Errors

After committing two errors Thursday, the Orioles went into Friday's game in Anaheim with 74 errors this season, most in the majors. The Orioles are on pace to total 146 errors this season, which would tie them for the third highest total in club history (1959). Only the 1955 (167) and 1954 teams (147) committed more. Those were the Orioles first two seasons in Baltimore after moving from St. Louis. Around the horn Right fielder Nick Markakis will begin a minor-league rehab assignment Saturday playing for Double-A Bowie.

As officials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs look internally for solutions to a claims backlog that is drawing increasing fire from Capitol Hill, they are also reaching for outside help from some of the nation's best-known veterans groups. Under pressure to speed the review of nearly 600,000 long-outstanding claims for veteran benefits, the VA has announced that it is teaming up with the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans to help ensure that new applications are complete and error-free so they can be processed more quickly.

Eighty-three games into the 2011 season, Orioles third baseman Mark Reynolds has hit 20 home runs and committed 20 errors, the most in baseball. The Orioles didn’t acquire Reynolds for his glove, but if not for his 13 home runs since June 1, his adventures in fielding would be scrutinized much more than they have been. "That part of my game has been frustrating," Reynolds said after committing error No. 20 in Monday’s loss to the Rangers . "I know it's frustrating a lot of fans, and frustrating [Orioles manager]

The Baltimore school board unanimously passed a $1.2 billion budget Monday that essentially remained intact since it was presented. The last budget of outgoing schools CEO Andrés Alonso includes cuts to per-pupil funding and high schools but retains spending power for principals and adds academic programs. The $793 million that would go to schools represents a 36 percent increase since 2008, when Alonso implemented the "Fair Student Funding" structure — which funds schools based on enrollment and gives principals autonomy over their budgets and hiring.

As criticism of Baltimore's speed camera system mounted for a second day Monday, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she would not tolerate a single erroneous ticket issued by the cameras under her administration. "We need to make sure we're administering the program accurately across the board," Rawlings-Blake said. "We're looking for a zero-error program. " State and city lawmakers pushed for more oversight of the camera program Monday after an investigation by The Baltimore Sun found that the $40 citations issued to motorists can be inaccurate and the process unfair.

After reading your recent article on efforts to reduce errors on disability claims by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, I find it sad but also somewhat amusing that Sen. Barbara Mikulski is making such a fuss about bringing better care to veterans in Baltimore ("The battle for Baltimore," Feb. 20). Senator Mikulski has been a career politician for more than 40 years, and she is now one of the most powerful members of Congress because of her seniority. Where was she all the time the VA was experiencing its nightmarish performance problems?

A recent article about two former Department of Public Works meter readers did not accurately reflect the proactive steps taken by DPW to reduce water meter billing errors ("City official: Lazy workers faked water meter readings," May 15). The agency's new quality control processes were instrumental in identifying, addressing and resolving the issue by removing the two employees from government service before the reporters' inquiry. The truth is that when a pattern of errors emerged in December of 2011, the former employees were confronted, and they were quickly removed.

After top-ranked Calvert Hall suffered its first league loss earlier in the week with several uncharacteristic errors, coach Lou Eckerl held a rare team meeting, urging his players to not only refocus but to stop putting so much pressure on themselves as the area's top-ranked team. The message resonated as host Calvert Hall bounced back Thursday with 7-0 victory over No. 6 Loyola. This time, it was the Cardinals who took advantage of several miscues and pitcher Ben Deaver pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings.

If the penalties, misplayed returns and overall lack of focus didn't get the players' attention, Ravens coach Brian Billick certainly did after the game, yelling more loudly than most can ever remember in the locker room. The message, as a few players recounted: It's easy to point fingers at times like these, but be men and take accountability. The translation: The Ravens' season is teetering on the brink of disaster. Whether it was overlooking the downtrodden Buffalo Bills or looking ahead to the bye, the Ravens watched their playoff hopes take a major hit in a 19-14 loss before an announced 70,727 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Mount Hebron made only one error in a 15-inning loss to No. 6 Centennial on Monday. The Vikings did not field quite as well yesterday.Glenelg took advantage of five Mount Hebron errors to score six times on just two hits in the second inning, and the host Gladiators went on to post a 15-3 victory over the No. 13 Vikings in a Howard County game yesterday.Mount Hebron (2-4, 1-2) had lost all three of its games by one run and in extra innings. But the Vikings were never in this one, as they made nine errors -- all of which led to Glenelg (6-1, 3-0)

Throwing a game away - literally - doesn't usually sit well with teams, especially when they are attempting to establish themselves as consistent winners. So when the Orioles dropped a 9-8, 10-inning loss to the Oakland A's Sunday afternoon on consecutive poor throws following sacrifice bunt attempts, it would be understandable if the players were chewing nails in post-game interviews. For the most part, that was not the case - not after the Orioles (15-10) took three of four in their personal pain chamber, the Oakland Coliseum, to kick off a brutal, three-city, 11-game West Coast swing.

Administrative law judges who evaluate disability claims for the Social Security Administration want a federal court to ease a workload that they say makes errors more likely - the latest in a series of challenges confronting the Woodlawn-based agency. In a federal lawsuit filed this month, 1,400 judges said the agency's expectation that they decide as many as 700 claims per year is causing them to rush evaluations and possibly approve claims that should be denied, at a potential cost of millions of taxpayer dollars.

Baltimore's speed cameras are off-line for the second time this year after officials found faults with some of the tickets issued by the city's new camera system vendor. Officials say they will void or refund nearly 600 erroneous tickets. We would be inclined to compliment the city for how seriously it is taking the responsibility to eliminate all errors from the program if there weren't something so odd about this latest twist in the Baltimore speed camera saga. According to a news release issued by the Department of Transportation late Tuesday afternoon, the city decided to shut the cameras down after finding some "clerical mistakes" involving the payment options listed on tickets and the speed limit near one camera on the Alameda.

NEW YORK - Adam Jones called it a routine play. The Orioles center fielder wouldn't blame it on the cold or the wind or the rain. Regardless of the conditions, he said it was a play he's made before countless times. “Just missed it,” Jones said. “Trust me, wish I could do it again, but hey, I missed it.” Jones' drop of a seventh-inning fly ball to deep center was a costly three-run error in the Orioles' 5-2 loss to the New York Yankees before an announced 35,033 Friday night.

After top-ranked Calvert Hall suffered its first league loss earlier in the week with several uncharacteristic errors, coach Lou Eckerl held a rare team meeting, urging his players to not only refocus but to stop putting so much pressure on themselves as the area's top-ranked team. The message resonated as host Calvert Hall bounced back Thursday with 7-0 victory over No. 6 Loyola. This time, it was the Cardinals who took advantage of several miscues and pitcher Ben Deaver pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings.

For the first four games of this season, Orioles first baseman Chris Davis had been on a historic offensive run, one that put him on the precipice of doing something no other big league ballplayer had ever done. But baseball, the cruel mistress, doesn't take kindly to someone making the game look so ridiculously easy. So on Saturday night, baseball struck back at Davis. He not only failed to homer for what would have been a historic fifth consecutive game to start a season, but he made a key error in the ninth inning that led to the Orioles' 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

CHICAGO -- Being vulnerable to interest-rate fluctuations is a risk house buyers accept when they select an adjustable mortgage for its low initial rate. But some borrowers have found they also are vulnerable to an unexpected variable -- errors by lenders when they periodically adjust that rate.Just how many mistakes are generated by the intricacies of the adjustment process -- which may come annually, every six months or at some other interval -- is a matter of debate.Of the 9,000 adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, that Lake Bluff, Ill.-based Consumer Loan Advocates audited in 1991, 47 percent had errors, with about 78 percent of the mistakes being overcharges, company officials said.

When asked about their single worst mistake as doctors, 90 percent of medical residents responding to a national survey said that the error had an adverse impact on their patient's health, and almost one-third said that the error contributed to the patient's death.Moreover, only about half of the residents -- 54 percent -- said they admitted their most serious error to their supervising doctor, and less than a quarter said they confessed the error to the patient or family.The authors of the study at the University of California San Francisco recommended that teaching hospitals create an atmosphere in which doctors can discuss and learn from their mistakes without fear of being ostracized.

The Maryland Senate's vote today to repeal the death penalty was a milestone in an effort to remove from the law a sentence that puts vengeance above justice, fails to deter crime and provides for the families of victims not the closure they crave but instead years of frustration and heartache. With the 27-20 vote - a solid majority that included two Republicans and 25 Democrats - repeal supporters are already looking ahead to the possibility that Maryland could provide momentum for ending capital punishment in other states, and ultimately help convince the Supreme Court that the death penalty is cruel and unusual.

After reading your recent article on efforts to reduce errors on disability claims by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, I find it sad but also somewhat amusing that Sen. Barbara Mikulski is making such a fuss about bringing better care to veterans in Baltimore ("The battle for Baltimore," Feb. 20). Senator Mikulski has been a career politician for more than 40 years, and she is now one of the most powerful members of Congress because of her seniority. Where was she all the time the VA was experiencing its nightmarish performance problems?