Flashback: With Weaver at the helm, O's were perennial winners

Flashback: With Weaver at the helm, O's were perennial winners
In Baltimore, one of the quirky perks reserved for favorite sports sons is the notion that they're on a first-name basis with the fan base. Say "Brooks," "Cal" or "Boog," and pretty much any Orioles fan will know exactly who you're talking about. No explanation - or last name - is necessary. Same with Earl Weaver, who spent his entire major league managerial career at the helm of the Orioles in two stints and amassed an impressive .583 winning percentage along with the 1970 World...

Leftovers for breakfast

Leftovers for breakfast
You won't find many Orioles swinging hot bats right now, and shortstop J.J. Hardy definitely needs to knock the frost off the ol' lumber. Hardy is in a 3-for-40 slump that's lowered his average to .239. He went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts last night. The Orioles have played 73 games and Hardy has started 71 of them. The obvious move is to rest him for a night, perhaps giving the start to Robert Andino. Hardy is 0-for-9 lifetime against Jered Weaver, who starts tonight for the Angels. A...

Showalter talks about slumps and a Hall of Fame manager

Showalter talks about slumps and a Hall of Fame manager
Major League Baseball announced today via Twitter that the American League posted a 142-110 (.563) record in interleague play, winning the season series for the ninth consecutive year and 12th time in 16 years. The Orioles may want to switch leagues to avoid facing the Angels' C.J. Wilson and Jered Weaver the next two nights. A team with 17 runs in its last nine games will be severely challenged to get hot against those two arms. "They're trying to get it all back in one at-bat. It's...

O's to honor six Hall of Famers with bronze statues inside Camden Yards

O's to honor six Hall of Famers with bronze statues inside Camden Yards
Remember those rumblings about the Orioles doing something more concrete at Camden Yards to honor their six Hall of Famers? Turns out those plans are finally out in the open - and the finished products will be in bronze. A club source has confirmed the Orioles will erect bronze statues of their players enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. - Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer, Earl Weaver, Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken Jr. - in an area beyond the bullpen...

Monday Memory: 1981 exhibition game between Orioles, Triple-A Red Wings

Monday Memory: 1981 exhibition game between Orioles, Triple-A Red Wings
The dog days of August are upon us, and Orioles players scour the schedule for their precious off-days. Recharge the batteries, rest and relax - that's the mantra whenever a blank square appears on the schedule during the course of a 162-game season. Not so long ago, however, not all off-days were off-days. Once a season, the O's used one of those coveted days when a regular-season game wasn't scheduled and hopped a charter flight to Rochester, N.Y., home of their Triple-A affiliate, the...

Monday Memory: Terry Cashman, the O's and Hall of Fame weekend

Monday Memory: Terry Cashman, the O's and Hall of Fame weekend
This time of year always makes me think of Hall of Fame induction weekend at Cooperstown, N.Y. If you've never made the trek to this diamond mecca in upstate New York, you're missing one of the true hallowed halls of the game we love. My first trek to Cooperstown came in 1977 and was memorable for a few reasons. Armed with my brand-new Vivitar SLR camera, I spent several hours in the museum snapping off photos of the things that most interested me - mind you, back then, in the pre-digital...

The Earl of Baltimore held court in Salisbury

The Earl of Baltimore held court in Salisbury
This great game of baseball spans many years and generations, and some of us really got to experience that Tuesday night at the South Atlantic League All-Star game hosted by the Delmarva Shorebirds. Not long after we got to interview some up-and-coming stars of tomorrow, like Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, we were sitting in a conference room across from Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver. Now 80, Weaver led the Orioles to a .593 winning percentage in 17 seasons, winning four American League...

The Earl of Baltimore: Weaver a hit with the fans in Salisbury

The Earl of Baltimore: Weaver a hit with the fans in Salisbury
SALISBURY, Md - Orioles Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver headlined the Fan Fest festivities today in Salisbury at the South Atlantic League All-Star game and signed autographs for around two hours for a steady stream of fans. Earl said the fans here kept asking him about returning to manage. "Since (80-year-old Jack) McKeon went back, if I would," Weaver said. "There is no way I can go back (with my arthritis). You just saw me hobble in here. I couldn't get up and down the dugout...

Monday Memory: Earl Weaver's swansong in 1982

Monday Memory: Earl Weaver's swansong in 1982
For a generation of Orioles fans, watching former O's skipper Earl Weaver throw out of the first pitch at the 2011 home opener at Camden Yards probably wasn't all that nostalgic. After all, do they really remember the fiery manager who routinely won American League pennants and pushed the buttons that allowed the Orioles to reach four World Series during his Hall of Fame tenure? Back in December, no less a journalistic authority than the New York Times mistakenly reported that Weaver had...

Showalter talks about Weaver and Tyler

Showalter talks about Weaver and Tyler
I can't pack up and leave the press box without passing along manager Buck Showalter's thoughts on catching the ceremonial first pitch from Earl Weaver and watching the video tribute to Ernie Tyler, who passed away in February. "Looking at the emotion in Earl there and how much he means to the people here in Baltimore and how special the time was that he allowed us to spend with him in spring training...there's a lot of vinegar there," Showalter said. "You can tell how much the Orioles...

O's win home opener to go to 4-0

O's win home opener to go to 4-0
Earl Weaver threw out the first pitch today. Then the Orioles went out and won using solid starting pitching and a three-run homer. Earl should know that formula pretty well. The Orioles stayed unbeaten, winning their 58th home opener by beating the Tigers 5-1 before a sellout crowd of 46,593 at Camden Yards. Brian Roberts tells Tom Davis about the team effort in the Birds' 5-1 home opening win The Orioles have their first 4-0 start since 1997. Just once in franchise history have the...

Hearing from the Earl of Baltimore

Hearing from the Earl of Baltimore
Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver threw out the first pitch before today's game. He was asked what he thought about that and gave a real honest answer. "I don't want my performance to interfere and I certainly don't want to jinx them. We've gotta get a win today," he said. Weaver said he's impressed with the work of current skipper Buck Showalter. "Unreal. He's going to be a favorite here for a long, long time. Whoever invented the phrase 'Buck's Birds,' that should stick,"...

Weaver and Showalter a first-pitch battery

Weaver and Showalter a first-pitch battery
SARASOTA, Fla. - Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the April 4 home opener at Camden Yards. Current manager Buck Showalter will catch it. I love the idea. And it seems appropriate, given the excitement that greeted Showalter's arrival in Baltimore last August and the frequent comparisons to Weaver. Showalter invited Weaver to speak to his coaches this spring. It also allowed Weaver to autograph the circular No. 4 sign that hangs in his honor...