hays collect a couple of hits and display his Pete Rose-style enthusiasm for the game. He was halfway to second on a foul ball he hit that the first baseman corralled near the stands.

It was Irish Night and thank God I wasn't raised a Brooklyn Dodger fan because the
entertainment of the evening was provided by a group of dancers called the O'Malleys!
I know that perfidy of moving the Brooklyn Dodgers to LA by Walter O'Malley happened 61 years ago but it remains a wound deep in the heart of old Brooklyn and those in the diaspora.

Well, that's all for now. Plenty of baseball left to muse and moan about. So in the meantime always remember: Take it easy but take it.  Read More