Ripken reflects on 1989's "Why Not?" season

Ripken reflects on 1989's "Why Not?" season
The slogan came late to the future Hall of Famer. One of the most detail-oriented players in baseball history, so precise that he wore a watch during batting practice and infield drills, somehow missed it. Cal Ripken Jr. can laugh about it now. A collection of players from the 1989 "Why Not?" Orioles are gathering this weekend at Camden Yards to celebrate the 30th anniversary of one of the most beloved teams in franchise history. An all-time favorite, tipping the popularity scale, in spite of...

Mourning the loss of Frank Robinson

Mourning the loss of Frank Robinson
The man who is credited with teaching the Orioles how to win is being mourned today throughout the baseball industry. The words hit especially close to home in Baltimore. The pain digs especially deep. Hall of Famer Frank Robinson has passed away after a lengthy battle with bone cancer. He was 83. Updates on the severity of Robinson's condition began to circulate at the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, including how he was in hospice care in Southern California, and the news remained dire at...

A few takes on the Hall of Fame voting process and one on Chris Davis

A few takes on the Hall of Fame voting process and one on Chris Davis
With last night's announcement of the latest class headed to Cooperstown for the Hall of Fame in July, several aspects of the voting process once again came into question and up for debate. Here are a few of my thoughts that are just opinions, and I want to hear yours: * The 10-man ballot is fine. There is some talk that voters should be allowed to vote for more than 10. I think that is a good number. If someone can't make your list of 10, they may not be a Hall of Famer. At the worst, they...

Another look at the lineup and what to do with Pearce

Another look at the lineup and what to do with Pearce
I was messing around with another projected Orioles lineup yesterday during "Wall to Wall Baseball" on MASN. We had two hours to kill. Manager Buck Showalter can go in many directions, depending on the opponent's starting pitcher. Here's one possibility: Alejandro De Aza LF Manny Machado 3B Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Matt Wieters C Steve Pearce DH Travis Snider RF J.J. Hardy SS Jonathan Schoop 2B I'm fully aware of the free-agent losses this winter, but that's still a nice...