We got the Magic Stick(s)

If you can't pitch, you better be able to hit. I think we'll all agree that pretty much will some up the 2009 Orioles season and tonight's 10-9 win over the Texas Rangers certainly is a microcosm of that. We had our "#2" starter (and I use that term loosely) on the bump tonight and he was not as advertised. Control was supposed to be his biggest strength, yet walking two guys with a 6 run lead literally wants me to light myself on fire. It's his second MLB start, we'll give him a pass, after all, he was the "winning" pitcher, wink wink, nudge nudge. 

As for our line-up, I have a few observations and they are aaaaaalllllllll good. First and foremost, Nick and B-Rob are something else at the plate right now, you guys see their at-bats, no words necessary. SugarBear did have a run-scoring double, however he still reminds us from time-to-time that he is only 23 years old as he looks very bad on some strikeouts. I don't view this as a bad thing as it shows he hasn't even scratched his potential in the box yet. Huff was great and I expect him to be solid all year, but the thing that pleased me most was Felix Pie's offensive game tonight. He was 3-4 with his first Oriole big-fly and we had our first glimpse of all that potential this kid has somewhere inside of him. It was very encouraging. Also, good to see Ty Wiggington off the bench with a couple run-scoring base-hits. 

I want to briefly talk about the ninth inning because a couple things stand out. The Brim Reaper is never pretty, but he's gutsy, you always get his best effort, and more often than not, he gets the job done. The play of the night was clearly Nick's running catch at the wall. When that ball was hit I thought for sure we had a tie game with the winning run on second with no outs. Instead, Nick gives his best Willie Mays impression and basically saves the game. when I wrote the season preview for our outfielders, I wrote that Nick is gone to do at least one thing a night that makes you say wow...done and done. 

Finally, it was a big win. Not only because it starts our first road trip of the season on a good note, but also because we didn't blow a 6 run lead, especially with Simon and Hendrickson due to pitch in the final two games at that Bandbox of a stadium in Dallas. A loss tonight would have extinguished all of the early season momentum we have gained thus far. A win is a win is a win is a win!

One quick Minor League note tonight. Chris Tillman, our top pitching prospect, made his debut as the youngest pitcher in Triple-A tonight. He was absolutely dominating, going four no-hit innings, striking out 5. A very, very big performance for the Baby Bird. Also, Matt Wieters was his catcher and he went 2-4 with a walk and an RBI. See you pups at the 'Yard real soon!