Coffee Companion -- 6/1: Orioles' skid at five and 'Captain America'

Each morning, Monday through Friday, I'll hook you up with reading material to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday -- that way I'll have an excuse to do the same at the start of mine.   

Running it back:

Justin Smoak hit a three-run home run off Jeremy Guthrie in the eighth inning Tuesday to power the Mariners to a 3-2 win over the Orioles. ... Kevin Gregg says he's not worried by his lofty walk totals, but manager Buck Showalter is concerned. ... With several key contributors out of the lineup, the Orioles desperately need the notoriously streaky Luke Scott to get hot. ... Full payment on Ravens season tickets is due Wednesday, a deadline the franchise feels is necessary to continue operating their business effectively. ... New coach Shawn Nadelen could be the Towson lacrosse program's "Captain America" -- whatever that means.

Hitting the links:

1. How do the Orioles find a different way to lose ignominiously just about every week? [The Schmuck Stops Here]

2. Alex Rodriguez was voted as the most overrated player in baseball by his peers [Hartford Courant]

3. Keith Law ranked Manny Machado as the No. 10 prospect in baseball [Camden Chat]

4. Will they start calling it the "Reynolds line?" [Toy Department]

5. This losing streak is painful [The Loss Column]

6. Can the Ravens get over the hump against the Steelers this upcoming season? [USA Today]

7. Pat Kirwan ranked Joe Flacco as the 12th best quarterback in the league [NFL.com]

8. Bills castoff James Hardy wants to be a deep threat for the Ravens [Ravens.com]

9. Only a handful of players got more carries than Ray Rice last season [NFL.com]

10. Talking Terps, Mark Turgeon and recruiting with some guy from ESPN [Baltimore Sports and Life]

11. The Maryland football team named its captains for 2011 [Tracking the Terps]

12. What does the future hold for Alex Ovechkin? [Russian Machine Never Breaks]

13. Gary Bettman’s southern chickens are coming home to roost [On Frozen Blog]

 You said it: 

"The only way Joe will lead the Ravens to a super bowl is to become the bus driver." -- reader marmac2465 does not agree with Phil Simms' assessment of Joe Flacco

Video of the morning:

This ball boy interfering with a point at the French Open makes me think of Kramer on "Seinfeld"

Send me your funny and/or interesting links, photos, YouTube videos, blogs, Tweets, comments, emails, ideas, etc. If I deem them to be worthy for the blog, I’ll give you a plug. You can reach me at [e-mail] and twitter.com/mattvensel.