Baltimore Baseball

Here's a roundup of what other media outlets are saying about the Orioles: ** Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com lists Orioles outfielder Chris Davis as one of baseball's unlikely heroes who could shine in September, especially with Nick Markakis out of the lineup : Despite the Orioles' resiliency this season, the injury to Markakis may be the one thing they can't overcome. Markakis has been the team's most consistent offensive force lately - with a .335 batting average in the second half - before a broken left thumb ended his season Saturday night.

An op-ed by former Oriole Brady Anderson in defense of club owner Peter G. Angelos published Tuesday on baltimoresun.com generated a tremendous response, with about half of the readers glad that someone is finally sticking up for the O's owner and the other half saying Mr. Anderson has it all wrong. Here are some highlights from Mr. Anderson's article: "I find it laughable that someone who has achieved the type of success that enables one to purchase a Major League Baseball team can be casually dismissed by many as a 'meddler.

IN 1954, with Baltimore finally readmitted to the American League, and big-time baseball there for the watching, month after month at brand-new Memorial Stadium, we fans could relax for a bit. The goal, 51 years in the achieving, was realized. Hurrah! hurrah! and fie on anyone who worried that the team would ever be taken away.We were so glad to have the St. Louis franchise (originally, the Milwaukee franchise)! If those listless, money-losing Browns went 54-100 again in 1954 (which they did)

It was a sight to warm any Baltimore baseball fan's heart: In the top of the eighth inning of the All-Star Gameon Tuesday, with the eyes of the sports world fixed on Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, fully one-third of the players on the field were sporting Oriole uniforms. Unfortunately, center fielder Adam Jones, catcher Matt Wieters and reliever Jim Johnson were not able to do much to boost the prospects of the American League team, which fell to the National League by a lopsided 8-0 in the Midsummer Classic.

Orioles Magic was strictly an illusion. Pennant Fever had yet to be diagnosed, at least in this city. Spitting tobacco juice was the norm. And wild cards were something that only made it tough to figure what you had in your poker hand.Such was life for the Orioles of the 1950s, when Baltimore was strictly a second division baseball team.This weekend at Essex Community College, 25 players from that era, who earned their orange-and-black stripes before Cal Ripken Jr. was even born, are gathering to swap stories, renew acquaintances, sell their autographs for $7 a pop (this is the '90s, after all)

That old pizazz, the spark that makes the start of the baseball season an occasion for celebration, wasn't there. The home opening just didn't have it. Neither did Mike Mussina and the rest of the Baltimore Orioles.They took a mighty pratfall before what was announced as a sellout crowd but at least 1,000 or so seats were devoid of bodies, a condition brought on by the labor war between owners and players that created sound and fury but went nowhere -- except to damage public interest.Cheerleaders, new uniforms, a slogan patronizing the Baltimore fans by telling them how great they are -- a classic case of singing to the choir -- and giving away bags of peanuts didn't help create any of the fervor usually associated with the spectators and the team for the grand opening.

May not renew ticket planUntil Jon Miller's exit, I defended Peter Angelos' moves. But allowing Miller to go is a Baltimore tragedy that ranks with the exit of the Colts. Miller is beloved by thousands of Baltimore baseball fans who sit at Camden Yards listening to him paint a picture of the game before them. As a longtime season-ticket holder, I am going to think long and hard about returning my renewal notice with the voice of the Orioles gone.Len ArztBethesdaWill playing talent exit, too?

The Orioles and the Black CommunityI am writing to address one aspect of the Orioles' community relations overlooked in Jerry Bembry and Mark Hyman's Sept. 6 article.This spring, the Orioles, in partnership with the commissioner's office of Major League Baseball, the Abell Foundation, the Junior League, the Department of Education, the Department of Recreation and Parks and the Parks & People Foundation established The Baltimore Baseball League.With 480 participants in its inaugural year, the Baltimore Baseball League is an ambitious project with the principal goals of motivating elementary school students to improve their scholastic achievement and generating interest in major league baseball among inner-city residents.

At least we have a teamHow soon they forget. After 12 long, agonizing seasons without an NFL team of our own, 1996 became the year of the Raven, the year of the NFL's splendid return to Baltimore. The honeymoon sure didn't last long. As proud season-ticket holders, we find it interesting and perplexing to listen to those many individuals who inhabit Memorial Stadium who have so quickly forgotten how dismal the last 12 empty seasons were for all of us.Yeah, the Ravens' record does stand at a disappointing 3-9. And losing the way they have been has been discouraging.

Baltimore City Archbishop Curley Friars (24-9) Coach: Al Frank Outlook: The defending Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference champs return P/1B Brooks Norris, but lost plenty to graduation. The Friars broke numerous state batting records last season, including 49 home runs as a team, en route to their fifth private schools title in four decades. Frank, in his 38th year, has a 481-369 career record -- making him the area's winningest active coach. Gibbons Crusaders (18-10)