BALTIMORE, Maryland May 31, 2014 - Maryland has been playing college baseball since the 19th Century, but through May 29, 2014 they had won a grand total of one NCAA Tournament Game, and that one win was 44 years ago. But now, In the space of two days at the end of May, 2014 the Terps have won more NCAA Tournament games than all of the other Maryland teams put together. Tonight in Colombia, South Carolina, in front of over 8,000 roaring South Carolina fans, the Terps beat the Number One Seed, 4-3, breaking the Gamecocks' 28 game home winning streak in the NCAA Tournament, a streak that dates all the way back to 2002. And Maryland did it by relying on their heretofore shaky bullpen, which rose up and held South Carolina scoreless over the final two and two-thirds innings of this thrilling Regional Showdown. Terp starter Mike Shawaryn left Maryland a one run lead when he departed after throwing 112 pitches over the first six and one-third innings.
Bobby Ruse relieved Shawaryn in the seventh inning with one out and two on and worked his way out of the jam without giving up a run. In the 8th inning, South Carolina put a man on second with one out, and Terp Coach John Szefc went again to the pen for Kevin Mooney, his closer. Mooney wiggled his way out of the 8th without giving up a run. But then in the ninth South Carolina put runners at the corners with one out. only to see Mooney induce their third baseman, Joey Pankake, to hit in to a double play to end the game. Blake Schmit's relay throw to Lamont Wade beat Pankake by a whisker, and the first base umpire gave an emphatic out call even as Pankake signaled safe. The heart-stopping win puts Maryland in the most preferred position in the regional tournament. They can now watch the Gamecocks play at 1 pm Sunday against Campbell, with the winner of that game playing Maryland at 7 pm in the 'first' regional championship. If Maryland can win that game they will be the NCAA regional champion, but even if they lose, there will be a rematch Monday at 7 pm, since the winner of the loser's bracket - which is what the winner of tomorrow's 1 pm game will be - must beat Maryland twice to win the regional.
Maryland scored all four of its runs in the first two innings, as they knocked Gamecock starter Jack Wynkoop out of the game after just one and two-thirds innings. In the bottom of the first inning, Charlie White led off with a booming double to the fence in left center. One out later he scored on a Brandon Lowe single to left. The Terps struck for three more runs in the second inning, with the entire uprising taking place after there were two outs and nobody on base. Kevin Martir got it started by sending a line drive single to left field, which the left fielder misplayed, allowing Martir to advance to second base. White then sent a hard ground ball into the hole between the first baseman and second baseman. Gamecock first sacker Kyle Martin dove to his right and speared the ball, but no one covered first and White reached, with Martir taking third. White was correctly credited with a hit since even if the pitcher covered first it is doubtful if they could have retired the speedy White. Lamont Wade followed with a line drive double down the first base line. Martir scored and White raced to third. The Terps now led, 2-0. Brandon Lowe followed by hitting a swinging bunt that trickled down the third base line. Pankake charged the ball and threw off-balance to first. The throw hit the dirt and bounced past Martin, allowing both White and Wade to score and putting Maryland ahead, 4-0.
Shawaryn made the four run lead stand up through the third inning, but South Carolina got on the board in the top of the fourth when D.J. Arendas hit a two-out RBI single. The Gamecocks struck for two more runs in the sixth inning, but they came within inches of pulling even when Martin's long drive to right hit a few inches below the top of the right field wall and bounced back into play. There were two Gamecocks on base when that happened, and had it gone for a home run - and South Carolina argued for such a call, although replays showed the umpire's call was clearly correct - the score would have been tied, 4-4. Instead, only one run scored on the play, and another run scored later in the inning. But Martin, who was at second with only one out, did not score. After Martin's double, which came with one out, Arendas hit a sacrifice fly to score the third South Carolina run, but Shawaryn struck out Connor Bright to end the inning.
The Terps nearly got one run back in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs and Anthony Papio at second, Lamont Wade singled to left. But Papio was thrown out at home on a throw from left fielder Gene Cone. Shawaryn came out to start the seventh and got the first man out on a ground ball to Blake Schmit. But then the freshman hit South Carolina's number nine hitter, Tanner English, who then stole second. After that, he walked the Gamecock's leadoff hitter, Marcus Mooney, to put runners at first and second with one out. At this point Szefc went to the bullpen for Bobby Ruse. Ruse proceeded to get out of the inning when Max Scrock lined out to right fielder Papio, and Pankake grounded out to second baseman Lowe. Kyle Martin started the South Carolina 8th with a solid single, and he was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Grayson Greiner. Here, Szefc went to his closer, Mooney. Things started poorly for Mooney, as he hit the first batter he faced, Arendas. But he got out of the jame when the next hitter, Bright, hit into a fielder's choice and then Cone struck out to end the inning. Then came the ninth.
In other games Saturday - some of which were reported on in an earlier post - Nebraska eliminated Binghamton, 8-6; Kentucky scored three in the ninth to eliminate Kent State, 4-2; Xavier eliminated Clemson, 6-4; Youngstown State eliminated Indiana State, 5-2; powerful La. - Lafayette recovered from Friday's upset loss to eliminate San Diego State, 9-2; Bucknell eliminated Liberty, 5-2; Southeast Louisiana sent Bryant packing, 2-1; Sienna rallied to end Dallas Baptist's season, 9-8; Sacremento State ended it for Arizona State, 5-4; and UNLV ended North Dakota State's season, 2-1. The Oxford, Mississippi regional at the University of Mississippi was rained out on Friday, and so on Saturday the four teams assigned there played their first games. Mississippi crushed Jackson State in one game, 12-2; while Washington shut out Georgia Tech in the other game, 8-0.
Columbia, which last year won the first NCAA game in school history, battled its way back into the tournament this year, but was eliminated Saturday in a thrilling game with Bethune Cookman. The winners broke on top, 6-0, only to see the Lions claw their way back into the game. When the Lions came to bat in the bottom of the seventh, they were six runs down. But they put four runs on the board in the seventh, and added a run int he bottom of the ninth, before their comeback ended one run short. The Lions' Gus Craig's two out single in the bottom of the ninth scored pinch runner Logan Boyner to pull Columbia within one run. Shane Adams entered the game as a pinch runner for Craig, and he was off to the races when Robb Paller sent a smoking line drive to center field. But Bethune Cookman's centerfielder Eros Modena made a very good catch to end the game and keep Bethune Cookman's hopes alive.
In winner's bracket games later Saturday, Louisville beat Kansas, 6-3; Virginia whacked Arkansas, 3-0; Vanderbilt beat back Oregon, 7-2; LSU downed Houston, 5-1; Mississippi State downed Jackson State, 3-1; Pepperdine beat Cal-Poly, 2-1; The College of Charleston beat Long Beach State, 6-3; and Texas Tech defeated Miami, 3-0. Other games were still being played as this was posted at about midnight
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Florida State eliminated; Maryland in Ninth Inning Rally to Edge Old Dominion; Will Play South Carolina Saturday Night; Florida Also Defeated; Oregon State Survives North Dakota State in Thriller
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 31, 2014 - As I begin this post, Alabama has survived an amazing ninth inning surge by Florida State and eliminated the Seminoles, 6-5. The Crimson Tide had a 6-0 lead going to the bottom of the ninth, but Florida State had three runs in and the bases loaded with nobody out, most of the damage coming on walks and a hit batsmen. Alabama's freshman closer, Thomas Burrows, got two outs on a strike out and fly out, but then faced ACC Player of the Year, DJ Stewart. Steward hit a solid single to center, scoring two runs and sending the tie run to third. Normally, FSU cleanup hitter John Nogowski would have been due up, but he had been pulled for a pinch runner in the 8th inning, and Seminole Coach Mike Martin opted to bring up freshman reserve catcher Gage West. West got great 'wood' on the aluminum bat, but it stayed in the park and was caught in centerfield for the final out. It is the first time in 30 years that Florida State lost the first two games of a regional tournament. Alabama survives and will play the loser of tonight's Georgia Southern-Kennesaw State game in another elimination game Sunday afternoon.
At Colombia, South Carolina, Maryland struck for three runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to beat Old Dominion, 4-3. The Monarch's Andy Roberts and Ryan Yarbrough, both southpaws, combined to shut Maryland out through seven innnings while Old Dominion was scoring single runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings. In the bottom of the 8th, Maryland loaded the bases on consecutive singles by Lamont Wade, Brandon Lowe and Jose Cuas, all with nobody out. At that point, Old Dominion went back to the bullpen and brought in righthander Connor Overton. Overton responded by inducing Blake Schmit to hit into a doubleplay, although Wade scored on the play. Overton then struck out Tim Lewis to end the threat. Jake Stinnett went 8 strong innings for Maryland, giving up the three runs on 7 hits. Taylor Stiles came on to pitch the ninth and promptly gave up a single to Josh Eldridge. Brian Beard pinch ran for Eldridge, but Stiles quickly picked him off of first base. He then struck out the next two hitters, giving the Terps one last chance in the ninth, down now by only two runs. Maryland wasted little time. Kyle Convissar, who had entered the game in the fifth inning as a pinch hitter when Terp Coach John Szefc was looking for a right-handed hitter against Old Dominion's staple of southpaws. That move paid huge dividends in the dramatic ninth, as Convissar led off by driving a pitch to the fence in deep left center field, good for a stand-up double. Anthony Papio grouded out, however, and the Monarchs were only two outs away from a huge win. Again, ODU Coach Chris Finwood went to the pen, this time bringing on his lead closer, Brad Gero. Trouble was a brewing for ODU. Kevin Martir greeted Gero by hitting a ground ball between third and shortstop. The third baseman for Old Dominion, P.J. Higgins, put his glove down as he moved quickly to his left, but the ball got past him, allowing Convissar to race to race to third and Martir to reach first. Charlie White followed Martir by hitting an 0-2 pitch into centerfield for a run-scoring single. Martir stopped at second. Lamont Wade then worked Gero for a walk to load the bases. Then something happened that never happened before in an NCAA playoff game. Gero hit Brandon Lowe and Jose Cuas on consecutive pitches to force in first the tie run and then the winning run. Unbelievable. The entire Maryland team stormed onto the field to celebrate while the Old Dominion lads looked like nine deer caught in the headlights of a Mack Truck. The Terps will take on the number one seed in this regional, South Carolina, tonight at 7 pm on ESPN3. The Gamecocks advanced with a 5-2 win over the Campbell Camels. Campbell and ODU are playing as I write this post in an elimination game. In another Saturday game to be completed, Campbell defeated Old Dominion, 7-3, in 12 innings.
Florida, another of the top five national seeds, also went down to defeat yesterday. So did Louisiana-Lafayette and their nation-leading 53 wins. The overall number one national seed, Oregon State, had to fight like all get out to come from behind and scrape by upset minded North Dakota State, 2-1. The Bison took a second inning lead when Kyle Kleinendorst whacked a leadoff home run. The Beavers tied the game in the bottom of the second, then moved ahead when Dylan Davis hit a homer in the seventh inning. Florida lost to the College of Charleston, 3-2, at Gainesville. Jackson State stunned powerful La. - Lafayette, 1-0. Also, Cal State - Fullerton beat Nebraska, 5-1; Oregon crushed Clemson, 18-1; Long Beach State whacked North Carolina, 6-1; Stanford beat Indiana State, 5-1; Texas Tech pushed across a run in the ninth to beat Columbia, 3-2; Mississippi State edged San Diego State, 5-2; Virginia humbled Bucknell, 10-1; Kansas outlasted Kentucky, 10-6; LSU got by Southeastern Louisiana, 8-4; Sam Houston State beat Dallas Baptist, 2-1; Texas beat Texas A & M, 8-1; Pepperdine surprised Arizona State, 3-2; UC-Irvine crushed UNLV, 10-3; Oklahoma State ran past Binghamton, 8-0; Indiana defeated Youngstown State, 10-2; Miami of Florida just got by Bethune-Cookman, 1-0; Arkansas downed Liberty, 3-2, and will play Virginia tonight in Charlottesville; Houston edged Bryant, 3-2; TCU got by Sienna, 2-1; Cal-Poly edged Sacremento State, 4-2; Louisville got by Kent State, 5-0; Rice hammered George Mason, 7-2; and Vanderbilt humiliated Xavier, 11-0.
One regional was rained out Friday and started Saturday afternoon. In Oxford, Mississippi, Washington defeated Georgia Tech, 8-0.
At Colombia, South Carolina, Maryland struck for three runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to beat Old Dominion, 4-3. The Monarch's Andy Roberts and Ryan Yarbrough, both southpaws, combined to shut Maryland out through seven innnings while Old Dominion was scoring single runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings. In the bottom of the 8th, Maryland loaded the bases on consecutive singles by Lamont Wade, Brandon Lowe and Jose Cuas, all with nobody out. At that point, Old Dominion went back to the bullpen and brought in righthander Connor Overton. Overton responded by inducing Blake Schmit to hit into a doubleplay, although Wade scored on the play. Overton then struck out Tim Lewis to end the threat. Jake Stinnett went 8 strong innings for Maryland, giving up the three runs on 7 hits. Taylor Stiles came on to pitch the ninth and promptly gave up a single to Josh Eldridge. Brian Beard pinch ran for Eldridge, but Stiles quickly picked him off of first base. He then struck out the next two hitters, giving the Terps one last chance in the ninth, down now by only two runs. Maryland wasted little time. Kyle Convissar, who had entered the game in the fifth inning as a pinch hitter when Terp Coach John Szefc was looking for a right-handed hitter against Old Dominion's staple of southpaws. That move paid huge dividends in the dramatic ninth, as Convissar led off by driving a pitch to the fence in deep left center field, good for a stand-up double. Anthony Papio grouded out, however, and the Monarchs were only two outs away from a huge win. Again, ODU Coach Chris Finwood went to the pen, this time bringing on his lead closer, Brad Gero. Trouble was a brewing for ODU. Kevin Martir greeted Gero by hitting a ground ball between third and shortstop. The third baseman for Old Dominion, P.J. Higgins, put his glove down as he moved quickly to his left, but the ball got past him, allowing Convissar to race to race to third and Martir to reach first. Charlie White followed Martir by hitting an 0-2 pitch into centerfield for a run-scoring single. Martir stopped at second. Lamont Wade then worked Gero for a walk to load the bases. Then something happened that never happened before in an NCAA playoff game. Gero hit Brandon Lowe and Jose Cuas on consecutive pitches to force in first the tie run and then the winning run. Unbelievable. The entire Maryland team stormed onto the field to celebrate while the Old Dominion lads looked like nine deer caught in the headlights of a Mack Truck. The Terps will take on the number one seed in this regional, South Carolina, tonight at 7 pm on ESPN3. The Gamecocks advanced with a 5-2 win over the Campbell Camels. Campbell and ODU are playing as I write this post in an elimination game. In another Saturday game to be completed, Campbell defeated Old Dominion, 7-3, in 12 innings.
Florida, another of the top five national seeds, also went down to defeat yesterday. So did Louisiana-Lafayette and their nation-leading 53 wins. The overall number one national seed, Oregon State, had to fight like all get out to come from behind and scrape by upset minded North Dakota State, 2-1. The Bison took a second inning lead when Kyle Kleinendorst whacked a leadoff home run. The Beavers tied the game in the bottom of the second, then moved ahead when Dylan Davis hit a homer in the seventh inning. Florida lost to the College of Charleston, 3-2, at Gainesville. Jackson State stunned powerful La. - Lafayette, 1-0. Also, Cal State - Fullerton beat Nebraska, 5-1; Oregon crushed Clemson, 18-1; Long Beach State whacked North Carolina, 6-1; Stanford beat Indiana State, 5-1; Texas Tech pushed across a run in the ninth to beat Columbia, 3-2; Mississippi State edged San Diego State, 5-2; Virginia humbled Bucknell, 10-1; Kansas outlasted Kentucky, 10-6; LSU got by Southeastern Louisiana, 8-4; Sam Houston State beat Dallas Baptist, 2-1; Texas beat Texas A & M, 8-1; Pepperdine surprised Arizona State, 3-2; UC-Irvine crushed UNLV, 10-3; Oklahoma State ran past Binghamton, 8-0; Indiana defeated Youngstown State, 10-2; Miami of Florida just got by Bethune-Cookman, 1-0; Arkansas downed Liberty, 3-2, and will play Virginia tonight in Charlottesville; Houston edged Bryant, 3-2; TCU got by Sienna, 2-1; Cal-Poly edged Sacremento State, 4-2; Louisville got by Kent State, 5-0; Rice hammered George Mason, 7-2; and Vanderbilt humiliated Xavier, 11-0.
One regional was rained out Friday and started Saturday afternoon. In Oxford, Mississippi, Washington defeated Georgia Tech, 8-0.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Queens Park Rangers Savor Return to Premier League Despite Club's High Debt Picture
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 27, 2014 - It was the classic battle of wills, and Queens Park emerged from it as the winner of the Championship League's third promotion to the Premier League. The score in the game was 0-0 and the Rangers were playing with ten men after one of its players was sent off at the hour mark of the Wembley Stadium match with Derby County. But then, at time, Bobby Zamora of the Rangers scored what spectators called a miracle goal. Pictures of Zamora, whose goal in a similar circumstance sent West Ham back to the Premier in 2007, showed an absolutely delighted scorer dancing the moment.
Queens Park had to fight a virtual war with Wigan Athletic just to get to Wembley. The two-legged playoff round was scoreless through the first game at Wigan, and 1-1 after 90 minutes of the second leg on Loftus Road. In the overtime period, Charlie Austin of the Rangers scored his second goal of the match after just six minutes. The rest of the match consisted of Wigan firing away, relentlessly, for the equalizer, but the Rangers outstanding keeper, Rob Green, was equal to the task.
The match against Derby County was even more dramatic, especially for the Ranger defense. They had been sensational from the outset before a packed stadium in London, but at the hour mark Gary O'Neil of Queens Park was sent off by the referee at a time when the Rams were controlling play and pressuring Green with the teams at equal strength. Some fans, in fact, said Derby was the pressuring team throughout, and that Green played one of his best games in keeping the Rams off the scoreboard. Richard Dunne, in the center of the Ranger defense, made a mistake in the first half to give the Rams one of their best chances, a chance that Green stopped. But in that final half hour, when his team was a man down, it was Dunne, also, who rose up and anchored the defense, giving the Rangers an immediate return to the Premier after a single year in the Championship.
Club officials hinted, without actually saying it, that the largesse of the Premier will cure the club's financial problems. Of course, it doesn't take a genius to see that it could also make it worse.
Queens Park had to fight a virtual war with Wigan Athletic just to get to Wembley. The two-legged playoff round was scoreless through the first game at Wigan, and 1-1 after 90 minutes of the second leg on Loftus Road. In the overtime period, Charlie Austin of the Rangers scored his second goal of the match after just six minutes. The rest of the match consisted of Wigan firing away, relentlessly, for the equalizer, but the Rangers outstanding keeper, Rob Green, was equal to the task.
The match against Derby County was even more dramatic, especially for the Ranger defense. They had been sensational from the outset before a packed stadium in London, but at the hour mark Gary O'Neil of Queens Park was sent off by the referee at a time when the Rams were controlling play and pressuring Green with the teams at equal strength. Some fans, in fact, said Derby was the pressuring team throughout, and that Green played one of his best games in keeping the Rams off the scoreboard. Richard Dunne, in the center of the Ranger defense, made a mistake in the first half to give the Rams one of their best chances, a chance that Green stopped. But in that final half hour, when his team was a man down, it was Dunne, also, who rose up and anchored the defense, giving the Rangers an immediate return to the Premier after a single year in the Championship.
Club officials hinted, without actually saying it, that the largesse of the Premier will cure the club's financial problems. Of course, it doesn't take a genius to see that it could also make it worse.
The Ukraine Vote: Poroshenko Victory Cements Ukraine's Pro-European Tilt; Moscow Slow to Recognize New Leader
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 28, 2014 - Pro-European Businessman Viktor Poroshenko is the apparent winner of nationwide presidential voting on Sunday in Ukraine. The victory is seen as a stamp of approval for many of the reforms instituted by the interim government in Kiev, which came to power in March when the elected president, Viktor Yanukovych, either addicated or was forced from power by anti-Russian/pro-EU demonstrations, mainly in Kiev but also in other cities. Those demonstrators were part of a movement in Ukraine that came to be called Euromaidan.
Poroshenko apparently has gained more than enough votes to avoid a run-off election on June 15. The marker for avoiding the runoff was 50% of the popular vote. The Ukraine Central Election Commission said that Poroshenko had received some 54.4 of the vote with over 94% of all votes counted. Placing second was former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, with 12.9% of the vote. According to Al Jazeera - and anything from Al Jazeera should be taken bearing in mind the bias of the source, which is admittedly pro-Arab and anti-Jewish - only 7 of 22 registered polling places near Donetsk, in Eastern Ukraine, were up and running Sunday for the vote. The pro-Russian Separatist Movement opposed the elections because they claim their region is no longer part of Ukraine. They say they are a new and Independent Nation called the People's Republic of Donetsk. However, in today's post, Al Jazeera reported on splits amongst the Separatists. One leader, Igor Strelkov, is said to be a Russian agent by authorities in Kiev. Credible and Incisive reported in April that Strelkov was interviewed by a publication in Moscow in April, and in it he conceded that at least half and up to two-thirds of the men in his Separatist unit were actually Russian military people.
Fox News reported late Wednesday morning, EDT, that Separatists in Donetsk have conceded that some of their number are militiamen from Chechnya. There have been continued charges that the Separatists are not mainly from Ukraine. Strelkov's interview with the Russian news site was only one source of those reports. This new admition strengthens those reports, although Putin and his administration have denied again that Russia is involved in any way in the Separatist movements. In March he threatened repeatedly to invade Ukraine if the Kiev government used military force against the Separatists. He has backed off of that in some ways - troops on the coast with Ukraine, once 40,000 strong, are said to be slowly withdrawing - but the reports of infusions of troops, however disguised, strenghtens those reports. One obvious point of conflict, at least publicly, was the leaflet distributed by a Separatist Leader in Donetsk that called for all Jewish people to personally register at one of the government buildings being occupied by the Separatists, and in registering, the Jewish people were also supposed to inventory their assets so that the fine new people running the separatist movement would be aware of them. I'm trying to remember who the last leader was with an idea like that. What was his name?
Jewish leaders were comforted by the vote on Sunday because ultra right wing candidates received so little support. A Jewish publication in New York, Jewish Week, quoted the chairman of the Vaad Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities in Ukraine, Josef Zissels, as saying that "the resounding victory of Poroshenko in just about every region of Ukraine not only eliminated the need for a costly second round but also sends an important message of unity...The failure of the ultranationalists reflects a reality which we have been trying to represent all the time despite Russian propaganda’s attempt to portray Ukrainian society as intolerant."
And the idea that the result would have been dramatically different if the East wasn't in armed rebellion was undercut by polls taken recently by international groups. These polls showed that as much as 70% of Eastern Ukraine Citizens wanted nothing to do with becoming part of Russia or becoming part of a country other than Ukraine. Sometimes in a society the dissatisfied speak up loudly against the powers that be, but can never form a lasting movement of increasing numbers. That, apparently, is the legacy of the Separatists. But that doesn't mean that things won't change if the new government doesn't make changes in the East.
Moscow and its leader, the Strong Man Vladimir Putin, said before the election that it would respect the outcome and work with the new leaders. In the wake of the election, it has yet to say that it recognizes the results or the Poroshenko's incoming leadership.
At the same time that Ukraine elected a new president it also conducted local elections across the country. Parliamentary elections were not held, although some groups urged Poroshenko to dissolve parliament and hold such elections at soon as possible.
The most well-known winner amongst those seeking office in Ukraine was former heavyweight boxing contender Vitali Klitschko. Klitschko has claimed victory in the election for a new Mayor of Kiev, according to Yahoo News. Klitschko's claim is based only on exit polls, however. Those polls showed him with 57% of all votes cast. It is not known when the official results for that job will be revealed. The Mayor of the Ukraine's largest city is recognized as wielding great power in Ukrainian affairs. The 42-year-old athlete is eager for that platform and his opportunity to speak to younger Ukraine voters. He ran on a ticket with Poroshenko.
Poroshenko apparently has gained more than enough votes to avoid a run-off election on June 15. The marker for avoiding the runoff was 50% of the popular vote. The Ukraine Central Election Commission said that Poroshenko had received some 54.4 of the vote with over 94% of all votes counted. Placing second was former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, with 12.9% of the vote. According to Al Jazeera - and anything from Al Jazeera should be taken bearing in mind the bias of the source, which is admittedly pro-Arab and anti-Jewish - only 7 of 22 registered polling places near Donetsk, in Eastern Ukraine, were up and running Sunday for the vote. The pro-Russian Separatist Movement opposed the elections because they claim their region is no longer part of Ukraine. They say they are a new and Independent Nation called the People's Republic of Donetsk. However, in today's post, Al Jazeera reported on splits amongst the Separatists. One leader, Igor Strelkov, is said to be a Russian agent by authorities in Kiev. Credible and Incisive reported in April that Strelkov was interviewed by a publication in Moscow in April, and in it he conceded that at least half and up to two-thirds of the men in his Separatist unit were actually Russian military people.
Fox News reported late Wednesday morning, EDT, that Separatists in Donetsk have conceded that some of their number are militiamen from Chechnya. There have been continued charges that the Separatists are not mainly from Ukraine. Strelkov's interview with the Russian news site was only one source of those reports. This new admition strengthens those reports, although Putin and his administration have denied again that Russia is involved in any way in the Separatist movements. In March he threatened repeatedly to invade Ukraine if the Kiev government used military force against the Separatists. He has backed off of that in some ways - troops on the coast with Ukraine, once 40,000 strong, are said to be slowly withdrawing - but the reports of infusions of troops, however disguised, strenghtens those reports. One obvious point of conflict, at least publicly, was the leaflet distributed by a Separatist Leader in Donetsk that called for all Jewish people to personally register at one of the government buildings being occupied by the Separatists, and in registering, the Jewish people were also supposed to inventory their assets so that the fine new people running the separatist movement would be aware of them. I'm trying to remember who the last leader was with an idea like that. What was his name?
Jewish leaders were comforted by the vote on Sunday because ultra right wing candidates received so little support. A Jewish publication in New York, Jewish Week, quoted the chairman of the Vaad Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities in Ukraine, Josef Zissels, as saying that "the resounding victory of Poroshenko in just about every region of Ukraine not only eliminated the need for a costly second round but also sends an important message of unity...The failure of the ultranationalists reflects a reality which we have been trying to represent all the time despite Russian propaganda’s attempt to portray Ukrainian society as intolerant."
And the idea that the result would have been dramatically different if the East wasn't in armed rebellion was undercut by polls taken recently by international groups. These polls showed that as much as 70% of Eastern Ukraine Citizens wanted nothing to do with becoming part of Russia or becoming part of a country other than Ukraine. Sometimes in a society the dissatisfied speak up loudly against the powers that be, but can never form a lasting movement of increasing numbers. That, apparently, is the legacy of the Separatists. But that doesn't mean that things won't change if the new government doesn't make changes in the East.
Moscow and its leader, the Strong Man Vladimir Putin, said before the election that it would respect the outcome and work with the new leaders. In the wake of the election, it has yet to say that it recognizes the results or the Poroshenko's incoming leadership.
At the same time that Ukraine elected a new president it also conducted local elections across the country. Parliamentary elections were not held, although some groups urged Poroshenko to dissolve parliament and hold such elections at soon as possible.
The most well-known winner amongst those seeking office in Ukraine was former heavyweight boxing contender Vitali Klitschko. Klitschko has claimed victory in the election for a new Mayor of Kiev, according to Yahoo News. Klitschko's claim is based only on exit polls, however. Those polls showed him with 57% of all votes cast. It is not known when the official results for that job will be revealed. The Mayor of the Ukraine's largest city is recognized as wielding great power in Ukrainian affairs. The 42-year-old athlete is eager for that platform and his opportunity to speak to younger Ukraine voters. He ran on a ticket with Poroshenko.
Monday, May 26, 2014
They're In! Terps gain NCAA Bid for First Time in 43 Years! Maryland One of Seven ACC Schools in Championship Hunt
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 26, 2014 - It has been so long since Maryland played in an NCAA Baseball Tournament that the players on that team are now in their sixties. The conference they play in now, the ACC, placed seven schools in the 64 team field. Yet the conference is so strong that three other schools felt like they should have been included.
The NCAA named the 64 teams that will play in the National Tournament, culminating in the eight-team College World Series later next month in Omaha, Nebraska. Maryland is in, and will play Old Dominion later this week at the field of the host school, the powerful South Carolina Gamecocks. This regional tournament, consisting of four teams, is a double-elimination affair. If the Terps win their first game, they will play the winner of South Carolina and Campbell. Should Maryland emerge from their regional, they would play the winner of the Virginia Regional (Virginia, Bucknell, Liberty and Arkansas) in the so-called super-regional. If Virginia wins their regional, Maryland would play the super-regional in Charlottesville. If Maryland wins their regional and somebody besides Virginia wins that regional, there is some chance that the super-regional would be at Maryland, but don't bet on it.
There are 16 regional tournaments, each with four teams. As noted above, the 16 winners advance to what are called "Super Regionals," the following weekend. The super-regionals consist of two teams. Thus, there will be eight of them. The eight winners of the super-regionals advance to the College World Series. The super-regionals match the two teams in each one in a best of three series.
If the ACC considers it impressive to have 7 of their 14 baseball-playing schools named to the naational tournament, consider the powerful SEC. That conference has ten of their schools in the national tournament. The head of the selection committee was on ESPNU at noon on Monday, and he said that the top five seeds in the tournament were very easy to name. Two of those schools play in the ACC. They are Virginia and Florida State. Maryland beat both of those schools in the ACC tournament. The other three schools in the top five are Florida, Oregon State, and Indiana. One other ACC School, MIami, is a regional host. The top 8 seeds are automatically the home team all the way through the tournament until and if they qualify for the College World Series. In other words, if a top 8 school wins the regional they host, they would then host a super regional. Seeds 9 through 16 get to host a regional, but, if they win that, they must travel to a top 8 seed for the super regional. All of this is contingent on the seeds winning their regionals, something that does not always happen. Maryland, for instance, is a No. 2 seed.
The Terps battled their way into the ACC Title game, and actually led that game after six innings, only to have Georgia Tech rally against the Maryland bullpen for a 9-4 win. Tech jumped on Jake Drossner, the Maryland starter, for two runs in the first inning. The Terps scored their first run in the bottom of the second when Blake Schmit hit his first home run of the season. Then Tech pushed their lead back to two runs with a single run in the top of the fourth. Maryland answered with a single run in their half of the fourth. Anthony Papio ripped a two out single to score the run, making it 3-2, Tech. Maryland struck for two more runs in the sixth to take their only lead of the game. First, the Terps loaded the bases with nobody out on a walk and two singles. Anthony Papio tied the game with another run-scoring single, and the bases remained loaded. The go-ahead run scored when Kevin Martir hit into a double play and Lewis scooted home as Tech went around the horn.
The lead did not last. The Yellow Jackets - which in winning earned the ACC's one automatic bid, something, as it turned out, the Jackets would not have gotten had Maryland won - tied the game with a single run in the top of the seventh. With the score now tied, Tech came up in the 8th inning and scored three runs on three hits and a huge Maryland throwing error committed by pitcher Kevin Mooney. The Yellowjackets scored two insurance runs in the ninth off of Ben Brewster.
Unlike Georgia Tech, Maryland was in the NCAA Tournament whether or not they won the Sunday game. Interestingly, the Selection Committee told ESPNU that North Carolina and Clemson were two of the last four teams in the tournament field, but none of the three snubbed ACC teams: North Carolina State, Duke and Wake Forest, were said to be among the first four out. What that means is that North Carolina and Georgia Tech needed to beat Maryland to get in the tournament and that is what both did. Maryland, on the other hand, not only got in the tournament as an at-large team, but were awarded a number two seed. That means that in the minds of the Selection Committee, they are among the top 32 teams in the USA. Try telling that to the Maryland fans who watched the selection show on ESPNU Monday afternoon. Maryland was one of the final teams announced as making the field. It was just wonderful. I was comforted in the knowledge that North Carolina was in, which should have guaranteed Maryland a berth since the Terps finished above the Tar Heels in the ACC Standings and in terms of their overall record. As it turned out, that was not a sure sign they were in, since Duke also had a better ACC record than did North Carolina, but they didn't get in. And Duke came within an eyelash of making the ACC Title Game Sunday. They lost in 12 innings to Miami Saturday afternoon. Had they won, they, and not Georgia Tech, would have played Maryland Sunday.
The way that the regional sets up raises some interesting strategy questions for Maryland Coach John Szefc. You must win at least three games, and maybe as many as five, to win the regional, which is played out over as many as four days beginning Friday. The easy strategy is to have the best pitcher you have available start each game. If Szefc follows that strategy - as he did in the ACC Tournament - Jake Stinnett would start against Old Dominion. If the Tournament follows form, and both Maryland and South Carolina win their opening game, they would play each other Saturday night, and the Terps would have Mike Shawaryn on the hill. If Maryland also wins that game, they would have Jake Drossner start the potential championship game Sunday night. That strategy worked in the ACC Tournament right up to the championship game.
But there is another strategy, and it has its risks. In this 'other' strategy, Maryland has Drossner start the first game against Old Dominion. If Maryland can beat Old Dominion with Drossner, they would have Stinnett available to face South Carolina on Saturday and, if they win, Mike Shawaryn available to face whoever emerges from the loser's bracket on Sunday night for the Championship.
One coach who followed this second strategy was North Carolina State Coach Elliott Avent. State barely qualified for the ACC Tournament and Avent knew that his only hope to gain entry to the NCAA Tournament was to win the ACC Tournament. To win the ACC, he had to first win a play-in game on Tuesday. But instead of starting his top pitcher, Carlos Rodon, whom many believe will be the overall #1 pick in the upcoming MLB Draft, Avent decided to try to win the play-in with a host of bullpen pitchers, saving his best starters for the powerful teams they would have to play if they could get by the play-in. It almost worked, but almost doesn't count. State lost the play-in the North Carolina, 4-3. If the same thing happened to Maryland - if Szefc started Drossner against Old Dominion and lost the game - Maryland would be dumped into the loser's bracket and have to win five games to win the regional. Maryland's bullpen did not perform well in the ACC tournament.
The NCAA named the 64 teams that will play in the National Tournament, culminating in the eight-team College World Series later next month in Omaha, Nebraska. Maryland is in, and will play Old Dominion later this week at the field of the host school, the powerful South Carolina Gamecocks. This regional tournament, consisting of four teams, is a double-elimination affair. If the Terps win their first game, they will play the winner of South Carolina and Campbell. Should Maryland emerge from their regional, they would play the winner of the Virginia Regional (Virginia, Bucknell, Liberty and Arkansas) in the so-called super-regional. If Virginia wins their regional, Maryland would play the super-regional in Charlottesville. If Maryland wins their regional and somebody besides Virginia wins that regional, there is some chance that the super-regional would be at Maryland, but don't bet on it.
There are 16 regional tournaments, each with four teams. As noted above, the 16 winners advance to what are called "Super Regionals," the following weekend. The super-regionals consist of two teams. Thus, there will be eight of them. The eight winners of the super-regionals advance to the College World Series. The super-regionals match the two teams in each one in a best of three series.
If the ACC considers it impressive to have 7 of their 14 baseball-playing schools named to the naational tournament, consider the powerful SEC. That conference has ten of their schools in the national tournament. The head of the selection committee was on ESPNU at noon on Monday, and he said that the top five seeds in the tournament were very easy to name. Two of those schools play in the ACC. They are Virginia and Florida State. Maryland beat both of those schools in the ACC tournament. The other three schools in the top five are Florida, Oregon State, and Indiana. One other ACC School, MIami, is a regional host. The top 8 seeds are automatically the home team all the way through the tournament until and if they qualify for the College World Series. In other words, if a top 8 school wins the regional they host, they would then host a super regional. Seeds 9 through 16 get to host a regional, but, if they win that, they must travel to a top 8 seed for the super regional. All of this is contingent on the seeds winning their regionals, something that does not always happen. Maryland, for instance, is a No. 2 seed.
The Terps battled their way into the ACC Title game, and actually led that game after six innings, only to have Georgia Tech rally against the Maryland bullpen for a 9-4 win. Tech jumped on Jake Drossner, the Maryland starter, for two runs in the first inning. The Terps scored their first run in the bottom of the second when Blake Schmit hit his first home run of the season. Then Tech pushed their lead back to two runs with a single run in the top of the fourth. Maryland answered with a single run in their half of the fourth. Anthony Papio ripped a two out single to score the run, making it 3-2, Tech. Maryland struck for two more runs in the sixth to take their only lead of the game. First, the Terps loaded the bases with nobody out on a walk and two singles. Anthony Papio tied the game with another run-scoring single, and the bases remained loaded. The go-ahead run scored when Kevin Martir hit into a double play and Lewis scooted home as Tech went around the horn.
The lead did not last. The Yellow Jackets - which in winning earned the ACC's one automatic bid, something, as it turned out, the Jackets would not have gotten had Maryland won - tied the game with a single run in the top of the seventh. With the score now tied, Tech came up in the 8th inning and scored three runs on three hits and a huge Maryland throwing error committed by pitcher Kevin Mooney. The Yellowjackets scored two insurance runs in the ninth off of Ben Brewster.
Unlike Georgia Tech, Maryland was in the NCAA Tournament whether or not they won the Sunday game. Interestingly, the Selection Committee told ESPNU that North Carolina and Clemson were two of the last four teams in the tournament field, but none of the three snubbed ACC teams: North Carolina State, Duke and Wake Forest, were said to be among the first four out. What that means is that North Carolina and Georgia Tech needed to beat Maryland to get in the tournament and that is what both did. Maryland, on the other hand, not only got in the tournament as an at-large team, but were awarded a number two seed. That means that in the minds of the Selection Committee, they are among the top 32 teams in the USA. Try telling that to the Maryland fans who watched the selection show on ESPNU Monday afternoon. Maryland was one of the final teams announced as making the field. It was just wonderful. I was comforted in the knowledge that North Carolina was in, which should have guaranteed Maryland a berth since the Terps finished above the Tar Heels in the ACC Standings and in terms of their overall record. As it turned out, that was not a sure sign they were in, since Duke also had a better ACC record than did North Carolina, but they didn't get in. And Duke came within an eyelash of making the ACC Title Game Sunday. They lost in 12 innings to Miami Saturday afternoon. Had they won, they, and not Georgia Tech, would have played Maryland Sunday.
The way that the regional sets up raises some interesting strategy questions for Maryland Coach John Szefc. You must win at least three games, and maybe as many as five, to win the regional, which is played out over as many as four days beginning Friday. The easy strategy is to have the best pitcher you have available start each game. If Szefc follows that strategy - as he did in the ACC Tournament - Jake Stinnett would start against Old Dominion. If the Tournament follows form, and both Maryland and South Carolina win their opening game, they would play each other Saturday night, and the Terps would have Mike Shawaryn on the hill. If Maryland also wins that game, they would have Jake Drossner start the potential championship game Sunday night. That strategy worked in the ACC Tournament right up to the championship game.
But there is another strategy, and it has its risks. In this 'other' strategy, Maryland has Drossner start the first game against Old Dominion. If Maryland can beat Old Dominion with Drossner, they would have Stinnett available to face South Carolina on Saturday and, if they win, Mike Shawaryn available to face whoever emerges from the loser's bracket on Sunday night for the Championship.
One coach who followed this second strategy was North Carolina State Coach Elliott Avent. State barely qualified for the ACC Tournament and Avent knew that his only hope to gain entry to the NCAA Tournament was to win the ACC Tournament. To win the ACC, he had to first win a play-in game on Tuesday. But instead of starting his top pitcher, Carlos Rodon, whom many believe will be the overall #1 pick in the upcoming MLB Draft, Avent decided to try to win the play-in with a host of bullpen pitchers, saving his best starters for the powerful teams they would have to play if they could get by the play-in. It almost worked, but almost doesn't count. State lost the play-in the North Carolina, 4-3. If the same thing happened to Maryland - if Szefc started Drossner against Old Dominion and lost the game - Maryland would be dumped into the loser's bracket and have to win five games to win the regional. Maryland's bullpen did not perform well in the ACC tournament.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
In Virtually Meaningless Conclusion to Pool Play, UNC Fends Off Championship-Bound Maryland, 13-7; Terps to Play Georgia Teach in Title Game Sunday at 1 pm
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 24, 2014 - If someone would have told you on, say, last Monday that in today's ACC Tournament game against North Carolina, the Maryland Coach would use only the pitchers he does not expect to use in any future ACC Tournament or NCAA Tournament Game, while North Carolina would use their front-line pitchers, and despite this the game would be tied going into the 8th inning, you would have thought that person had been out in the sun way too long. And yet, that is exactly what happened. North Carolina finally jumped on that contingent of Maryland pitchers in the 8th inning to defeat the Terps Saturday in the final day of Pool Play. Maryland Coach John Szefc said afterwards that he was very impressed with his players and the way they played.
Szefc went on to say that he is sure his team is really ready for Sunday's showdown with Georgia Tech, a one-game winner-take-all ACC Championship (1 pm, ESPN2). If Maryland can win, it will be their first-ever ACC Tournament Championship - in their final year in the conference - and will gain them the conference's only automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, starting next weekend. If Maryland loses, it will have to wait for Monday's announcement of the Tournament Field to determine who they will play and where. I'm leaving out the if because Maryland's performance in this Tournament has erased any lingering doubt as to whether they will get their first NCAA berth since 1971. For the record, Maryland last played in the ACC Tournament Championship Game in 1976.
For approximately the last month, Terp Coach John Szefc has whittled his pitching staff into two groups: the ones he will use in the ACC Tournament and the ones he does not plan to use. Every baseball coach with any high stakes end-of-the-season games on tap does the same thing. Maryland has two big game starters, and when we use the term "big game" we mean it in more than one way. In Jake Stinnett and Mike Shawaryn, Szefc has two hurlers he can throw in any game he feels he has to win. There isn't a team in the country who wouldn't want these two at the top of their pitching staffs. In fact, Szefc has to be in seventh heavan just to have two of these guys at the same time. They are not only pitchers that a coach would want to start in an important game, they are pitchers who are in their prime in the big game pressure pot. Both Stinnett and Shawaryn were in command throughout their performances in this tournament. They are great pitchers who shine when the chips are down. And because he has those two, Szefc makes every decision on pitching around them. I'm not privy to his thinking, and I don't know if he considers either of them available for tomorrow's title game. Stinnett would be the most likely since he last pitched Thursday in the late morning and early afternoon in Maryland's opening win over powerful Virginia. If you take the number of hours from when he finished Thursday until he would start Sunday, it would look like almost three days to the minute. That's not perfect, but it's not bad either. And since all starters throw regularly in between starts, Stinnett should at least be available on Sunday for a few innings. In fact, Szefc may have previewed what Stinnett is capable of when Marylan concluded their regular season against West Virginia on May 13. That game was played on a Tuesday after Stinnett pitched on Friday night against Pittsburgh. Szefc used him as his closer that day. He had three and one-half days of rest when he came in against the Mountaineers and struck out all three hitters he faced. Look for Stinnett in Sunday's game. Whether Szefc ramps it up and starts him is another issue. I really think he would like to have the senior available late in the game. Shawaryn, who pitched Friday, would have almost two days to the minute of rest, and he is a big man. But he is also a freshman. Unless there is some single hitter Szefc has in mind, I don't think Shawaryn will be used. The rest of the front line pitchers include the Terps No. 3 Starter, Jake Drossner. A Sophmore Southpaw, Drossner's numbers are excellant. In 11 pitching appearances, 10 of them starts, Drossner is 4-1, with an ERA of 2.18. In 53 and two-thirds innings he has given up only 45 hits while striking out 53 opponent hitters. If there is a bit of a caution on Drossner it is his overall lack of endurance. It is reflected in the fact that he has only half as many decisions as starts. Starters, of course, by rule must last five winnings to get a win. However on Sunday in the one game for all the marbles situation, all hands will be on deck, meaning everybody will be available. If Drossner can go five solid innings, Maryland should be able to cover the other innings. Drossner started against Georgia Tech about one month ago in College Park. His line for the game doesn't look at all good: six innings, eight hits, six runs. But it would be about the most misleading line of the season. Tech got three runs in the third inning on an assortment of seeing eye singles, including an infield hit that somehow drove in two of the runs. Drossner started the inning by allowing the first three batters to reach on two singles and a walk. The fourth hitter then singled to drive in one run. Then the Maryland hurler got Tech's Daniel Spingola to pop out, and then he struck out the Yellowjackets' no. 3 hitter, Matt Gonzalez. The next hitter, Tech's Thomas Smith, hit a ground ball toward second base that turned into an infield hit, with two runs scoring. The other three runs scored in the sixth inning, Drossner's final inning of work. On a day when he threw 106 pitches, two men reached base in that sixth inning on two Maryland errors. Then Drossner made a mistake and gave up a three run homer by the Georgia Tech catcher, Arden Pabst, the 8th hitter in the order.
After Drossner, Maryland and Szefc rely on Ben Brewster, the tall side-arming left hander who is, really, a specialist the Terps use to get out tough left-handed hitters. Along with Brewster is Bobby Ruse. Like the other pitchers Szefc uses in big games, Ruse has great numbers: coming into the tournament he was 7-2 with an ERA of 2.82. In 54 and one-third innings, spread over 26 appearances, Ruse had surrendered only 40 hits. The down side to Ruse is that there are games when he just doesn't have it. One of those games was Friday's win over Florida State, when the Seminoles shelled him for two hits and two runs in an outing in which he could not get anybody out. Normally with a guy like Ruse you say if he doesn't have it, get him out of there. But in a game like Friday, when he entered the game in the eighth inning with one man on and nobody out, then proceeded to give up two straight hits before Szefc could get him out of the game, too much damage can be done in too short a period of time. The other pitcher that will see action, if not Sunday then certainly in the NCAA tournament, is Maryland's closer, Kevin Mooney. Mooney has come up big in this tournament, but it wasn't without its nail-biting moments. Against Virginia, Szefc summonsed him to start the ninth with Marland up by three runs. He proceeded to walk the first hitter and give up a home run to the second. He then walked the next hitter, before pulling himself together to get the next three men in order. But the second out was a screaming line drive headed for the left center field power alley. Then, in a flash, Terp Shortstop Blake Schmit launched himself skyward and snatched the line drive out of the air with an outstretched glove at the very top of his leap. Things were far better on Friday, when Szefc had to go to him with nobody out, two runs in and two men on. In that acid test for a closer, Mooney proceeded to strike out the first batter he faced, then, after throwing a wild pitch which allowed FSU's third run to score, and walking a hitter, he struck out the next two to get Maryland out of the inning still two runs ahead. In the ninth, he retired the Seminoles in one-two-three order. Going into the tournament Mooney had a 1-1 record with ten saves and a 3.52 ERA. In 30 and two-thirds innings he had given up only 26 hits while striking out a breath-taking 42 hitters. Of course he now has 12 saves after notching two more in this tournament.
None of these pitchers saw action today when North Carolina scored 13 runs. Szefc did use the same starting line-up he has used in the other two games of the tournament, although he did get both Mike Montville and Kyle Convissar one at bat each. Six different Terps were credited with runs batted in for the game and hot-hitting Kevin Martir had two, both of them on his fourth home run of the season in the third inning. Trailing 7-2 entering the seventh inning, the Terps scored five times to tie the score. Three of the runs scored on two-out hits.
ACC Championship Game on Sunday featuring Maryland. Who'd of thunk it?
Szefc went on to say that he is sure his team is really ready for Sunday's showdown with Georgia Tech, a one-game winner-take-all ACC Championship (1 pm, ESPN2). If Maryland can win, it will be their first-ever ACC Tournament Championship - in their final year in the conference - and will gain them the conference's only automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, starting next weekend. If Maryland loses, it will have to wait for Monday's announcement of the Tournament Field to determine who they will play and where. I'm leaving out the if because Maryland's performance in this Tournament has erased any lingering doubt as to whether they will get their first NCAA berth since 1971. For the record, Maryland last played in the ACC Tournament Championship Game in 1976.
For approximately the last month, Terp Coach John Szefc has whittled his pitching staff into two groups: the ones he will use in the ACC Tournament and the ones he does not plan to use. Every baseball coach with any high stakes end-of-the-season games on tap does the same thing. Maryland has two big game starters, and when we use the term "big game" we mean it in more than one way. In Jake Stinnett and Mike Shawaryn, Szefc has two hurlers he can throw in any game he feels he has to win. There isn't a team in the country who wouldn't want these two at the top of their pitching staffs. In fact, Szefc has to be in seventh heavan just to have two of these guys at the same time. They are not only pitchers that a coach would want to start in an important game, they are pitchers who are in their prime in the big game pressure pot. Both Stinnett and Shawaryn were in command throughout their performances in this tournament. They are great pitchers who shine when the chips are down. And because he has those two, Szefc makes every decision on pitching around them. I'm not privy to his thinking, and I don't know if he considers either of them available for tomorrow's title game. Stinnett would be the most likely since he last pitched Thursday in the late morning and early afternoon in Maryland's opening win over powerful Virginia. If you take the number of hours from when he finished Thursday until he would start Sunday, it would look like almost three days to the minute. That's not perfect, but it's not bad either. And since all starters throw regularly in between starts, Stinnett should at least be available on Sunday for a few innings. In fact, Szefc may have previewed what Stinnett is capable of when Marylan concluded their regular season against West Virginia on May 13. That game was played on a Tuesday after Stinnett pitched on Friday night against Pittsburgh. Szefc used him as his closer that day. He had three and one-half days of rest when he came in against the Mountaineers and struck out all three hitters he faced. Look for Stinnett in Sunday's game. Whether Szefc ramps it up and starts him is another issue. I really think he would like to have the senior available late in the game. Shawaryn, who pitched Friday, would have almost two days to the minute of rest, and he is a big man. But he is also a freshman. Unless there is some single hitter Szefc has in mind, I don't think Shawaryn will be used. The rest of the front line pitchers include the Terps No. 3 Starter, Jake Drossner. A Sophmore Southpaw, Drossner's numbers are excellant. In 11 pitching appearances, 10 of them starts, Drossner is 4-1, with an ERA of 2.18. In 53 and two-thirds innings he has given up only 45 hits while striking out 53 opponent hitters. If there is a bit of a caution on Drossner it is his overall lack of endurance. It is reflected in the fact that he has only half as many decisions as starts. Starters, of course, by rule must last five winnings to get a win. However on Sunday in the one game for all the marbles situation, all hands will be on deck, meaning everybody will be available. If Drossner can go five solid innings, Maryland should be able to cover the other innings. Drossner started against Georgia Tech about one month ago in College Park. His line for the game doesn't look at all good: six innings, eight hits, six runs. But it would be about the most misleading line of the season. Tech got three runs in the third inning on an assortment of seeing eye singles, including an infield hit that somehow drove in two of the runs. Drossner started the inning by allowing the first three batters to reach on two singles and a walk. The fourth hitter then singled to drive in one run. Then the Maryland hurler got Tech's Daniel Spingola to pop out, and then he struck out the Yellowjackets' no. 3 hitter, Matt Gonzalez. The next hitter, Tech's Thomas Smith, hit a ground ball toward second base that turned into an infield hit, with two runs scoring. The other three runs scored in the sixth inning, Drossner's final inning of work. On a day when he threw 106 pitches, two men reached base in that sixth inning on two Maryland errors. Then Drossner made a mistake and gave up a three run homer by the Georgia Tech catcher, Arden Pabst, the 8th hitter in the order.
After Drossner, Maryland and Szefc rely on Ben Brewster, the tall side-arming left hander who is, really, a specialist the Terps use to get out tough left-handed hitters. Along with Brewster is Bobby Ruse. Like the other pitchers Szefc uses in big games, Ruse has great numbers: coming into the tournament he was 7-2 with an ERA of 2.82. In 54 and one-third innings, spread over 26 appearances, Ruse had surrendered only 40 hits. The down side to Ruse is that there are games when he just doesn't have it. One of those games was Friday's win over Florida State, when the Seminoles shelled him for two hits and two runs in an outing in which he could not get anybody out. Normally with a guy like Ruse you say if he doesn't have it, get him out of there. But in a game like Friday, when he entered the game in the eighth inning with one man on and nobody out, then proceeded to give up two straight hits before Szefc could get him out of the game, too much damage can be done in too short a period of time. The other pitcher that will see action, if not Sunday then certainly in the NCAA tournament, is Maryland's closer, Kevin Mooney. Mooney has come up big in this tournament, but it wasn't without its nail-biting moments. Against Virginia, Szefc summonsed him to start the ninth with Marland up by three runs. He proceeded to walk the first hitter and give up a home run to the second. He then walked the next hitter, before pulling himself together to get the next three men in order. But the second out was a screaming line drive headed for the left center field power alley. Then, in a flash, Terp Shortstop Blake Schmit launched himself skyward and snatched the line drive out of the air with an outstretched glove at the very top of his leap. Things were far better on Friday, when Szefc had to go to him with nobody out, two runs in and two men on. In that acid test for a closer, Mooney proceeded to strike out the first batter he faced, then, after throwing a wild pitch which allowed FSU's third run to score, and walking a hitter, he struck out the next two to get Maryland out of the inning still two runs ahead. In the ninth, he retired the Seminoles in one-two-three order. Going into the tournament Mooney had a 1-1 record with ten saves and a 3.52 ERA. In 30 and two-thirds innings he had given up only 26 hits while striking out a breath-taking 42 hitters. Of course he now has 12 saves after notching two more in this tournament.
None of these pitchers saw action today when North Carolina scored 13 runs. Szefc did use the same starting line-up he has used in the other two games of the tournament, although he did get both Mike Montville and Kyle Convissar one at bat each. Six different Terps were credited with runs batted in for the game and hot-hitting Kevin Martir had two, both of them on his fourth home run of the season in the third inning. Trailing 7-2 entering the seventh inning, the Terps scored five times to tie the score. Three of the runs scored on two-out hits.
ACC Championship Game on Sunday featuring Maryland. Who'd of thunk it?
Saturday, May 24, 2014
With Elections Across Ukraine Scheduled for Sunday, USA and EU Claim to be Confident in Smooth Voting; Putin Promises to Respect Result and Work With Those Victorious; Pentagon Says Some Russian Troops Leaving Ukraine Border
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 23, 2014 - Elections that will put a new and permanent government in place in Ukraine are set to begin in just a few hours. The Washington Post, quoting Ukrainian, USA and EU sources, said unfettered voting is predicted for 200 of the total of 215 polling places across this sprawling Eastern European Nation. The other 15 are in the Eastern Ukraine cities that continue to see sporadic violence between Separatist Guerillas and Ukraine Army Units. The Separatists, which the United States and the EU say are "armed, financed and directed by Moscow," are opposed to the election and insist they are now a separate and independent nation. They call themselves the Republic of Donetsk.
While it is true that the Russians are saying all of the right things at this critical time in Ukraine's history, the United States and the EU countries are skeptical. If violence tomorrow is widespread, both the USA and the EU are ready to move forward with what they call "Sector" sanctions. To date, the sanctions imposed by the USA and by the EU have been limited to freezing assets of individual people in the Government of Russian Strong Man Vladimir Putin. Sector sanctions, on the other hand, are sanctions and penalties placed on an entire category of the Russian economy. The 'sector' expected to take the first hit is the banking sector. The Post reported that other sectors that may be sanctioned include defense, energy and mining, although it is not clear how such sanctions would be imposed. If violence disrupts the elections on Sunday and is widespread, sanctions could be imposed as soon as next week, the Post said.
A positive development, if only a tepid one, is word from Western Intelligence Sources that some Russian troops have started to pull off of positions on the Ukraine Border. Some 40.000 heavily armed and logistically supported troops had been on the Ukraine Border for over two months. Putin had promised repeatedly to pull those troops back, but his promises were never supported by action. This time, he couched his promise to the West in the form of an Order to his troops. Intelligence Sources quoted by the Washington Post some small amount of troops have actually left the front, but a larger number are apparently preparing to leave. The "Russian General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, said Friday that the troops have started to withdraw," the Washington Post reported Saturday.
At the same time troops are moving off of the border, the Post said fighting continued in at least two places in Eastern Ukraine on Friday,
The Post provided insight into the complex effort to unite the United States and the EU on sanctions against Russia. According to the newspaper, the United States does $25 billion in annual trade with the Putin regime, while the EU does considerably more, in fact, an estimated $450 billion. Despite this, the leading economic power in the EU, Germany, has gotten behind the sanctions and its business sector says it is on board also. A leading industrial group said it would follow along on the sanctions, albeit with "a heavy heart," the Post said. The nations most behind tough sanctions are former Soviet Satellite Countries such as Poland and the Baltic States of Estonia, Lituania and Latvia. Nations that are the coolest on sanctions are small countries caught in tough economic times, such as Greece. All of the Western Nations are anxious not to contaminate future cooperation with Russia by going too aggressive and negative about Ukraine. Even Putin agreed with this point and said so at a conference in Russia in recent days.
In the same article, the Post said that a wealthy Ukraine businessman, Petro Poroshenko, appears to be leading the presidential race. He is seen as someone who could resist in almost inbred corruption that has plagued Ukraine politics since it broke away from the collapsing Soviet Union. He is also said to have close and useful links to business interests in Russia.
While it is true that the Russians are saying all of the right things at this critical time in Ukraine's history, the United States and the EU countries are skeptical. If violence tomorrow is widespread, both the USA and the EU are ready to move forward with what they call "Sector" sanctions. To date, the sanctions imposed by the USA and by the EU have been limited to freezing assets of individual people in the Government of Russian Strong Man Vladimir Putin. Sector sanctions, on the other hand, are sanctions and penalties placed on an entire category of the Russian economy. The 'sector' expected to take the first hit is the banking sector. The Post reported that other sectors that may be sanctioned include defense, energy and mining, although it is not clear how such sanctions would be imposed. If violence disrupts the elections on Sunday and is widespread, sanctions could be imposed as soon as next week, the Post said.
A positive development, if only a tepid one, is word from Western Intelligence Sources that some Russian troops have started to pull off of positions on the Ukraine Border. Some 40.000 heavily armed and logistically supported troops had been on the Ukraine Border for over two months. Putin had promised repeatedly to pull those troops back, but his promises were never supported by action. This time, he couched his promise to the West in the form of an Order to his troops. Intelligence Sources quoted by the Washington Post some small amount of troops have actually left the front, but a larger number are apparently preparing to leave. The "Russian General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, said Friday that the troops have started to withdraw," the Washington Post reported Saturday.
At the same time troops are moving off of the border, the Post said fighting continued in at least two places in Eastern Ukraine on Friday,
The Post provided insight into the complex effort to unite the United States and the EU on sanctions against Russia. According to the newspaper, the United States does $25 billion in annual trade with the Putin regime, while the EU does considerably more, in fact, an estimated $450 billion. Despite this, the leading economic power in the EU, Germany, has gotten behind the sanctions and its business sector says it is on board also. A leading industrial group said it would follow along on the sanctions, albeit with "a heavy heart," the Post said. The nations most behind tough sanctions are former Soviet Satellite Countries such as Poland and the Baltic States of Estonia, Lituania and Latvia. Nations that are the coolest on sanctions are small countries caught in tough economic times, such as Greece. All of the Western Nations are anxious not to contaminate future cooperation with Russia by going too aggressive and negative about Ukraine. Even Putin agreed with this point and said so at a conference in Russia in recent days.
In the same article, the Post said that a wealthy Ukraine businessman, Petro Poroshenko, appears to be leading the presidential race. He is seen as someone who could resist in almost inbred corruption that has plagued Ukraine politics since it broke away from the collapsing Soviet Union. He is also said to have close and useful links to business interests in Russia.
Friday, May 23, 2014
Maryland Gains Berth in ACC Championship Game by Beating No. 6 Florida State, 5-3, While North Carolina Was Losing to Virginia
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 23, 2014 - Maryland has not only qualified for the ACC Tournament for the first time since 2005, they have knocked off the No. 3 and No. 6 teams in the United States on consecutive days. Those wins combined with Virginia's 3-2 win over North Carolina on Friday night mean Maryland will play for the Atlantic Coast Conference Title on Sunday afternoon against the winner of the other five-team pool. Duke and Georgia Tech are in the driver's seat for the spot opposite Maryland on Sunday, while powerful Miami and Clemson have been eliminated. Friday, Maryland knocked off No. 6 Florida State, 5-3, behind the sensational pitching of Freshman Mike Shawaryn, who notched his second win of the season over the powerful Seminoles, and closer Kevin Mooney, who slammed the door on a huge Florida State rally in the 8th, then retired the Seminoles in order in the ninth. Shawaryn notched his almost unbelievable 10th win of the season, and Mooney gained his 12th save, and has saved games against Virginia and Florida State on consecutive days.
Maryland has never won an ACC Tournament Title. The School's three ACC Baseball Championships came before there was a tournament, the last being in 1971. Beginning in 2006 the ACC changed the format of the post-season tournament so that only the top 8 teams from the regular season standings qualified (it was changed this season to the top ten finishers to accomodate the increased number of teams in the conference). Maryland's fortunes in baseball have been so low that they have not qualified even for the conference tournament since 2005: the last year every ACC team played in the tournament. In fact, Maryland has only played in the NCAA Tournament three times. Their last appearance was in 1971. Their overall record in the NCAA Tournament, which culminates in the 8-team College World Series, is 1-6. The NCAA has been playing a baseball tournament to crown a national champion since 1947. Maryland has been playing baseball since the 1800's. In the press box on Thursday reporters were looking at a newspaper story written on the day of the first ever game between Maryland and Virginia in 1899, a game Virginia won, 10-2. The win over Florida State on Friday was the Terp's 11th straight win. It was also a school record 36th win on the season.
Shawaryn pitched seven shut-out innings against Florida State, departing with his team ahead, 5-0. The Seminoles did not have a man on base against the New Jersey native until there were two outs in the fifth, when they got an infield hit. All three of Florida State's runs came in the top of the 8th against the Terrapin Bullpen. In the eighth, with two runs already in and two men on, Maryland Coach John Szefc brought in his closer, Kevin Mooney, who was rocked for a two run homer Thursday, nearly blowing a three run lead against No. 3 Virginia. But he did not blow that Thursday lead, and he did not let Szefc down yesterday, striking out three Seminoles to quell the huge rally, and retiring Florida State in order in the ninth. This is a Florida State team that, like Virginia, spent more than a single week ranked as the number one team in the USA.
The hitting star for the Terps Friday was clean-up hitter Jose Cuas. Cuas got the Terps on the board in the third inning, hitting the first pitch from Florida State starter and loser Mike Compton down the leftfield line for a bases loaded two-run double. The Terps scored two more times in the third, one a run-scoring single by Tim Lewis and the other on an error by Seminole Shortstop Justin Gonzalez. Maryland got a key insurance run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Cuas, who finished the day with three runs batted in.
Maryland still must play North Carolina in pool play Saturday at 3 pm, but the game will have no meaning for the tournament. Going into their game last night against Virginia, North Carolina was the only team that still had a chance to nose out the Terps in their pool. But the Tar Heels, who had already lost to Florida State on Wednesday, lost a heartbreaking 3-2 game against the Cavaliers. But while the game will have no meaning on the outcome of the tournament, it will have an impact on both teams as they struggle to present credentials to the Selection Committee charged with setting the field for the National Tournament. The field for that tournament will be announced Monday. The winner of Sunday's game between the Terps and either Duke or Georgia Tech will get the ACC's only automatic bid. Clearly, Virginia, Florida State and Miami are in that field of 64. Other teams will sweat it out until the announcements are made. Maryland, riding the eleven game winning streak and with impressive wins over at least six ranked teams, is in great shape to receive an at-large bid, but they will want to win at least one of their remaining two games to avoid giving the committee any wiggle room. Other ACC teams in the hunt for a bid include Clemson, which is ranked in the last poll, Wake Forest, which won its series over Florida State last weekend, but was eliminated in a play-in game on the first day of the ACC Tournament, North Carolina, which has slumped badly at the end of this season, Georgia Tech, Duke, and North Carolina State. North Carolina really needs a win in today's game against Maryland to improve its chances.
Maryland has never won an ACC Tournament Title. The School's three ACC Baseball Championships came before there was a tournament, the last being in 1971. Beginning in 2006 the ACC changed the format of the post-season tournament so that only the top 8 teams from the regular season standings qualified (it was changed this season to the top ten finishers to accomodate the increased number of teams in the conference). Maryland's fortunes in baseball have been so low that they have not qualified even for the conference tournament since 2005: the last year every ACC team played in the tournament. In fact, Maryland has only played in the NCAA Tournament three times. Their last appearance was in 1971. Their overall record in the NCAA Tournament, which culminates in the 8-team College World Series, is 1-6. The NCAA has been playing a baseball tournament to crown a national champion since 1947. Maryland has been playing baseball since the 1800's. In the press box on Thursday reporters were looking at a newspaper story written on the day of the first ever game between Maryland and Virginia in 1899, a game Virginia won, 10-2. The win over Florida State on Friday was the Terp's 11th straight win. It was also a school record 36th win on the season.
Shawaryn pitched seven shut-out innings against Florida State, departing with his team ahead, 5-0. The Seminoles did not have a man on base against the New Jersey native until there were two outs in the fifth, when they got an infield hit. All three of Florida State's runs came in the top of the 8th against the Terrapin Bullpen. In the eighth, with two runs already in and two men on, Maryland Coach John Szefc brought in his closer, Kevin Mooney, who was rocked for a two run homer Thursday, nearly blowing a three run lead against No. 3 Virginia. But he did not blow that Thursday lead, and he did not let Szefc down yesterday, striking out three Seminoles to quell the huge rally, and retiring Florida State in order in the ninth. This is a Florida State team that, like Virginia, spent more than a single week ranked as the number one team in the USA.
The hitting star for the Terps Friday was clean-up hitter Jose Cuas. Cuas got the Terps on the board in the third inning, hitting the first pitch from Florida State starter and loser Mike Compton down the leftfield line for a bases loaded two-run double. The Terps scored two more times in the third, one a run-scoring single by Tim Lewis and the other on an error by Seminole Shortstop Justin Gonzalez. Maryland got a key insurance run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Cuas, who finished the day with three runs batted in.
Maryland still must play North Carolina in pool play Saturday at 3 pm, but the game will have no meaning for the tournament. Going into their game last night against Virginia, North Carolina was the only team that still had a chance to nose out the Terps in their pool. But the Tar Heels, who had already lost to Florida State on Wednesday, lost a heartbreaking 3-2 game against the Cavaliers. But while the game will have no meaning on the outcome of the tournament, it will have an impact on both teams as they struggle to present credentials to the Selection Committee charged with setting the field for the National Tournament. The field for that tournament will be announced Monday. The winner of Sunday's game between the Terps and either Duke or Georgia Tech will get the ACC's only automatic bid. Clearly, Virginia, Florida State and Miami are in that field of 64. Other teams will sweat it out until the announcements are made. Maryland, riding the eleven game winning streak and with impressive wins over at least six ranked teams, is in great shape to receive an at-large bid, but they will want to win at least one of their remaining two games to avoid giving the committee any wiggle room. Other ACC teams in the hunt for a bid include Clemson, which is ranked in the last poll, Wake Forest, which won its series over Florida State last weekend, but was eliminated in a play-in game on the first day of the ACC Tournament, North Carolina, which has slumped badly at the end of this season, Georgia Tech, Duke, and North Carolina State. North Carolina really needs a win in today's game against Maryland to improve its chances.
ACC Baseball Tournament In Game Update #2: At the 7th Inning Stretch, Terps Lead No. 6 FSU, 4-0
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 23, 2014 - Mike Shawaryn has thrown seven shut-out innings and Maryland exploded for four runs in the fourth inning, as the Terps have taken a 4-0 lead, looking to secure a spot for itself in the ACC Title Game on Sunday. Shawaryn was perfect until there were two outs in the fifth inning, when Florida State was credited with an infield hit. Maryland has a man on first with one out in the bottom of the seventh.
ACC Baseball Tournament In Game Update: Maryland, behind Shawaryn, lead No. 6 Florida State through 3 and a Half, 4-0
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 23, 2014 - Maryland exploded for four runs in the third inning, and Freshman Mike Shawaryn has thrown four perfect innings, as Maryland has jumped out to a 4-0 lead against No. 6 Florida State. Jose Cuas hit a bases loaded double to put the Terps ahead, 2-0, Tim Lewis also had a run-scoring hit in the inning. Another run scored on an error.
Shawaryn is only a freshman, but he has already been drafted by Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals. He didn't sign. He was recruited by baseball powerhouses like LSU, Miami and Vanderbilt, but instead he signed with a school with a long history of failure in Division I College Baseball: Maryland. Mike Shawaryn has helped to change that, however. He is, as we said, only a freshman, but he has already won more games in a single season - 9 - than any Maryland pitcher, ever. And despite their lack of success, Maryland has been playing baseball since the 1800's. The teams he has already beaten read like a who's who in College Ball: Florida in Gainesville, Florida State in Tallahassee, Bryant, Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame,
Shawaryn is only a freshman, but he has already been drafted by Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals. He didn't sign. He was recruited by baseball powerhouses like LSU, Miami and Vanderbilt, but instead he signed with a school with a long history of failure in Division I College Baseball: Maryland. Mike Shawaryn has helped to change that, however. He is, as we said, only a freshman, but he has already won more games in a single season - 9 - than any Maryland pitcher, ever. And despite their lack of success, Maryland has been playing baseball since the 1800's. The teams he has already beaten read like a who's who in College Ball: Florida in Gainesville, Florida State in Tallahassee, Bryant, Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame,
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Even as Some Russian Troops Pull Back From Ukraine Border, Rogue Separatists Fight On; At Least 16Dead at Donetsk
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 22, 2014 - This might be the strangest news yet coming out of the Ukraine and Syrian crisis. CNN says Russian troops are starting to pack up along the Ukraine Border, as ordered and promised by Russian Strong Man Vladimir Putin on numerous occassions. Businessweek says its sources report that Russian troops deployed on the Ukraine border will, for the most part, be back at their original bases by June 1. Meanwhile, Separatist Guerillas fighting Ukraine Regular Troops have killed up to 14 of them near Donetsk and Slovyansk in the last 36 hours, while suffering up to three deaths themselves, numerous sources say. The Separatists are stepping up their violent attacks in an effort to scuttle the Ukraine Government elections, set for Sunday. Russia has threatened to march into Ukraine if the Government uses heavy-handed tactics against the Separatists. But with Russia pulling back despite Government operations against the Guerilla Forces who have occupied strongholds in several Eastern Ukraine Cities, it is hard to imagine Ukraine letting up on these anti-government forces. Despite the faux-referendum of last week, two prominent American polling companies have both showed that citizens of Eastern Ukraine do not want to break with their government and become part of Russia, and without wide-spread support, the Separatist Movement cannot survive.
Meanwhile, the Christian Science Monitor, in a front page story, says that the United States may actually turn to Iran to broker peace in Syria and other places. The United States and Russia are at loggerheads over Syria, where Russia backs the Assad government and the USA backs the rebels in their protracted and bloody civil war. The Monitor says that if the talks concerning Iran's nuclear program make progress, the United States might actually turn to Iran for help, both in Syria and in other hotspots around the globe. The disputes between the United States and Russia have rendered the United Nations a useless forum for advancing peace, the Monitor reports. Instead, the USA might have to "go it alone" in many world conflicts, and turn to unusual 'partners' to broker peace in other places. See the Monitor Article at http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2014/0522/How-the-Ukraine-crisis-made-Iran-a-better-US-partner-on-Syria
The BBC says that the Separatist attacks are the deadliest of the current conflict. But in Donetsk, the hotbed of the Separatist Movement, Ukrainian Citizens rallied against the Separatists just days before the election the Separatists want to scuttle. See the BBC stories at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26270866
Meanwhile, the Christian Science Monitor, in a front page story, says that the United States may actually turn to Iran to broker peace in Syria and other places. The United States and Russia are at loggerheads over Syria, where Russia backs the Assad government and the USA backs the rebels in their protracted and bloody civil war. The Monitor says that if the talks concerning Iran's nuclear program make progress, the United States might actually turn to Iran for help, both in Syria and in other hotspots around the globe. The disputes between the United States and Russia have rendered the United Nations a useless forum for advancing peace, the Monitor reports. Instead, the USA might have to "go it alone" in many world conflicts, and turn to unusual 'partners' to broker peace in other places. See the Monitor Article at http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2014/0522/How-the-Ukraine-crisis-made-Iran-a-better-US-partner-on-Syria
The BBC says that the Separatist attacks are the deadliest of the current conflict. But in Donetsk, the hotbed of the Separatist Movement, Ukrainian Citizens rallied against the Separatists just days before the election the Separatists want to scuttle. See the BBC stories at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26270866
Maryland Stuns No. 3 Virginia, 7-6, Wins 10th Straight Game by Hitting 4 Home Runs; Stinnett Strikesout 10 in 8 Innings of Work; Terps Close on NCAA Berth
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 22, 2014 - A University of Maryland Baseball Team that has far exceeded expectations all season long exploded for 4 homeruns against a team that spent many weeks ranked No. 1 in the nation, and possibly punched their ticket to a berth in the NCAA Tournament, which they haven't played in since 1971, by beating Virginia, 7-6, in Greensboro, North Carolina in their first pool game in the ACC Tournament. In doing so, Maryland broke an all-time school record for victories by racking up their 35th win on the year. They have now won ten straight games since being swept in a three-game series by lowly Boston College near the end of April.
Jake Stinnett, the Senior Strike-Out King, fanned ten Cavaliers over eight innings of work, He threw over 120 pitches and Terp Coach John Szefc went to his closer, Kevin Mooney, to start the ninth, with Maryland on top, 7-4. Mooney needed all of that lead to bring the win home. He surrendered a one-out two-run homer to Sophmore Joe McCarthy, a Scranton, Pennsylvania native, to bring the Cavaliers, known for their late rallies, to within a run. Then Mooney walked Nick Howard, putting the tie run on. The next hitter, Kevin Fisher, already had four hits, and he smashed a Mooney delivery on the line toward the left-center field power alley. In the defensive play of the game, Terp Shortstop Blake Schmit flew into the air and snared the screaming line drive for the second out. Mooney then struck out John LaPrise to end it.
Charlie White led off the game for Maryland with a home run. But Virginia was in the lead, soon enough, going up 2-1, on a two-run homer by Fisher. But then Lamont Wade homered for Maryland, his first of the season, and the teams went back and forth. After six innings the game was tied, 4-4. In the seventh inning, Kevin Martir unloaded a long home run off of Virginia Starter Kevin Rosenberger with one man on, putting the Terps up, 6-4. It was a lead the Terps would not surrender. But Maryland wasn't finished, and it is a good thing considering what happened in the ninth. In the 8th inning, Wade smashed his second home run of the game and Maryland's fourth of the game to put the Terps up, 7-4. Stinnett finished the 8th inning having thrown over 120 pitches and striking out ten Cavaliers. He is now 7-6 on the season after being matched up all season long with the best pitchers in the USA. He has 123 Strikeouts in 104 innings, and an ERA of 2.68. The Senior also has a professional career ahead of him.
This is the first time all season that Virginia, now 43-12, has lost two straight games. They lost their last regular season game to Wake Forest. Maryland, unranked by the Baseball Writers, the poll carried by the NCAA, is nonetheless finally getting votes in that poll. They are now 35-19. Their resume includes wins over No. 3 Virginia, No. 6 Florida State, No. 14 Florida, No. 26 Clemson, No. 28 Liberty and ACC rivals Wake Forest (like Maryland, unranked but getting votes), North Carolina, North Carolina State (ranked in top ten earlier in season), Georgia Tech, Pitt, and Notre Dame, If they are not now in the NCAA Tournament, Congress should investigate.
Jake Stinnett, the Senior Strike-Out King, fanned ten Cavaliers over eight innings of work, He threw over 120 pitches and Terp Coach John Szefc went to his closer, Kevin Mooney, to start the ninth, with Maryland on top, 7-4. Mooney needed all of that lead to bring the win home. He surrendered a one-out two-run homer to Sophmore Joe McCarthy, a Scranton, Pennsylvania native, to bring the Cavaliers, known for their late rallies, to within a run. Then Mooney walked Nick Howard, putting the tie run on. The next hitter, Kevin Fisher, already had four hits, and he smashed a Mooney delivery on the line toward the left-center field power alley. In the defensive play of the game, Terp Shortstop Blake Schmit flew into the air and snared the screaming line drive for the second out. Mooney then struck out John LaPrise to end it.
Charlie White led off the game for Maryland with a home run. But Virginia was in the lead, soon enough, going up 2-1, on a two-run homer by Fisher. But then Lamont Wade homered for Maryland, his first of the season, and the teams went back and forth. After six innings the game was tied, 4-4. In the seventh inning, Kevin Martir unloaded a long home run off of Virginia Starter Kevin Rosenberger with one man on, putting the Terps up, 6-4. It was a lead the Terps would not surrender. But Maryland wasn't finished, and it is a good thing considering what happened in the ninth. In the 8th inning, Wade smashed his second home run of the game and Maryland's fourth of the game to put the Terps up, 7-4. Stinnett finished the 8th inning having thrown over 120 pitches and striking out ten Cavaliers. He is now 7-6 on the season after being matched up all season long with the best pitchers in the USA. He has 123 Strikeouts in 104 innings, and an ERA of 2.68. The Senior also has a professional career ahead of him.
This is the first time all season that Virginia, now 43-12, has lost two straight games. They lost their last regular season game to Wake Forest. Maryland, unranked by the Baseball Writers, the poll carried by the NCAA, is nonetheless finally getting votes in that poll. They are now 35-19. Their resume includes wins over No. 3 Virginia, No. 6 Florida State, No. 14 Florida, No. 26 Clemson, No. 28 Liberty and ACC rivals Wake Forest (like Maryland, unranked but getting votes), North Carolina, North Carolina State (ranked in top ten earlier in season), Georgia Tech, Pitt, and Notre Dame, If they are not now in the NCAA Tournament, Congress should investigate.
In Game Update #2: Playing in the 9th in ACC Tournament, Surging Maryland Leads No. 3 Virginia, 7-4
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 22, 2014 - They are in the 9th inning in Greensboro, North Carolina, and surging Maryland, riding a 9-game winning streak, leads No. 3 Virginia, 7-4, The Terps came into the game with only 13 home runs as a team, but against the powerful Cavaliers, Maryland has hit four 'dingers,' including two by Baltimore's Lamont Wade, who had not homered all season. Charlie White led off the game for Maryland with a homer, and Kevin Martir homered to break a 4-4 tie in the seventh inning. All of this has benefitted Senior Strike-Out expert, Jake Stinnett, who has fanned ten through eight innings. Maryland is 34-19 overall and was 15-14 in the ACC. Virginia is 43-11 overall and 22-8 in the ACC.
In Game Update: Maryland Leads Virginia, 7-4, in the 8th
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 22, 2014 - Hitting four home runs in the same game for the first time in who knows how long, Maryland leads powerful Virginia, 7-4, as it bats in the top of the 8th inning in Greensboro, North Carolina. Jake Stinnett, the strikeout-crazy Maryland righthander has ten strikeouts through seven innings.
Lamont Wade has hit his first two home runs of the season, and he has been joined in the power display by Kevin Martir (his third) and Charlie White (also his first) in the most prodigious power display Maryland has put on in memory. Kevin Rosenberger, the Cavalier Starter, has left the game in the 8th.
Lamont Wade has hit his first two home runs of the season, and he has been joined in the power display by Kevin Martir (his third) and Charlie White (also his first) in the most prodigious power display Maryland has put on in memory. Kevin Rosenberger, the Cavalier Starter, has left the game in the 8th.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Pelosi Capitulates, Selects Full Slate of 5 Democrats for Benghazi Special Committee
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 21, 2014 - For weeks Nancy Pelosi has made it clear she wanted nothing to do with the Special Committee Announced by House Speak John Beiner to investigate the Benghazi Massacre of Four Americans, including the USA Ambassador to Libya. She hinted, openly, that were it up to her to decide, she would boycott the Committee and leave it function only as a GOP Bashing Squad. It is clear to her, she says, that the only purpose of the Committee and its investigation is to Bash the President and the woman she hopes will be the next President, former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.
But Pelosi and other Democrats have seen the many national polls that make it clear America wants all of the truth about Benghazi. They want to know whether what many say about President Obama and Clinton is true: that they made a political decision and refused countless requests for ramped up security in Benghazi because Obama was campaigning for re-election under the premise that he had gutted Al Qaeda by allowing Navy Seals to assassinate Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the Massacre of over 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001. The feeling was that to reinforce the American Consulate in Benghazi would belie Obama's campaign claim. On the anniversary of the 9/11/2001 Massacre, Al Qaeda related terrorists attacked the American Consulate and killed four Americans. The long attack lasted from the evening of Septermber 11, 2012 until nearly dawn on September 12, yet no American reinforcements were dispatched to Benghazi and it was admitted later that none had been put on heightened alert in the event of such an attack and in spite of warnings that one would occurr. The Obama Whitehouse blamed the attack on a protest about a You Tube Video which was said to impune the Moslem religion. Subsequent investigation has shown matter-of-factly that no protest occurred in Benghazi on September 11, 2012. The Obama Whitehouse apparently concocted the story to cover their Benghazi failures, failures that apparently led directly to the death of the four Americans.
Since the Massacre at least five Congressional Committees have looked into the 2012 events, but none have taken a comprehensive look at the incident. Nevertheless, it appeared that no special committee would ever be appointed until about three weeks ago when an email was turned over to litigants in a federal lawsuit brought by the non-profit Judicial Watch organization. The email showed for certain that the Obama Whitehouse knew the facts about the Massacre from the outset, but were willing to use the video story to cover their failures. At least that is what the GOP says and the Polls show that most Americans believe. Only this last fact - what the polls show - has played a significant role in convincing Pelosi to appoint the five Democrats the Committee is to be composed of. The majority party in the House of Representatives, the GOP, will have six regular members and the Committee Chairman, GOP Rep. Tray Gowdy of South Carolina.
Sources have told the Washington Post that the five Democrats to be appointed by Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, are Marylander Elijah Cummings, Adam Smith of Washington State, Adam B. Schiff of California, Linda T. Sanchez of California, and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. As this story is posted at 2:14 pm Wednesday, Pelosi is expected to appear at a news conference to formally announce her choices.
But Pelosi and other Democrats have seen the many national polls that make it clear America wants all of the truth about Benghazi. They want to know whether what many say about President Obama and Clinton is true: that they made a political decision and refused countless requests for ramped up security in Benghazi because Obama was campaigning for re-election under the premise that he had gutted Al Qaeda by allowing Navy Seals to assassinate Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the Massacre of over 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001. The feeling was that to reinforce the American Consulate in Benghazi would belie Obama's campaign claim. On the anniversary of the 9/11/2001 Massacre, Al Qaeda related terrorists attacked the American Consulate and killed four Americans. The long attack lasted from the evening of Septermber 11, 2012 until nearly dawn on September 12, yet no American reinforcements were dispatched to Benghazi and it was admitted later that none had been put on heightened alert in the event of such an attack and in spite of warnings that one would occurr. The Obama Whitehouse blamed the attack on a protest about a You Tube Video which was said to impune the Moslem religion. Subsequent investigation has shown matter-of-factly that no protest occurred in Benghazi on September 11, 2012. The Obama Whitehouse apparently concocted the story to cover their Benghazi failures, failures that apparently led directly to the death of the four Americans.
Since the Massacre at least five Congressional Committees have looked into the 2012 events, but none have taken a comprehensive look at the incident. Nevertheless, it appeared that no special committee would ever be appointed until about three weeks ago when an email was turned over to litigants in a federal lawsuit brought by the non-profit Judicial Watch organization. The email showed for certain that the Obama Whitehouse knew the facts about the Massacre from the outset, but were willing to use the video story to cover their failures. At least that is what the GOP says and the Polls show that most Americans believe. Only this last fact - what the polls show - has played a significant role in convincing Pelosi to appoint the five Democrats the Committee is to be composed of. The majority party in the House of Representatives, the GOP, will have six regular members and the Committee Chairman, GOP Rep. Tray Gowdy of South Carolina.
Sources have told the Washington Post that the five Democrats to be appointed by Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, are Marylander Elijah Cummings, Adam Smith of Washington State, Adam B. Schiff of California, Linda T. Sanchez of California, and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. As this story is posted at 2:14 pm Wednesday, Pelosi is expected to appear at a news conference to formally announce her choices.
Shinseki survives Meeting with Obama; President says Improving the VA is One of the Most Important Causes of His Administration
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 21, 2014 - Gen. Eric Shinseki, despite a bundle of bad news about the VA Administration he oversees, and a 6 am call from the White House, ordering him to come there to meet with President Obama at 10 a.m., has confounded critics by holding on to his job, but has been given demanding marching orders from the President as efforts to turn around the VA's flagging reputation now must reach that goal in a very bright spotlight.
Obama met with reporters after meeting with Gen. Shinseki, and he raised eyebrows when he said improving the VA was one of the most important goals of his administration, and that he has been working "very hard" on its problems ever since being first elected in 2008. This was his first words on the VA Crisis since his last foreign trip, a period of over 20 days. During the interim, there have been allegations that no fewer than 40 American Veterans have died while waiting for care from the VA.
Obama said Shinseki, whom he called "Rick," was "a great soldier." He said no one in America wants to improve the VA more than Shinseki. But he also said he would no tolerate the current problems. But, like he often does, he went on to minimize the problems and say that they are the only ones that remain from a long laundry list of problems when his adminstration came to power. And yet, he told the reporters and a nationwide television hook-up that if Shinseki could not improve the problems in short order, he, himself, would not want to continue.
Obama met with reporters after meeting with Gen. Shinseki, and he raised eyebrows when he said improving the VA was one of the most important goals of his administration, and that he has been working "very hard" on its problems ever since being first elected in 2008. This was his first words on the VA Crisis since his last foreign trip, a period of over 20 days. During the interim, there have been allegations that no fewer than 40 American Veterans have died while waiting for care from the VA.
Obama said Shinseki, whom he called "Rick," was "a great soldier." He said no one in America wants to improve the VA more than Shinseki. But he also said he would no tolerate the current problems. But, like he often does, he went on to minimize the problems and say that they are the only ones that remain from a long laundry list of problems when his adminstration came to power. And yet, he told the reporters and a nationwide television hook-up that if Shinseki could not improve the problems in short order, he, himself, would not want to continue.
North Carolina State and Wake Forest In Quick Exit From ACC Tournament; UNC and Georgia Tech Advance to Pool Play; Tournament Scores from Around the Country
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 21, 2014 - The season may be over for two fine college baseball teams. North Carolina beat North Carolina State, 4-3, in the first game of the ACC Tournament on Tuesday, bouncing the Wolfpack from the tournament and making their chances of getting an NCAA bid all but non-existant. In the second game, Georgia Tech defeated Wake Forest, 5-3, eliminating the Demon Deacons and doing great damage to their chances of getting a national tournament bid. The Wolfpack's current overall record is 32-23. The Deacons overall record is 30-26. The NCAA announced the field for the 2014 National Tournament on Monday, May 26, at noon.
After falling behind, 1-0, in the first inning, the Tar Heels began a comeback in the second when Skye Bolt hit his third home run of the season. With the score tied, 1-1, in the third, UNC took the lead for good with four consecutive hits and three runs, making the score 4-1, Heels. Key in the charge was a triple by Mark Russell, who also doubled later in the game. Bolt also knocked in a run in the fourth with a sacrifice fly. In the game, UNC used five pitchers, and the four relief pitchers faced a total of ten inherited runners. Not one of them scored, which in and of itself explains the Carolina one run win. After falling behind, 4-1, State quickly cut the lead to one run when Bubby Riley hit a two-run single in the top of the fourth, but they did not score again. State stranded eleven runners. North Carolina will now face Florida State, Virginia and Maryland over the next four days.
Daniel Spignola was the hitting hero in the Georgia Tech win over Wake Forest. He went three for four and knocked in two of the Yellow Jacket's five runs. Tech also got three scoreless relief innings from Sam Clay as the ninth seeded jackets moved on to pool play, where they will first play Miami today, and Clemson and Duke after that. There is no question that Pool A is the weaker, overall, of the two pools. The ACC has three superior teams: Virginia, Miami and Florida State. Two of those three are in Pool B along with Maryland and now, North Carolina. If Maryland gets two wins in that pool, they should absolutely get an NCAA bid.
In other tournament games on Tuesday, in the Southeast Conference, Kentucky whacked No. 25 Alabama, 7-1; No. 10 Vanderbilt just got by in-state rival Tennessee, 3-2; N0. 27 Arkansas beat Texas A & M, 4-0; and No. 21 Mississippi State got by Georgia, 5-4. In the Pac-12, which is not yet into its tournament, No. 15 Oregon stunned No. 1 Oregon State, 6-2; and in non-league action, Arizona State beat Abilene Christian, 4-2, and Cal State-Fullerton embarassed Southern Cal, 17-3. In the Big South Tournament, No. 28 Liberty - whom Maryland toyed with earlier in the season, beat Gardner-Webb, 3-0; Winthrop downed Charleston Southern, 4-0; Coastal Carolina downed Campbell, 9-2; and High Point beat Radford, 3-2. In the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, being played in Terre Haute, Indiana, No. 30, Dallas Baptist edged Missouri State, 3-2, in ten innings; Illinois State beat former National Champion Wichita State, 6-0; Southern Illinois crushed Evansville, 9-1; and Bradley beat Indiana State, 6-2. In the Southern Conference Tournament at Charleston, South Carolina, The Citadel beat back Elon, 10-7, and Furman downed UNC-Greensboro, 6-5, in eleven innings. Other Tournaments start today.
Today's ACC games include 4th Seeded Duke and 5th Seeded Clemson, which got underway at 11 am, Top Seeded Miami and 9th Seeded Georgia Tech, which play at 3 pm, and 2nd Seeded Florida State and 7th Seeded North Carolina, which play tonight at 7 pm. Maryland's first game is tomorrow at 11 am against 3rd Seeded Virginia.
After falling behind, 1-0, in the first inning, the Tar Heels began a comeback in the second when Skye Bolt hit his third home run of the season. With the score tied, 1-1, in the third, UNC took the lead for good with four consecutive hits and three runs, making the score 4-1, Heels. Key in the charge was a triple by Mark Russell, who also doubled later in the game. Bolt also knocked in a run in the fourth with a sacrifice fly. In the game, UNC used five pitchers, and the four relief pitchers faced a total of ten inherited runners. Not one of them scored, which in and of itself explains the Carolina one run win. After falling behind, 4-1, State quickly cut the lead to one run when Bubby Riley hit a two-run single in the top of the fourth, but they did not score again. State stranded eleven runners. North Carolina will now face Florida State, Virginia and Maryland over the next four days.
Daniel Spignola was the hitting hero in the Georgia Tech win over Wake Forest. He went three for four and knocked in two of the Yellow Jacket's five runs. Tech also got three scoreless relief innings from Sam Clay as the ninth seeded jackets moved on to pool play, where they will first play Miami today, and Clemson and Duke after that. There is no question that Pool A is the weaker, overall, of the two pools. The ACC has three superior teams: Virginia, Miami and Florida State. Two of those three are in Pool B along with Maryland and now, North Carolina. If Maryland gets two wins in that pool, they should absolutely get an NCAA bid.
In other tournament games on Tuesday, in the Southeast Conference, Kentucky whacked No. 25 Alabama, 7-1; No. 10 Vanderbilt just got by in-state rival Tennessee, 3-2; N0. 27 Arkansas beat Texas A & M, 4-0; and No. 21 Mississippi State got by Georgia, 5-4. In the Pac-12, which is not yet into its tournament, No. 15 Oregon stunned No. 1 Oregon State, 6-2; and in non-league action, Arizona State beat Abilene Christian, 4-2, and Cal State-Fullerton embarassed Southern Cal, 17-3. In the Big South Tournament, No. 28 Liberty - whom Maryland toyed with earlier in the season, beat Gardner-Webb, 3-0; Winthrop downed Charleston Southern, 4-0; Coastal Carolina downed Campbell, 9-2; and High Point beat Radford, 3-2. In the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, being played in Terre Haute, Indiana, No. 30, Dallas Baptist edged Missouri State, 3-2, in ten innings; Illinois State beat former National Champion Wichita State, 6-0; Southern Illinois crushed Evansville, 9-1; and Bradley beat Indiana State, 6-2. In the Southern Conference Tournament at Charleston, South Carolina, The Citadel beat back Elon, 10-7, and Furman downed UNC-Greensboro, 6-5, in eleven innings. Other Tournaments start today.
Today's ACC games include 4th Seeded Duke and 5th Seeded Clemson, which got underway at 11 am, Top Seeded Miami and 9th Seeded Georgia Tech, which play at 3 pm, and 2nd Seeded Florida State and 7th Seeded North Carolina, which play tonight at 7 pm. Maryland's first game is tomorrow at 11 am against 3rd Seeded Virginia.
Sinseki Gets Word on His Future as he Meets Now with Obama
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 21, 2014 - Summonsed to the White House by a 6 am phone call, Gen. Eric Sinseki, the embattled head of the Veterans Administration, has just arrived at the White House for a meeting with President Obama, a meeting that many think will end in his dismissal.
Fox News reported news on the early phone call and the fact that Sinseki arrived at the White House within the last 45 minutes. The arrival news, in fact, came within the last five minutes. This post is being made at 10:05 am EDT.
President Obama is scheduled to make a public statement immediately after the meeting. No word has come from the White House about the purpose of the meeting. The President's address is scheduled for about 10:45 am. Fox News provided television pictures of Shinseki's arrival at the White House.
Fox News reported news on the early phone call and the fact that Sinseki arrived at the White House within the last 45 minutes. The arrival news, in fact, came within the last five minutes. This post is being made at 10:05 am EDT.
President Obama is scheduled to make a public statement immediately after the meeting. No word has come from the White House about the purpose of the meeting. The President's address is scheduled for about 10:45 am. Fox News provided television pictures of Shinseki's arrival at the White House.
Davis With 3 Home Runs as Orioles Rout Pirates, Regain First Place in AL East
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 21, 2014 - Happy Days are here again! In Baltimore, that is, where baseball fans woke up for the first time this season after an Oriole game in which historic slugger Chris Davis had multiple homeruns. Nicknamed "Crush," Davis led all of baseball in 2013 with 53 'dingers." But before last night, 2014 has not been good to Davis. He has spent time on the Disabled List. He has hit only three home runs and knocked in only 15. Sunday he had a particularly frustrating day, he told reporters after the game, getting several pitches he knew he could hit, but not hitting them. He said he decided during Monday's day off to just start the season over. On Tuesday, he was at the ballpark early for extra batting practice. If it is this easy to put bad times behind you, Davis isn't just a great power hitter, he is a genius. Because last night he doubled his home run total and increased his RBI total to 20. And, by the way, the hammered the Pirates, 9-2. Because the Cubs whacked the Yankees at Wrigley yesterday, 6-1, the Birds have retaken first place in the AL East by one-half game. The up-to-the-minute AL East Standings are below.
Davis went four for five, and besides the three homers and five RBI, he also scored four runs and racked up 13 total bases. Nelson Cruz, who has literally filled in for Davis as the Oriole power source early on, also got into the act before over 22,000 fans in Pittsburgh. He followed Davis' first homer in the fifth inning with a long bomb of his own, his 13th on the season and his 38th RBI. Other Oriole RBI came from Adam Jones, J.J. Hardy and Caleb Joseph. Jones and Hardy were the other Orioles, besides Davis, with multiple hits. Miguel Gonzalez was the beneficiary of the Birds' offensive explosion, winning his second game against three losses. He pitched into the seventh inning, giving up two runs and seven hits, and striking out seven Pirates. He was followed by Tommy Hunter, who pitched a scoreless inning, surrendering two hits, Zach Britton, who went one and one-third innings, giving up one hit and one walk, and Darren O'Day, who got the final two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but did not get credit for a save because Baltimore was much too far ahead. After the game, the pitchers' ERA looked like this: Gonzalez, 4.53; Hunter, 6.06, Britton, 0.76; and O'Day, 0.52.
The second game of the two-game series is tonight, when Chris Tillman, 4-2, 3.54 ERA, pitches against the Pirates Wandy Rodriguez, 0-2, 6.64. Rodriguez made his first start after a stint on the DL last Thursday, going five innings and giving up two earned runs. Gametime is 7:05 pm.
American League Eastern Division Standings
1. Baltimore Orioles: 23 wins, 20 losses, .535 pct
2. New York Yankees: 23 wins, 21 losses, .523 pct, 0.5 game behind
3. Toronto Blue Jays: 24 wins, 22 losses, .522 pct, 0.5 game behind
4. Boston Red Sox: 20 wins, 24 losses, .455 pct, 3.5 games behind
5. Tampa Bay Rays: 19 wins, 27 losses, .413 pct, 5.5 games behind
Davis went four for five, and besides the three homers and five RBI, he also scored four runs and racked up 13 total bases. Nelson Cruz, who has literally filled in for Davis as the Oriole power source early on, also got into the act before over 22,000 fans in Pittsburgh. He followed Davis' first homer in the fifth inning with a long bomb of his own, his 13th on the season and his 38th RBI. Other Oriole RBI came from Adam Jones, J.J. Hardy and Caleb Joseph. Jones and Hardy were the other Orioles, besides Davis, with multiple hits. Miguel Gonzalez was the beneficiary of the Birds' offensive explosion, winning his second game against three losses. He pitched into the seventh inning, giving up two runs and seven hits, and striking out seven Pirates. He was followed by Tommy Hunter, who pitched a scoreless inning, surrendering two hits, Zach Britton, who went one and one-third innings, giving up one hit and one walk, and Darren O'Day, who got the final two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but did not get credit for a save because Baltimore was much too far ahead. After the game, the pitchers' ERA looked like this: Gonzalez, 4.53; Hunter, 6.06, Britton, 0.76; and O'Day, 0.52.
The second game of the two-game series is tonight, when Chris Tillman, 4-2, 3.54 ERA, pitches against the Pirates Wandy Rodriguez, 0-2, 6.64. Rodriguez made his first start after a stint on the DL last Thursday, going five innings and giving up two earned runs. Gametime is 7:05 pm.
American League Eastern Division Standings
1. Baltimore Orioles: 23 wins, 20 losses, .535 pct
2. New York Yankees: 23 wins, 21 losses, .523 pct, 0.5 game behind
3. Toronto Blue Jays: 24 wins, 22 losses, .522 pct, 0.5 game behind
4. Boston Red Sox: 20 wins, 24 losses, .455 pct, 3.5 games behind
5. Tampa Bay Rays: 19 wins, 27 losses, .413 pct, 5.5 games behind
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Hilary's Campaign Impuned; Putin's Pullback That Isn't; Maryland's ACC Tournament Chances Analyzed; Orioles Fall to Second
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 19, 2014 - Here we go. Rather than trying to do many smaller posts on the different topics I want to cover, I am going to do one pose covering many topics. You are on notice. I'll boldface the the subjects to allow you to skim over what you are not interested in. Generally, though, these are the points I will cover:
1. Every Democrat that has any kind of name recognition seems like they want to be on TV discussing, with as much earnestness as they can muster, the expected Presidential run of Hilary Clinton. Husband Bill is also barging himself onto the news at every turn; it is an easy task for him because he loves himself dearly, thinks everybody loves him so very much, is mostly correct on that point, and the mainstream bootlickers on virtually every TV channel in the known universe can't ever get enough of him. Sunday, it seemed every network talk show was goofy with Hilary Clinton apologists. She is so wonderful, one wag said, and she has handled the Benghazi entanglement with such grace and candor, and, did I say she is so wonderful, well, if I did forget, she is so wonderful. Which important Washington Insider said that? What difference does it make? They all said it in one way or another.
2. Is it possible that Russian Strong Man Vladimir Putin wants to take a break from his incessant campaign to destabilize Ukraine? Putin, you must know by now, believes it best to destabilize Ukraine, especially Eastern Ukraine (although he has branched out of late to southwestern Ukraine, having staged a bloody riot in Odessa,) as a necessary step - in his estimation - in his planned 'recapture' of all of Ukraine.
During the Cold War there were three different varieties of statehood behind the Iron Curtain. There was the Soviet Union itself: purely Russian, all Russian, no need to think about anything but Russian, because the Soviet Union was Russia through and through. Then there were the S.S.R. countries. This second category of states behind the Iron Curtain appeared as nominally independent countries on a map, but in reality they were anything but independent. The S.S.R. as part of a nation's official name was indication that the country was completely communized, completely locked into the Soviet Communist way of doing things, and completely subserviant to Moscow. Men from the S.S.R. countries could and did hold high positions in the Soviet Union. Eduard Shevardnadze, for instance, was the Soviet Union's Minister of Foreign Affairs during the years that Mikhail Gorbachev ran Russia and enchanted the American mainstream media. Shevardnadze was from Georgia and after the break-up of the Soviet Union he became president of Georgia. Anyone purporting to be a 'head of state' of an S.S.R. country during the Cold War was only filling a chair; all of the real power in the S.S.R. countries resided in Moscow. The third kind of country behind the Iron Curtain had no Russian or Communist designation in its official name. There was a bit of substance to their claim of independent status. Whereas the nation we call 'Estonia' today was known during the Cold War as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, the nation we know today as Hungary was also called Hungary during the Cold War. These European nations in the third category were permitted varying degrees of independence and what constituted their "permissible portion of independence" was an ongoing issue for both the country and for Moscow. Some of the countries in this third catagory pushed so hard for independence or for manifestations of independence during the Cold War that Moscow had to intervene militarily to cement them back into the Soviet orbit. The two most well known Russian military interventions during the Cold War occurred in 1956 in Hungary and 1968 in Czeckolslavakia. The Hungarian action is known as the Hungarian Revolution and was quite bloody. The Russian intervention in 1968 is known today as the Prague Spring, and what it lacked in blood it made up for in thoroughness and brutality. The man who was the catalyst for the Prague Spring, Alexander Dubcek, disappeared off of the national and international stage so suddenly one wondered whether his name would literally be erased from all places it had been printed or written prior to the moment Soviet Tanks rumbled into Prague. Another nation in the third category of states behind the Iron Curain that was known for its hard push for real independence was Poland. Poland was a very special problem for Russia for many reasons. First and foremost Religion. Religion was strongly, even forcefully frowned upon by Communist leaders. Even the Russian Orthodoz Church was hammered so hard by the government that services in most church's were either non-existant or virtually so. It was the same in other communist states. But not in Poland. Poland was, is, and probably (I pray) always will be Roman Catholic. Russia tolerated the Catholic Church in Poland because it believed it had no choice. To challenge the Roman Catholic Church in Poland was a presciption for non-stop and never-ending civil unrest. When the Iron Curtain fell, three persons were credited: Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Saint John Paul, who was then Pope John Paul. His visits to Poland as Pope so galvanized the People against the communist government that even the most hardened Communist knew the end was near for the Communist Government.
Ukraine was a category two nation. It was known as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic during the Cold War. The borders between Russia and Ukraine were so blurred duirng the Cold War that Moscow didn't give a second thought to just giving Crimea to Ukraine, even though it had been a part of Russia since the time of Catherine the Great. While the Ukrainian peoples are a distinguishable nationality, and there was a push for independence for Ukraine after the second world war, its nationalistic fervor was weak enough that it was easily handled by the Bolsheviks under Stalin. Ukraine was so melded into Russia during the Cold War that most people honestly believed Kiev to be a Russian City. Whereas nations in the third category regularly tested the limits of Russian patience, the S.S.R. countries, for the most part, posed no such problems. Even when the independence movement in Poland during the Solidarity years was at its pinnacle, it did not spill across the border into Ukraine. Whereas Poland, Hungary, East Germany and Romania fielded their own national teams in the Olympics, the World Cup and other festivals of sport, the citizens of S.S.R. countries like Ukraine either played for the Soviet Russian team or they didn't play at all.
It has been obvious, in watching Putin making his imperial moves on the world chess board that he believes that the S.S.R. countries are all but a part of Russia, and should never have been permitted to think of themselves as independent, even when the Soviet Union was sliding down the road to dissolution. The two nations that Putin has invaded during his reign, Georgia and Ukraine, are both former S.S.R. nations. They are the two S.S.R. nations that have made the boldest moves toward real independence during the Putin reign. Putin wants those fires of independence put out for good. He has boiled inside when the citizens of these two nations demonstrated in the streets of Kiev and Tbilisi like free people do. He went ballistic when Georgia pushed hard for membership in NATO and even the EU. But he boiled even more when Georgia's small but incredibly brave and tenacious army, schooled in part by American commanders while fighting in Iraq, fought the Russian army of 100% conscripts to a virtual standstill in the 2008 invasion. It is the Russian military that has been in Putin's crosshairs ever since. The May Day demonstration, held four weeks after the Crimean invasion, was a crowning moment for Putin. The Euromaidan movement gave him an ulcer, figuratively speaking. He is mulling his options. If he is pulling back on the Ukraine border, it doesn't mean he has given up on anything in Ukraine. It merely means he sees some advantage to dialing back the heat at the moment. You can bet your bottom dollar that Ukraine will continue to deal with Putin, up close and personal, until and if it capitulates and gives him a huge say in Ukraine's future. One thing that will absolutely not happen: Ukraine walking peacefully to membership in NATO and the EU. There is no connection whatsoever to what the Russian Strong Man does with his 40,000 well armed troops at this moment in time and what happens to Ukraine over the next five years.
3. In sports, the University of Maryland Baseball Team has earned the sixth seed in the ten-team Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament starting tomorrow in Greensboro, North Carolina. The tournament has a new format this year, and while it sounds complicated, it really isn't. The thing that I like is that is assures that each of the top six seeded teams won't be eliminated from competition until they play at least three games. The ten teams that have qualified for the tournament have been divided into two pools of five teams each. The bottom two teams in each group will compete in a 'play-in' game on today. Each of the two winners of the play-in games will join the other three teams in their pool in a round-robin series; i.e., each team will play one game against the other three teams in their pool. The winners of the two pools will then play each other in a single, winner-take-all championship game on Sunday, May 25, the tournament's final day. The entire schedule for the tournament, including the match-up for each game and the starting time for each game, can be found at this web page: http://raycomsports.com/sports_labs_docs/m-basebl/2014_baseball_bracket.pdf?SPSID=716385&SPID=120725&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=29700
The NCAA will name the 64 teams that will participate in the national tournament the following day: Monday, May 26. The winner of the ACC Tournament gets the conference's one automatic bid to the national tournament. The NCAA Selection Committee, will doubtlessly take several other ACC schools as at large teams. Last year six ACC schools played in the national tournament. Unlike the NCAACollege Basketball Tournament, the baseball tournament is played in double elimination format. The tournament opens with 16 four-team regional double-elimination tournaments. The 16 winners then go on to eight so-called 'super regional' series; the 16 teams are paired up to play eight 'best of three' series. The eight winners progress to the College World Series, played annually in Omaha, Nebraska in front of a national television audience. It takes eleven days to play. This season it begins June 14 and ends June 25. The NCAA, incidentally, signed a contract with the non-profit group that puts on the College World Series, and it will keep the series in Omaga through at least 2035.
Maryland's first ACC game is Thursday, May 22, at 11 am against powerful Virginia, a team that has spent many weeks ranked as the number one team in all of America. After that, they play Friday, May 23 at 11 am against Florida State, another team that has been ranked number one this season in the national polls. Finally, on Saturday, May 23, at 3 pm, Maryland will take on the winner of the game between North Carolina and North Carolina State that will be played on Tuesday, May 20. Maryland has more to do at this tournament than merely winning it. They are in contention for a berth in the NCAA tournament, something that have not been awarded since 1971. Folks, that is 43 years. The Terps have qualified for the NCAA Tournament only three times in the history of a tournament that has been played since 1947: 1965, 1970 and 1971, Their all-time record in NCAA Tournament play is 1 win, 6 losses. The lone win came in 1970, in an NCAA Regional Tournament in Gastonia, North Carolina. Four teams played in that 1970 regional tournament, the winner of which moved on to play in the College World Series (played each year in Omaha, Nebraska in June): Maryland, Florida State, East Carolina and Mississippi State. The Terps drew Mississippi State in the first round of the double elimination event. In that first round game, Maryland prevailed, 3-2. Because Florida State - not in the ACC at that time - beat East Carolina in the other first round game, the Terps played Florida State in the winner's bracket title game. The Seminoles prevailed handily, 10-1, dumping Maryland into the loser's bracket. Mississippi State had beaten East Carolina in their loser's bracket game, eliminating East Carolina and sending the Bulldogs through to a return match-up with the Terps. Given this second chance, Mississippi State beat Maryland, 8-4.
Somewhere in College Park, I hope, is a scorebook and box score of that long-ago first round win over Mississippi State. Maybe this year's Maryland team will get a chance to add a win or two (or ten) to that single win 44 years ago. They have the talent to do it. The Terps have beaten a lot of the best teams in the NCAA. It is likely, however, that this year's team, snubbed regularly all season long by the NCAA, the Baseball Writers and Baseball America, still has work to do if it really wants that NCAA bid. More work does not mean Maryland has to win the ACC Tournament. To win the tournament, Maryland will have to win two and quite possibly all three of the pool games, then defeat the winner of the other pool on Sunday. If they win two of their three pool games, they should get an NCAA bid. If they win one pool game, they will be firmly on the fence, and eith the NCSS's record for ignoring them, I would not be at all surprised if they do not get a bid. In fact, I won't be surprised if they win two pool games and don't get a bid. Maryland, I believe, has the pitching to make a mark in the tournament. In Jake Stinnett and Mike Shawaryn, they have two of the best starters in the conference. They did not have to play last weekend and will go in with a thoroughly rested pitching staff. Although the bullpen has had its ups and downs, Szefc has primed three of the relievers - Ben Brewer, Kevin Mooney and Robby Ruse to handle the late inning work. They have all pitched well during the Terps' current nine game winning streak. I'm not sugge pctsting that Maryland Coach John Szefc will follow my advice and predictions, but the way it is shaping up, Maryland will start its no. 1 pitcher, Jake Stinnett, against Virginia on Thursday, and come back with their number two starter, Freshman Mike Shawaryn, against Florida State on Friday. The Terps did not play the Cavaliers this season, but they did play the powerful Seminoles in Tallahassee, and won one of the three games in March. The winning pitcher of the game they won was Shawaryn, and he was magnificent. He has broken the Maryland record for wins in a season by winning nine games.
4. The Orioles have lost two straight games, neither of which should have been losses. Saturday night the Orioles were down, 1-0, in the ninth, but had the tie run at third base with only one out and the very heart of their order coming up. Adam Jones was first and he struck out, swing at two terrible pitches in the process. Christ DAvis walked. I believe he should have tried harder to put the ball in play. He is out RBI guy and when he bats in that situation, he needs to be thinking that his job is to put the ball in play and drive in the tie run. The walk actually loaded the bases and brought Nelson Cruz to the plate. But Cruz, too, struck out to end the game. Sunday, Ubaldo Jimenez was given a 3-1 lead that he could not hold. The Orioles were behind, 8-3, heading to the ninth. Jones then hit a three run home run to close the gap to 8-6, but that is where it ended. Here are the standings up-to-the-minute, which includes the Orioles now in second place. Since they have lost four of the last six, they should be happy that is all the further they have fallen.
American League Eastern Division Standings:
1. New York Yankees: 23 wins, 20 losses, .535 pct
2. Baltimore Orioles: 22 wins, 20 losses, .524 pct, 0.5 game behind
3. Toronto Blue Jays: 23 wins, 22 losses, .511 pct, 1 game behind
4. Boston REd Sox: 20 wins, 23 losses, .465 pct, 3 games behind
5. Tampa Bay Rays: 19 wins, 26 losses, .422 pct, 5 games behind
1. Every Democrat that has any kind of name recognition seems like they want to be on TV discussing, with as much earnestness as they can muster, the expected Presidential run of Hilary Clinton. Husband Bill is also barging himself onto the news at every turn; it is an easy task for him because he loves himself dearly, thinks everybody loves him so very much, is mostly correct on that point, and the mainstream bootlickers on virtually every TV channel in the known universe can't ever get enough of him. Sunday, it seemed every network talk show was goofy with Hilary Clinton apologists. She is so wonderful, one wag said, and she has handled the Benghazi entanglement with such grace and candor, and, did I say she is so wonderful, well, if I did forget, she is so wonderful. Which important Washington Insider said that? What difference does it make? They all said it in one way or another.
2. Is it possible that Russian Strong Man Vladimir Putin wants to take a break from his incessant campaign to destabilize Ukraine? Putin, you must know by now, believes it best to destabilize Ukraine, especially Eastern Ukraine (although he has branched out of late to southwestern Ukraine, having staged a bloody riot in Odessa,) as a necessary step - in his estimation - in his planned 'recapture' of all of Ukraine.
During the Cold War there were three different varieties of statehood behind the Iron Curtain. There was the Soviet Union itself: purely Russian, all Russian, no need to think about anything but Russian, because the Soviet Union was Russia through and through. Then there were the S.S.R. countries. This second category of states behind the Iron Curtain appeared as nominally independent countries on a map, but in reality they were anything but independent. The S.S.R. as part of a nation's official name was indication that the country was completely communized, completely locked into the Soviet Communist way of doing things, and completely subserviant to Moscow. Men from the S.S.R. countries could and did hold high positions in the Soviet Union. Eduard Shevardnadze, for instance, was the Soviet Union's Minister of Foreign Affairs during the years that Mikhail Gorbachev ran Russia and enchanted the American mainstream media. Shevardnadze was from Georgia and after the break-up of the Soviet Union he became president of Georgia. Anyone purporting to be a 'head of state' of an S.S.R. country during the Cold War was only filling a chair; all of the real power in the S.S.R. countries resided in Moscow. The third kind of country behind the Iron Curtain had no Russian or Communist designation in its official name. There was a bit of substance to their claim of independent status. Whereas the nation we call 'Estonia' today was known during the Cold War as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, the nation we know today as Hungary was also called Hungary during the Cold War. These European nations in the third category were permitted varying degrees of independence and what constituted their "permissible portion of independence" was an ongoing issue for both the country and for Moscow. Some of the countries in this third catagory pushed so hard for independence or for manifestations of independence during the Cold War that Moscow had to intervene militarily to cement them back into the Soviet orbit. The two most well known Russian military interventions during the Cold War occurred in 1956 in Hungary and 1968 in Czeckolslavakia. The Hungarian action is known as the Hungarian Revolution and was quite bloody. The Russian intervention in 1968 is known today as the Prague Spring, and what it lacked in blood it made up for in thoroughness and brutality. The man who was the catalyst for the Prague Spring, Alexander Dubcek, disappeared off of the national and international stage so suddenly one wondered whether his name would literally be erased from all places it had been printed or written prior to the moment Soviet Tanks rumbled into Prague. Another nation in the third category of states behind the Iron Curain that was known for its hard push for real independence was Poland. Poland was a very special problem for Russia for many reasons. First and foremost Religion. Religion was strongly, even forcefully frowned upon by Communist leaders. Even the Russian Orthodoz Church was hammered so hard by the government that services in most church's were either non-existant or virtually so. It was the same in other communist states. But not in Poland. Poland was, is, and probably (I pray) always will be Roman Catholic. Russia tolerated the Catholic Church in Poland because it believed it had no choice. To challenge the Roman Catholic Church in Poland was a presciption for non-stop and never-ending civil unrest. When the Iron Curtain fell, three persons were credited: Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Saint John Paul, who was then Pope John Paul. His visits to Poland as Pope so galvanized the People against the communist government that even the most hardened Communist knew the end was near for the Communist Government.
Ukraine was a category two nation. It was known as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic during the Cold War. The borders between Russia and Ukraine were so blurred duirng the Cold War that Moscow didn't give a second thought to just giving Crimea to Ukraine, even though it had been a part of Russia since the time of Catherine the Great. While the Ukrainian peoples are a distinguishable nationality, and there was a push for independence for Ukraine after the second world war, its nationalistic fervor was weak enough that it was easily handled by the Bolsheviks under Stalin. Ukraine was so melded into Russia during the Cold War that most people honestly believed Kiev to be a Russian City. Whereas nations in the third category regularly tested the limits of Russian patience, the S.S.R. countries, for the most part, posed no such problems. Even when the independence movement in Poland during the Solidarity years was at its pinnacle, it did not spill across the border into Ukraine. Whereas Poland, Hungary, East Germany and Romania fielded their own national teams in the Olympics, the World Cup and other festivals of sport, the citizens of S.S.R. countries like Ukraine either played for the Soviet Russian team or they didn't play at all.
It has been obvious, in watching Putin making his imperial moves on the world chess board that he believes that the S.S.R. countries are all but a part of Russia, and should never have been permitted to think of themselves as independent, even when the Soviet Union was sliding down the road to dissolution. The two nations that Putin has invaded during his reign, Georgia and Ukraine, are both former S.S.R. nations. They are the two S.S.R. nations that have made the boldest moves toward real independence during the Putin reign. Putin wants those fires of independence put out for good. He has boiled inside when the citizens of these two nations demonstrated in the streets of Kiev and Tbilisi like free people do. He went ballistic when Georgia pushed hard for membership in NATO and even the EU. But he boiled even more when Georgia's small but incredibly brave and tenacious army, schooled in part by American commanders while fighting in Iraq, fought the Russian army of 100% conscripts to a virtual standstill in the 2008 invasion. It is the Russian military that has been in Putin's crosshairs ever since. The May Day demonstration, held four weeks after the Crimean invasion, was a crowning moment for Putin. The Euromaidan movement gave him an ulcer, figuratively speaking. He is mulling his options. If he is pulling back on the Ukraine border, it doesn't mean he has given up on anything in Ukraine. It merely means he sees some advantage to dialing back the heat at the moment. You can bet your bottom dollar that Ukraine will continue to deal with Putin, up close and personal, until and if it capitulates and gives him a huge say in Ukraine's future. One thing that will absolutely not happen: Ukraine walking peacefully to membership in NATO and the EU. There is no connection whatsoever to what the Russian Strong Man does with his 40,000 well armed troops at this moment in time and what happens to Ukraine over the next five years.
3. In sports, the University of Maryland Baseball Team has earned the sixth seed in the ten-team Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament starting tomorrow in Greensboro, North Carolina. The tournament has a new format this year, and while it sounds complicated, it really isn't. The thing that I like is that is assures that each of the top six seeded teams won't be eliminated from competition until they play at least three games. The ten teams that have qualified for the tournament have been divided into two pools of five teams each. The bottom two teams in each group will compete in a 'play-in' game on today. Each of the two winners of the play-in games will join the other three teams in their pool in a round-robin series; i.e., each team will play one game against the other three teams in their pool. The winners of the two pools will then play each other in a single, winner-take-all championship game on Sunday, May 25, the tournament's final day. The entire schedule for the tournament, including the match-up for each game and the starting time for each game, can be found at this web page: http://raycomsports.com/sports_labs_docs/m-basebl/2014_baseball_bracket.pdf?SPSID=716385&SPID=120725&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=29700
The NCAA will name the 64 teams that will participate in the national tournament the following day: Monday, May 26. The winner of the ACC Tournament gets the conference's one automatic bid to the national tournament. The NCAA Selection Committee, will doubtlessly take several other ACC schools as at large teams. Last year six ACC schools played in the national tournament. Unlike the NCAACollege Basketball Tournament, the baseball tournament is played in double elimination format. The tournament opens with 16 four-team regional double-elimination tournaments. The 16 winners then go on to eight so-called 'super regional' series; the 16 teams are paired up to play eight 'best of three' series. The eight winners progress to the College World Series, played annually in Omaha, Nebraska in front of a national television audience. It takes eleven days to play. This season it begins June 14 and ends June 25. The NCAA, incidentally, signed a contract with the non-profit group that puts on the College World Series, and it will keep the series in Omaga through at least 2035.
Maryland's first ACC game is Thursday, May 22, at 11 am against powerful Virginia, a team that has spent many weeks ranked as the number one team in all of America. After that, they play Friday, May 23 at 11 am against Florida State, another team that has been ranked number one this season in the national polls. Finally, on Saturday, May 23, at 3 pm, Maryland will take on the winner of the game between North Carolina and North Carolina State that will be played on Tuesday, May 20. Maryland has more to do at this tournament than merely winning it. They are in contention for a berth in the NCAA tournament, something that have not been awarded since 1971. Folks, that is 43 years. The Terps have qualified for the NCAA Tournament only three times in the history of a tournament that has been played since 1947: 1965, 1970 and 1971, Their all-time record in NCAA Tournament play is 1 win, 6 losses. The lone win came in 1970, in an NCAA Regional Tournament in Gastonia, North Carolina. Four teams played in that 1970 regional tournament, the winner of which moved on to play in the College World Series (played each year in Omaha, Nebraska in June): Maryland, Florida State, East Carolina and Mississippi State. The Terps drew Mississippi State in the first round of the double elimination event. In that first round game, Maryland prevailed, 3-2. Because Florida State - not in the ACC at that time - beat East Carolina in the other first round game, the Terps played Florida State in the winner's bracket title game. The Seminoles prevailed handily, 10-1, dumping Maryland into the loser's bracket. Mississippi State had beaten East Carolina in their loser's bracket game, eliminating East Carolina and sending the Bulldogs through to a return match-up with the Terps. Given this second chance, Mississippi State beat Maryland, 8-4.
Somewhere in College Park, I hope, is a scorebook and box score of that long-ago first round win over Mississippi State. Maybe this year's Maryland team will get a chance to add a win or two (or ten) to that single win 44 years ago. They have the talent to do it. The Terps have beaten a lot of the best teams in the NCAA. It is likely, however, that this year's team, snubbed regularly all season long by the NCAA, the Baseball Writers and Baseball America, still has work to do if it really wants that NCAA bid. More work does not mean Maryland has to win the ACC Tournament. To win the tournament, Maryland will have to win two and quite possibly all three of the pool games, then defeat the winner of the other pool on Sunday. If they win two of their three pool games, they should get an NCAA bid. If they win one pool game, they will be firmly on the fence, and eith the NCSS's record for ignoring them, I would not be at all surprised if they do not get a bid. In fact, I won't be surprised if they win two pool games and don't get a bid. Maryland, I believe, has the pitching to make a mark in the tournament. In Jake Stinnett and Mike Shawaryn, they have two of the best starters in the conference. They did not have to play last weekend and will go in with a thoroughly rested pitching staff. Although the bullpen has had its ups and downs, Szefc has primed three of the relievers - Ben Brewer, Kevin Mooney and Robby Ruse to handle the late inning work. They have all pitched well during the Terps' current nine game winning streak. I'm not sugge pctsting that Maryland Coach John Szefc will follow my advice and predictions, but the way it is shaping up, Maryland will start its no. 1 pitcher, Jake Stinnett, against Virginia on Thursday, and come back with their number two starter, Freshman Mike Shawaryn, against Florida State on Friday. The Terps did not play the Cavaliers this season, but they did play the powerful Seminoles in Tallahassee, and won one of the three games in March. The winning pitcher of the game they won was Shawaryn, and he was magnificent. He has broken the Maryland record for wins in a season by winning nine games.
4. The Orioles have lost two straight games, neither of which should have been losses. Saturday night the Orioles were down, 1-0, in the ninth, but had the tie run at third base with only one out and the very heart of their order coming up. Adam Jones was first and he struck out, swing at two terrible pitches in the process. Christ DAvis walked. I believe he should have tried harder to put the ball in play. He is out RBI guy and when he bats in that situation, he needs to be thinking that his job is to put the ball in play and drive in the tie run. The walk actually loaded the bases and brought Nelson Cruz to the plate. But Cruz, too, struck out to end the game. Sunday, Ubaldo Jimenez was given a 3-1 lead that he could not hold. The Orioles were behind, 8-3, heading to the ninth. Jones then hit a three run home run to close the gap to 8-6, but that is where it ended. Here are the standings up-to-the-minute, which includes the Orioles now in second place. Since they have lost four of the last six, they should be happy that is all the further they have fallen.
American League Eastern Division Standings:
1. New York Yankees: 23 wins, 20 losses, .535 pct
2. Baltimore Orioles: 22 wins, 20 losses, .524 pct, 0.5 game behind
3. Toronto Blue Jays: 23 wins, 22 losses, .511 pct, 1 game behind
4. Boston REd Sox: 20 wins, 23 losses, .465 pct, 3 games behind
5. Tampa Bay Rays: 19 wins, 26 losses, .422 pct, 5 games behind
Monday, May 19, 2014
Putin Again Orders Troops Off Ukraine Border: NATO Says it Has Seen No Such Withdraw
BALTINORE, Maryland May 19, 2014 - Even as fighting in Slovyansk and other places continued unabated, Russian Strongman Vladimir Putin promised today to withdrawl his troops from the Ukranian Border. Some 40,000 troops have been staging on that border since March, and they are backed by massive amounts of heavy artillery, fighter jets, attack helicopters, provisions, armored personnel carriers and other necessities for a mobile and prolonged attack. Plus, Putin has promised on many occassions in recent weeks to draw down or remove those troops, but it has never happened.
The AP, with the report originating at their Moscow bureau, said that Putin did not promise the move in a conversation with a foreign leader, as has happened recently, but instead issued the order directly to military commanders. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, was told specifically to pull back forces that were to be involved in large-scale spring drills. Such an order would be directly verifiable by the West through satellite surveilance and on-site observation by aircraft.
Putin ordered the troops to bivouac on the Ukraine border at about the same time he invaded Crimea. Troops have entered Ukraine on a variety of undercover assignments, using Putin's method of wearing their uniforms but with all insignia's identifying them as Russian removed. It hasn't fooled anyone and one wonders what his motive was. The soldiers make no effort to disguise their military training and are easy to distinguish from actual separatist ethnic Russians living in Eastern Ukraine. However, having the "marked" troops removed from the border would be a movement in the right direction unless it is part of some other ruse Putin plans to pull. And, as NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen reiterated on Monday, there has been no sign of any Russian pull-out along the Ukraine border.
Meanwhile, fighting continues in Eastern Ukraine, although in sporadic episodes. There was a gunbattle near Slovyansk on Sunday. According to the AP, Pro-Russian insurgents fired on a Ukrainian army check-point near a television tower outside of Slovyansk, killing one soldier and wounding three, Ukraine's defense ministry said.
AP journalists reported that they also witnessed mortar fire hitting the village of Andriyivka, just outside Slovyansk. While it was impossible to confirm who fired the mortars, the shelling appeared to come from the Ukrainian government troops' positions, damaging a gas main running across a field and onto local residents' lands. The pipeline caught fire, but no residents were hurt.
Slovyansk has been the epicenter of fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian insurgents, who have seized government buildings across the east.
In Donetsk, the capital of one of the regions that pro-Russian insurgents declared independent last week, masked gunmen seized the office of the local branch of Ukrainian Railways. The company told the Associated Press the attackers disrupted the freight train traffic, leaving about 4,000 train cars stranded in the industrial region.
The attackers drove out the chief of the Donetsk branch of Ukrainian Railways and installed their own man, the AP reported. His name was said to be Oleksandr Vatula. He said outside the building that he is representing the Donetsk People's Republic and pledged to restore the train traffic.
Ukraine's central government has urged rebels to lay down arms and sit down for talks, but they say they are only prepared to discuss the withdrawal of government troops.
Amid the tensions, Ukraine and Russia traded accusations over two Russian journalists, who were arrested by Ukrainian forces near Slovyansk on Sunday.
The Ukrainian military said the two men, who had press accreditation with Life News, a Kremlin-connected TV channel, were with pro-Russian insurgents and were filming preparations for an attack outside Slovyansk. Russia has protested the arrest and asked the OSCE to assist their release.
Alexander Zemlianichhenko in Slovyansk, Ukraine, Nataliya Vasilyeva in Kiev, Yuras Karmanau in Donetsk and John-Thor Dahlburg in Brussels contributed to this report for the AP.
The AP, with the report originating at their Moscow bureau, said that Putin did not promise the move in a conversation with a foreign leader, as has happened recently, but instead issued the order directly to military commanders. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, was told specifically to pull back forces that were to be involved in large-scale spring drills. Such an order would be directly verifiable by the West through satellite surveilance and on-site observation by aircraft.
Putin ordered the troops to bivouac on the Ukraine border at about the same time he invaded Crimea. Troops have entered Ukraine on a variety of undercover assignments, using Putin's method of wearing their uniforms but with all insignia's identifying them as Russian removed. It hasn't fooled anyone and one wonders what his motive was. The soldiers make no effort to disguise their military training and are easy to distinguish from actual separatist ethnic Russians living in Eastern Ukraine. However, having the "marked" troops removed from the border would be a movement in the right direction unless it is part of some other ruse Putin plans to pull. And, as NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen reiterated on Monday, there has been no sign of any Russian pull-out along the Ukraine border.
Meanwhile, fighting continues in Eastern Ukraine, although in sporadic episodes. There was a gunbattle near Slovyansk on Sunday. According to the AP, Pro-Russian insurgents fired on a Ukrainian army check-point near a television tower outside of Slovyansk, killing one soldier and wounding three, Ukraine's defense ministry said.
AP journalists reported that they also witnessed mortar fire hitting the village of Andriyivka, just outside Slovyansk. While it was impossible to confirm who fired the mortars, the shelling appeared to come from the Ukrainian government troops' positions, damaging a gas main running across a field and onto local residents' lands. The pipeline caught fire, but no residents were hurt.
Slovyansk has been the epicenter of fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian insurgents, who have seized government buildings across the east.
In Donetsk, the capital of one of the regions that pro-Russian insurgents declared independent last week, masked gunmen seized the office of the local branch of Ukrainian Railways. The company told the Associated Press the attackers disrupted the freight train traffic, leaving about 4,000 train cars stranded in the industrial region.
The attackers drove out the chief of the Donetsk branch of Ukrainian Railways and installed their own man, the AP reported. His name was said to be Oleksandr Vatula. He said outside the building that he is representing the Donetsk People's Republic and pledged to restore the train traffic.
Ukraine's central government has urged rebels to lay down arms and sit down for talks, but they say they are only prepared to discuss the withdrawal of government troops.
Amid the tensions, Ukraine and Russia traded accusations over two Russian journalists, who were arrested by Ukrainian forces near Slovyansk on Sunday.
The Ukrainian military said the two men, who had press accreditation with Life News, a Kremlin-connected TV channel, were with pro-Russian insurgents and were filming preparations for an attack outside Slovyansk. Russia has protested the arrest and asked the OSCE to assist their release.
Alexander Zemlianichhenko in Slovyansk, Ukraine, Nataliya Vasilyeva in Kiev, Yuras Karmanau in Donetsk and John-Thor Dahlburg in Brussels contributed to this report for the AP.
Justice Department Set to Indict Chinese Government and Military Figures for Hacking American Business Web Sites and Stealing Huge Amount of Industrial Secrets; Indictments are First Against a Government Official in Espionage Case; Press Conference Monday Morning to Detail Charges
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 19, 2014 - Eric Holder, the USA Attorney General, is set to announce this morning that the Justice Department is set to Indict one or more officials of the Chinese Government for masterminding and overseeing the hacking of computers belonging to American Business Interests and then stealing trade secrets from them.
Fox News reported just after 9:00 am on Monday that a news conference is scheduled for later this morning when Holder will outline the charges and provide other key details. The Chinese Government officials involved and about to be indicted are either in or connected with the Chinese Military, both Fox and USA Today are reporting.
This is the first time ever that the Justice Department has indicted a government official in a cyber espionage matter. Federal law enforcement sources quoted by USA Today said that the Chinese Hackers, using military and intelligence "resources," downloaded massive amouhts of industrial information, including strategic plans from a number of United States' business sites. Some are said to be located in the western part of Pennsylvania, USA Today said.
According to both Fox News and USA Today, Holder will speak at the press conference, which is currently scheduled to start at 10:00 am, EDT. Holder, however, is notorious for delaying such news conferences, sometimes for hours.
Fox News reported just after 9:00 am on Monday that a news conference is scheduled for later this morning when Holder will outline the charges and provide other key details. The Chinese Government officials involved and about to be indicted are either in or connected with the Chinese Military, both Fox and USA Today are reporting.
This is the first time ever that the Justice Department has indicted a government official in a cyber espionage matter. Federal law enforcement sources quoted by USA Today said that the Chinese Hackers, using military and intelligence "resources," downloaded massive amouhts of industrial information, including strategic plans from a number of United States' business sites. Some are said to be located in the western part of Pennsylvania, USA Today said.
According to both Fox News and USA Today, Holder will speak at the press conference, which is currently scheduled to start at 10:00 am, EDT. Holder, however, is notorious for delaying such news conferences, sometimes for hours.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Ukraine on the Fault Line Between East and West; Latest News
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 18, 2014 - Ukraine the country finds itself existing in a condition akin to a land along an earthquake fault line. No matter how stable it looks at any given time, it is only the snap of a finger away from total bedlam. In a way, it has taken over this role from its neighbor, Poland. For hundreds of years the Polish people lived at the place where Russia met Europe, where northern nations and empires like Sweden, Denmark, the Hanseatic League and Lithuania met central and southern empires like the Austro-Hungarian, the Holy Roman, and the Ottoman. The Polish people preferred, frantically, not to be involved in those disputes turned wars, but they existed where the powers met and fought. Now, in these early years of the third millenium after Christ, the fault line, war zone, or whatever, has drifted further east. Now, Poland has become firmly entrenched in the Western Block, and it wears its NATO membership on its sleeve. Now, the east and the west collide in the Ukraine.
Ukraine also has pulled hard and gotten somewhat loose from the Russian yoke. Make no mistake, they are not completely free. Ukraine has not yet managed to cloak itself in the West's umbrella of protection. It is not in NATO, and there are no meaningful treaties that supposedly compel the Western Alliance to come to their aide. In fact, the West will not even send military supplies to Ukraine. USA President Obama says he cannot send enough military supplies to Ukraine to give them a fighting chance to defend themselves against Russia, and anything less might cause a massacre. The EU and individual European countries are following suit, although one wonders what the real motives are for their refusals. Russia feels no military danger in attacking anyplace in Ukraine when and how they choose.
And not only has Ukraine not gotten free of Russia's yoke, Russia is pulling hard to get the ancient nation back into their insular orbit. Some of the sinister tricks Russia has pulled in recent years - poisoning one President who wanted to free his country of Russia's pull, annexing part of Ukraine, Posting an invading army on Ukraine's border - make clear that Russia feels completely free to whack away at Ukraine without fear of any meaningful push back. For months now, as Russia has annexed Crimea and sent thousands of military operatives "undercover" into Eastern Ukraine to destabilize it, the West has threatened tough sanctions. They have threatened and they have threatened, and then, they have threatened some more. They have threatened meaningful sanctions so much that it has become an international joke.
A check of the news in and around Eastern Europe finds that Ukraine is the story, or, in some cases, Ukraine is the catalyst for events happening elsewhere. Reuters reports that NATO's outlook for the last 20 years has not been to the east of the Alliance's middle; i.e., Western Europe. Not since the Cold War has Russia been the focus of NATO's military chiefs. It is now. The crisis, called a "game changer" by Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, will dominate the alliance's agenda as it prepares for a summit in Wales in September, which will mark the imminent end of the NATO-led combat mission in Afghanistan.
The U.S., Britain, Denmark, France, Canada and Germany have sent or promised extra fighter aircraft to increase patrols and training over the Baltics, Poland or Romania.
A fleet of nine minehunters from NATO countries has been dispatched to the Baltic and another task force of five ships to the eastern Mediterranean, according to Reuters.
In the longer term, Reuters says, NATO will consider permanently stationing forces in Eastern Europe, something it has refrained from doing in the 15 years since the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined the alliance after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In Canada, the Ottawa Citizen reports that critics of the Harper Government are so upset at the weakness of Canada's response to the Ukraine situation that they believe the long term effect will be the country's long-term marginalization on the world stage.
In the United States Congress conservative senators are pushing hard for more intense and meaningful sanctions against the Russian Government of Strong Man Vladimir Putin. They have been constant in the criticism of President Obama over the USA's weak response to the crisis. Putin, meanwhile, is off to Shanghai to meet with the leaders of Eastern Asia nations such as China.
A CNN poll of Ukrainian Citizens finds by a wide majority the Ukrainian people desire closer ties with the West and more distance between themselves and the Putin government. A recent poll of Eastern Ukraine found that 70% of all citizens did not want to become part of Russia or be independent, but, rather, preferred to stay part of Ukraine.
Ukraine also has pulled hard and gotten somewhat loose from the Russian yoke. Make no mistake, they are not completely free. Ukraine has not yet managed to cloak itself in the West's umbrella of protection. It is not in NATO, and there are no meaningful treaties that supposedly compel the Western Alliance to come to their aide. In fact, the West will not even send military supplies to Ukraine. USA President Obama says he cannot send enough military supplies to Ukraine to give them a fighting chance to defend themselves against Russia, and anything less might cause a massacre. The EU and individual European countries are following suit, although one wonders what the real motives are for their refusals. Russia feels no military danger in attacking anyplace in Ukraine when and how they choose.
And not only has Ukraine not gotten free of Russia's yoke, Russia is pulling hard to get the ancient nation back into their insular orbit. Some of the sinister tricks Russia has pulled in recent years - poisoning one President who wanted to free his country of Russia's pull, annexing part of Ukraine, Posting an invading army on Ukraine's border - make clear that Russia feels completely free to whack away at Ukraine without fear of any meaningful push back. For months now, as Russia has annexed Crimea and sent thousands of military operatives "undercover" into Eastern Ukraine to destabilize it, the West has threatened tough sanctions. They have threatened and they have threatened, and then, they have threatened some more. They have threatened meaningful sanctions so much that it has become an international joke.
A check of the news in and around Eastern Europe finds that Ukraine is the story, or, in some cases, Ukraine is the catalyst for events happening elsewhere. Reuters reports that NATO's outlook for the last 20 years has not been to the east of the Alliance's middle; i.e., Western Europe. Not since the Cold War has Russia been the focus of NATO's military chiefs. It is now. The crisis, called a "game changer" by Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, will dominate the alliance's agenda as it prepares for a summit in Wales in September, which will mark the imminent end of the NATO-led combat mission in Afghanistan.
The U.S., Britain, Denmark, France, Canada and Germany have sent or promised extra fighter aircraft to increase patrols and training over the Baltics, Poland or Romania.
A fleet of nine minehunters from NATO countries has been dispatched to the Baltic and another task force of five ships to the eastern Mediterranean, according to Reuters.
In the longer term, Reuters says, NATO will consider permanently stationing forces in Eastern Europe, something it has refrained from doing in the 15 years since the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined the alliance after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In Canada, the Ottawa Citizen reports that critics of the Harper Government are so upset at the weakness of Canada's response to the Ukraine situation that they believe the long term effect will be the country's long-term marginalization on the world stage.
In the United States Congress conservative senators are pushing hard for more intense and meaningful sanctions against the Russian Government of Strong Man Vladimir Putin. They have been constant in the criticism of President Obama over the USA's weak response to the crisis. Putin, meanwhile, is off to Shanghai to meet with the leaders of Eastern Asia nations such as China.
A CNN poll of Ukrainian Citizens finds by a wide majority the Ukrainian people desire closer ties with the West and more distance between themselves and the Putin government. A recent poll of Eastern Ukraine found that 70% of all citizens did not want to become part of Russia or be independent, but, rather, preferred to stay part of Ukraine.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Tillman fires 5-hit Complete Game Shut-Out, Orioles Win, 4-0; Davis Homers, Cruz With 2 More RBI
BALTIMORE, Maryland May 17, 2014 - This is the game the Orioles have been waiting for, the game when their best pitcher puts it all together. Chris Tillman returned to last year at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City last night, firing a complete game five hit shut out in the Orioles 4-0 win. Making it even better: Chris Davis hit a titantic home run to seal the deal. And: Nelson Cruz kept up his productive hitting, knocking in two more runs. The fourth run came in typical Oriole style. With runners at the corners and one out, Steve Clevenger hit a ground ball to second base that looked for all the world like a double play that would prevent the runner on third from scoring. Except that Clevenger, the backup catcher forced into first line duty by Matt Wieters' injury, put his nose down and raced to first, beating the relay from second by an eyelash, and allowing the run to count on his RBI.
The victory allowed the Orioles to extend their American League Eastern Division lead to a full game over the Yankees, whose game at Yankee Stadium against the Pirates was postponed by the drenching rain storm over the Bronx. The game will be made up on Sunday as part of a single admission twin bill at Yankee Stadium. The two teams play a single game today at 4:05 pm.
With the win, Tillman improved his record to 4-2. As hard to believe as it is, this was Tillman's first ever complete game shut out. He gave up only five hits over the nine innings, while walking only one Royal and striking out just three. With the defense Baltimore displays behind him, Oriole pitchers almost naturally pitch to the strike zone and take their chances - very good chances, as it stands - from there. The win was the Orioles' second straight after breaking a four-game losing streak last night. Their road record is now 13-8, although they have a losing record at home.
The Orioles offense was spread out over three different at bats. They struck for two runs to take the lead in the fourth inning. Manny Machado led off the fourth with a bunt single, and Machado raced to second when Jeremy Guthrie's throw after fielding the bunt, bounced past Royal first baseman Eric Hosmer. Then, with the next hitter Adam Jones, at bat, Guthrie uncorked a wild pitch allowing Machado to advance to third. Jones, however, grounded out to shortstop, and Machado held third. Then Chris Davis walked. Nelson Cruz then plated the first run of the game with a ground single that bounced over Hosmer's head into right field. Davis raced to third on the play. Steve Clevenger followed with a ground ball that second baseman Johnny Giavotella fielded and threw to the bag to force Cruz, but shortstop Alcides Escobar's throw to first was a tad late allowing Clevenger to reach and, more importantly, allowing Davis to score the second run. The Birds added a third run in the sixth inning. With one out, Jones sent a ground ball to the left side of the infield. Escobar made a play on the ball, but only could deflect it. Third baseman Mike Moustakas did field the ball but was unable to make a play on Jones. Davis followed with a single through a Royal shift and into right field; Jones raced to third on the play. From there he scored on a sacrifice fly by Cruz. The final run of the night was worth waiting for. Chris Davis, who led the majors in home runs last season, but through an injury-plagued first six weeks of this season has hit only two, launched a long home run to right field with two outs in the Oriole eighth inning. It put Baltimore ahead, 4-0. The big question after that was whether Tillman could complete the shut out, something he had never done. Hosmer led off the Royal ninth with a ground ball up the middle. Ryan Flaherty, the Oriole second sacker, made an all-out effort to get to the ball, but only deflected it into the outfield. Tillman was not affected. Salvatore Perez followed with a ground ball to shortstop, and the Orioles forced Hosmer at second for the first out. Alex Gordon was next and he, too, hit a ground ball, this one to Davis at first. Davis threw to Hardy at second base to force Perez for the second out. The game then ended on the third ground ball out of the inning: this one was to Hardy, who threw to Flaherty to end the game.
The almost daily roster shuffle the Orioles engage in under General Manager Dan Duquette continued yesterday, as he and manager Buck Showalter, along with the staff at Norfolk of the International League, try to keep fresh arms available in the bullpen. In Friday's move, Brad Brach returned to Baltimore and the Orioles announced that they had signed veteran Heath Bell to a minor league deal. To make room for Brach, Evan Meek was designated for assignment, but don't expect Meek to end up anywhere but back in Baltimore in a few week's time. If, as expected, Meek clears waivers, he will be resigned by the Orioles and placed at Norfolk until he is needed again in Baltimore. Bell is now 36 and was released by Tampa Bay two weeks ago when his ERA ballooned to over seven runs per game. If he passes a physical he will pitch at Norfolk until ready to return to the big leagues. Brach has been impressive at Norfolk, striking out 38 hitters in 19 and one-third innings. For the Orioles he has pitched one and two-thirds innings over two games, allowing three earned runs.
Here are the American League Eastern Division Standings up-to-the-minute:
American League Eastern Division Standings Up-to-the-Minute (10:49 am, May 17
1. Baltimore Orioles: 22 wins, 18 losses, .550 pct
2. New York Yankees: 21 wins, 19 losses, .525 pct, 1 game behind
3. Toronto Blue Jays: 22 wins, 21 losses, .512 pct, 1.5 games behind
4. Boston Red Sox: 20 wins, 21 losses, .488 pct, 2.5 games behind
5. Tampa Bay Rays: 19 wins, 24 losses, .442 pct, 4.5 games behind
The victory allowed the Orioles to extend their American League Eastern Division lead to a full game over the Yankees, whose game at Yankee Stadium against the Pirates was postponed by the drenching rain storm over the Bronx. The game will be made up on Sunday as part of a single admission twin bill at Yankee Stadium. The two teams play a single game today at 4:05 pm.
With the win, Tillman improved his record to 4-2. As hard to believe as it is, this was Tillman's first ever complete game shut out. He gave up only five hits over the nine innings, while walking only one Royal and striking out just three. With the defense Baltimore displays behind him, Oriole pitchers almost naturally pitch to the strike zone and take their chances - very good chances, as it stands - from there. The win was the Orioles' second straight after breaking a four-game losing streak last night. Their road record is now 13-8, although they have a losing record at home.
The Orioles offense was spread out over three different at bats. They struck for two runs to take the lead in the fourth inning. Manny Machado led off the fourth with a bunt single, and Machado raced to second when Jeremy Guthrie's throw after fielding the bunt, bounced past Royal first baseman Eric Hosmer. Then, with the next hitter Adam Jones, at bat, Guthrie uncorked a wild pitch allowing Machado to advance to third. Jones, however, grounded out to shortstop, and Machado held third. Then Chris Davis walked. Nelson Cruz then plated the first run of the game with a ground single that bounced over Hosmer's head into right field. Davis raced to third on the play. Steve Clevenger followed with a ground ball that second baseman Johnny Giavotella fielded and threw to the bag to force Cruz, but shortstop Alcides Escobar's throw to first was a tad late allowing Clevenger to reach and, more importantly, allowing Davis to score the second run. The Birds added a third run in the sixth inning. With one out, Jones sent a ground ball to the left side of the infield. Escobar made a play on the ball, but only could deflect it. Third baseman Mike Moustakas did field the ball but was unable to make a play on Jones. Davis followed with a single through a Royal shift and into right field; Jones raced to third on the play. From there he scored on a sacrifice fly by Cruz. The final run of the night was worth waiting for. Chris Davis, who led the majors in home runs last season, but through an injury-plagued first six weeks of this season has hit only two, launched a long home run to right field with two outs in the Oriole eighth inning. It put Baltimore ahead, 4-0. The big question after that was whether Tillman could complete the shut out, something he had never done. Hosmer led off the Royal ninth with a ground ball up the middle. Ryan Flaherty, the Oriole second sacker, made an all-out effort to get to the ball, but only deflected it into the outfield. Tillman was not affected. Salvatore Perez followed with a ground ball to shortstop, and the Orioles forced Hosmer at second for the first out. Alex Gordon was next and he, too, hit a ground ball, this one to Davis at first. Davis threw to Hardy at second base to force Perez for the second out. The game then ended on the third ground ball out of the inning: this one was to Hardy, who threw to Flaherty to end the game.
The almost daily roster shuffle the Orioles engage in under General Manager Dan Duquette continued yesterday, as he and manager Buck Showalter, along with the staff at Norfolk of the International League, try to keep fresh arms available in the bullpen. In Friday's move, Brad Brach returned to Baltimore and the Orioles announced that they had signed veteran Heath Bell to a minor league deal. To make room for Brach, Evan Meek was designated for assignment, but don't expect Meek to end up anywhere but back in Baltimore in a few week's time. If, as expected, Meek clears waivers, he will be resigned by the Orioles and placed at Norfolk until he is needed again in Baltimore. Bell is now 36 and was released by Tampa Bay two weeks ago when his ERA ballooned to over seven runs per game. If he passes a physical he will pitch at Norfolk until ready to return to the big leagues. Brach has been impressive at Norfolk, striking out 38 hitters in 19 and one-third innings. For the Orioles he has pitched one and two-thirds innings over two games, allowing three earned runs.
Here are the American League Eastern Division Standings up-to-the-minute:
American League Eastern Division Standings Up-to-the-Minute (10:49 am, May 17
1. Baltimore Orioles: 22 wins, 18 losses, .550 pct
2. New York Yankees: 21 wins, 19 losses, .525 pct, 1 game behind
3. Toronto Blue Jays: 22 wins, 21 losses, .512 pct, 1.5 games behind
4. Boston Red Sox: 20 wins, 21 losses, .488 pct, 2.5 games behind
5. Tampa Bay Rays: 19 wins, 24 losses, .442 pct, 4.5 games behind
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