We knew the Red Sox were going to be tough, and I figured that the Orioles would show some fight; however, it was anything but the case. After their slugfest on Saturday, Baltimore has not put up might of a fight against Boston offensively, and they lost again up at Fenway, 12-1. Justin Masterson won for Boston, and the Orioles only managed five hits on the day and when you see players in the lineup — Cesar Izturis, Gregg Zaun, Ryan Freel along with Felix Pie (both who I will get to in a minute) — batting below the Mendoza line, the results are not going to be good.
It was painful to hear clips and bits on the radio as Mark Henderickson pitched ok — he went five inning and allowed three runs — however, Dennis Sarfate and Radhames Liz got lut up for nine runs in only 1 1/3 innings, therefore, waisting a solid effort by Hendrickson and making what was a competitive game into a laugher.
Dustin Pedroia led the way for Boston with four hits and three runs driven in, Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits, David Ortiz and Mike Lowell drove in two, and Jason Varitek hit a long home run off Hendrickson in the third inning. Baltimore’s only runs came in the first inning as Izturis plated Robert Andino with a single.
After the game, Radhames Liz was sent back to Norfolk to make room for Brad Bergesen, who will start on Tuesday.
A scary moment happened as Ryan Freel left Monday’s game after getting hit in the face with a ball during a pick-of attempt in the third inning. However, one must wonder if Freel may be on the team much longer as he’s openly complained about playing time and that has left some in the organization concerned. I guess at this point, the Baltimore Sun’s Peter Schmuck thinks that the team should DL Freel and bring up Lou Montanez — who probably should have been rightfully brought up to the majors to begin with. Heck, they might outright release him and perhaps also give Nolan Reimold some consideration; however, Freel has failed to realize that he’s not hitting (ok, if you don’t play you can’t get better), but this a team rebuilding and Pie has to play because the organization needs to see what he’s got.
Well, on the topic of Pie — I’ll say I loved the move to get him in the offseason; however, he’s not looked good in left, and even worse at the plate. He seems to have zero command of the strike zone — at least when I have watched him on the small tube and in person — and swings at horrible pitches. Also, he seems to not have a game plan at all with the bat. However, being a realist, Pie has to play to not only get better but because of the business of baseball.
I know this is pretty much a rebuilding year for Baltimore, so one has to be patient with Pie; however, if he’s not showing improvement by late May, I say the Orioles might want consider giving Montanez left field, or consider Reimold in that spot everyday. As it stands, neither one of them could be any worse than Pie.
Also, sorry not doing much this weekend — I had gone on a camping trip out in Western Pennsylvania from Friday into late Saturday and then was in Washington D.C. on Sunday.
