Strike Zone

We all know about the redemptive nature of baseball. If you didn't, you got a major dose of it yesterday. Orioles manager Buck Showalter is a poster boy for baseball's second chances. He's been dismissed from three different managerial jobs. And he found a fourth -- because he is a proven winner -- in Baltimore. And, suddenly, he has his team, this organization that has lost 14 consecutive seasons, competing for the lead in the American League East in June. The Orioles lost Monday at Citi Field, 5-0, to the New York Mets.

Say goodbye to the replacement strike zone and hello to yet another in a seemingly endless string of spring training sessions.This time the pitchers and hitters will be ahead of the umpires."

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Left fielder Nate McLouth is one of the Orioles' hottest hitters at the plate over the past two weeks, but it still hasn't been enough to earn everyday starts against left-handed pitching. Over his past 10 games entering Thursday, the left-handed hitting McLouth had recorded a .432/.523/.676 batting line. He's reached safely in 17 of the 20 games he's started this season. "When you see guys spitting on balls a couple inches off the plate….you can tell he's seeing the ball good and letting it travel," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.

With second baseman Ryan Flaherty struggling at the plate, Orioles manager Buck Showalter has deflected the attention to highlight Flaherty's improved defense. But in Thursday night's 6-2 loss to the Royals, Flaherty placed the spotlight to himself. After a sixth-inning third-strike call that ended the frame with a runner on second in a 4-2 game, the normally cool-headed Flaherty slammed his helmet and bat to the ground in frustration. “He thought it was a strike, I didn't,” Flaherty said.

Rays@Orioles 7 P.M. [MASN2] We're not going to make the Orioles our TV pick of the day every game, but at this point in the season, when hope springs eternal, why not? The O's try to avenge an Opening Day loss to the Rays behind Daniel Cabrera. Will it be the good Cabrera, who can dominate an opponent, or the bad Cabrera, for whom the strike zone is merely a suggestion of where to throw the ball?

It is a battle between technology and tradition in a sport that has seldom been accused of being ahead of its time. Major League Baseball has installed a high-tech video-tracking system in 10 stadiums in an effort to standardize the strike zone and create an objective method of evaluating the performance of umpires. Both parks in New York have the system, along with those in Anaheim, Arizona, Boston, Cleveland, Houston, Milwaukee, Oakland and Tampa Bay. But QuesTec, the brand name of the monitoring equipment, has come under heavy criticism from the umpires union and from a surprising number of players who feel baseball officials are spending too much time trying to manipulate the game.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Fans have been hollering at umpires all summer to expand the strike zone.Home plate umpire John Hirschbeck was getting hollered at all day yesterday, but nobody was telling him to make his strike zone larger in the Athletics' 4-3 victory over the Orioles at Oakland Coliseum.Just the opposite.Heads were shaking, tongues lashing and glares fixing, all in Hirschbeck's direction.Oakland's Scott Brosius struck out to end the seventh inning on a pitch that infuriated him. He let Hirschbeck have it verbally, but didn't draw an ejection.

O's Scott Erickson (*1-0, 0.00) vs. Indians' Jaret Wright (8-3, 4.38)* ALCS statsWhat Wright throws: Young power pitcher who depends heavily on a good, hard fastball that he isn't afraid to throw up in the strike zone. He also throws a slider and a changeup.Wright of late: The rookie right-hander was the hero of the Division Series, coming up big in Game 2 and again in Game 5 as the Indians came from behind to advance to the ALCS.Something to look for: Wright pitched like a veteran in his two pressure-packed Division Series starts, which should diminish concern that he'll fall victim to nerves in Game 4. Still, manager Davey Johnson may try to rattle him by pushing some buttons in the early innings.

The emotions built throughout the night, both from being overwhelmed by Texas Rangers starter C.J. Wilson and incensed by the strike zone that he was afforded by plate umpire Jeff Nelson. Finally, the Orioles' most mild-mannered player vented. Nick Markakis was ejected in the sixth inning for the first time in 747 career big league games, and his manager, Buck Showalter, was given the hook three innings later in the Orioles' 2-0 loss to the Rangers before an announced 18,751 on Friday night at Camden Yards.

Nick Foster of Baltimore sprinted with bat in hand to home plate at Camden Yards, took some practice swings and dug in. He then lined two pitches onto the outfield grass.Not bad for an 11-year-old who had stepped onto the grass at Camden Yards only once before -- during a tour. But that's why Foster is one of five area kids advancing to The Ballpark in Arlington for Major League Baseball's Pitch, Hit & Run national finals.He refuses to let the pressure get to him."I wasn't really nervous," Foster said.