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09-27-2006, 08:50 AM
Yuck. Is this season over yet?
R-Lo is downright awful. I'd like him to get himself together in the off-season. I don't know how, but I think he's got it in him to be a good pitcher. It just seems to have all left him now.
I watched the end of this game. Seemed like they were rallying, but then......no.....:(
Hey! Kevin Millar's wife just gave birth to their third child! Congrats!
Yankees 5, Orioles 4
Lopez quest gets bashed by Yanks
Bid for 10th win turns into 18th loss on Abreu HR
By Jeff Zrebiec
Sun Reporter
Originally published September 27, 2006
NEW YORK // Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo had been contemplating granting Rodrigo Lopez another start before the season was over to give the pitcher a shot at his 10th win. Call it a reward for Lopez's toughness during the most trying season of his career.
Perlozzo did the next closest thing last night at Yankee Stadium, inserting Lopez into a tie game after a back injury forced starter Hayden Penn off the mound.
With a victory in his sights, Lopez was forced to swallow the embarrassment of a major league-leading 18th loss. Right fielder Bobby Abreu pounded Lopez's fifth-inning fastball off the facing of the upper deck in right field, his two-run homer carrying the New York Yankees to a 5-4 victory before 53,420.
Lopez (9-18) struck out five in three innings, but it was Abreu's homer that left another blemish on one of the worst seasons for an Orioles pitcher in franchise history. He is the club's first pitcher since 1972 to lose 18 games and is now tied for second with Jim Wilson (1955) and Pat Dobson (1972) for most losses in a single season in club history.
"I don't want people to feel sorry for me," said Lopez. "I just want to be a professional and do a good job."
Don Larsen, who was beaten 21 times in 1954, is safe as the Orioles' single-season record holder for losses, but it is not inconceivable that Lopez could lose 20 games. Perlozzo, whose club has five games left, has said that he would try to prevent putting the club's Opening Day starter in that position.
"You certainly don't want to see one of your guys have that happen to him," Perlozzo said.
If it was up to Lopez, however, he'd keep getting the ball.
"That doesn't matter," said Lopez. "It's 18, what's the difference with 19?"
Lopez, who has allowed 124 earned runs, tied with St. Louis' Jason Marquis for the most in the majors, may start Sunday's season finale in Boston. However, the Orioles haven't ruled out Penn, whose strained lower back was feeling much better after the game.
"We'll see what the problem is [with Penn] and then we'll address it then," said Perlozzo.
The Orioles manager was not around to see the Yankees' closer for the night Scott Proctor get out of a jam in the ninth to secure the visitors' third straight loss. Perlozzo was ejected arguing a sixth inning-ending strikeout of Miguel Tejada .
Replays appeared to show that Tejada had checked his swing on Cory Lidle's inside fastball. Yankees catcher Sal Fasano appealed and first base umpire Bob Davidson called out Tejada, who threw up his hands.
Perlozzo burst out of the dugout and was ejected before he reached the on-deck circle. It was his fourth ejection of the year.
"I didn't get very far, did I?" Perlozzo said after the game. "It made it a longer walk. ... When you check a swing like that, if your bat is away from the body I can see it. But I didn't see any attempt for the bat to go through the zone."
Three of the Orioles' six hits off Lidle (4-3) were bases-empty home runs with Ramon Hernandez connecting for his career-high tying 21st in the second. The homer also gave him 83 RBIs from the catcher's spot (87 overall), breaking Chris Hoiles' club record from the 1993 season.
Jay Gibbons and Corey Pattered hit homers in the fourth and seventh, respectively, and Kevin Millar , a day after his third child was born, had four hits, including one in the Orioles' ninth-inning rally.
The Orioles (68-89) got a run on Jeff Fiorentino's single, and had men on first and second with one out, but Brian Roberts flied out and Melvin Mora hit a liner that Johnny Damon ran down in right-center.
Penn, who gave up two earned runs and four hits and three walks in three innings, didn't want to leave the game with no outs in the fourth inning but his condition left him with little choice. He said he hurt his back while throwing a curve to Gary Sheffield in the third inning.
After that at-bat, he said that he couldn't get the ball down, resulting in Robinson Cano's long homer to start the fourth and tie the game at 2. After the homer, Penn walked Hideki Matsui, bringing Perlozzo and trainer Richie Bancells out of the dugout to check on the 21-year-old.
"It wouldn't go away," said Penn, who is 0-3 in five starts with a 13.76 ERA. "I couldn't finish. I just couldn't keep the ball down. I was fighting [the back] the whole time."
Lopez came on and struck out the side in the fourth. But Derek Jeter led off the fifth with a single and Abreu landed the biggest blow with the homer.
"When you look down in the bullpen at that point of the game, he's the best we have," said Perlozzo. "He struck out three guys and the next two hitters was the opposite. I don't know what to tell you. He gets in and out."
Lopez sat quietly, slumped in a chair after the game, tinkering with his cell phone. The frustration was obvious.
"I don't know what else to do," he said. "It's been frustrating the whole month. I guess this will turn around eventually, probably next year."
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun
R-Lo is downright awful. I'd like him to get himself together in the off-season. I don't know how, but I think he's got it in him to be a good pitcher. It just seems to have all left him now.
I watched the end of this game. Seemed like they were rallying, but then......no.....:(
Hey! Kevin Millar's wife just gave birth to their third child! Congrats!
Yankees 5, Orioles 4
Lopez quest gets bashed by Yanks
Bid for 10th win turns into 18th loss on Abreu HR
By Jeff Zrebiec
Sun Reporter
Originally published September 27, 2006
NEW YORK // Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo had been contemplating granting Rodrigo Lopez another start before the season was over to give the pitcher a shot at his 10th win. Call it a reward for Lopez's toughness during the most trying season of his career.
Perlozzo did the next closest thing last night at Yankee Stadium, inserting Lopez into a tie game after a back injury forced starter Hayden Penn off the mound.
With a victory in his sights, Lopez was forced to swallow the embarrassment of a major league-leading 18th loss. Right fielder Bobby Abreu pounded Lopez's fifth-inning fastball off the facing of the upper deck in right field, his two-run homer carrying the New York Yankees to a 5-4 victory before 53,420.
Lopez (9-18) struck out five in three innings, but it was Abreu's homer that left another blemish on one of the worst seasons for an Orioles pitcher in franchise history. He is the club's first pitcher since 1972 to lose 18 games and is now tied for second with Jim Wilson (1955) and Pat Dobson (1972) for most losses in a single season in club history.
"I don't want people to feel sorry for me," said Lopez. "I just want to be a professional and do a good job."
Don Larsen, who was beaten 21 times in 1954, is safe as the Orioles' single-season record holder for losses, but it is not inconceivable that Lopez could lose 20 games. Perlozzo, whose club has five games left, has said that he would try to prevent putting the club's Opening Day starter in that position.
"You certainly don't want to see one of your guys have that happen to him," Perlozzo said.
If it was up to Lopez, however, he'd keep getting the ball.
"That doesn't matter," said Lopez. "It's 18, what's the difference with 19?"
Lopez, who has allowed 124 earned runs, tied with St. Louis' Jason Marquis for the most in the majors, may start Sunday's season finale in Boston. However, the Orioles haven't ruled out Penn, whose strained lower back was feeling much better after the game.
"We'll see what the problem is [with Penn] and then we'll address it then," said Perlozzo.
The Orioles manager was not around to see the Yankees' closer for the night Scott Proctor get out of a jam in the ninth to secure the visitors' third straight loss. Perlozzo was ejected arguing a sixth inning-ending strikeout of Miguel Tejada .
Replays appeared to show that Tejada had checked his swing on Cory Lidle's inside fastball. Yankees catcher Sal Fasano appealed and first base umpire Bob Davidson called out Tejada, who threw up his hands.
Perlozzo burst out of the dugout and was ejected before he reached the on-deck circle. It was his fourth ejection of the year.
"I didn't get very far, did I?" Perlozzo said after the game. "It made it a longer walk. ... When you check a swing like that, if your bat is away from the body I can see it. But I didn't see any attempt for the bat to go through the zone."
Three of the Orioles' six hits off Lidle (4-3) were bases-empty home runs with Ramon Hernandez connecting for his career-high tying 21st in the second. The homer also gave him 83 RBIs from the catcher's spot (87 overall), breaking Chris Hoiles' club record from the 1993 season.
Jay Gibbons and Corey Pattered hit homers in the fourth and seventh, respectively, and Kevin Millar , a day after his third child was born, had four hits, including one in the Orioles' ninth-inning rally.
The Orioles (68-89) got a run on Jeff Fiorentino's single, and had men on first and second with one out, but Brian Roberts flied out and Melvin Mora hit a liner that Johnny Damon ran down in right-center.
Penn, who gave up two earned runs and four hits and three walks in three innings, didn't want to leave the game with no outs in the fourth inning but his condition left him with little choice. He said he hurt his back while throwing a curve to Gary Sheffield in the third inning.
After that at-bat, he said that he couldn't get the ball down, resulting in Robinson Cano's long homer to start the fourth and tie the game at 2. After the homer, Penn walked Hideki Matsui, bringing Perlozzo and trainer Richie Bancells out of the dugout to check on the 21-year-old.
"It wouldn't go away," said Penn, who is 0-3 in five starts with a 13.76 ERA. "I couldn't finish. I just couldn't keep the ball down. I was fighting [the back] the whole time."
Lopez came on and struck out the side in the fourth. But Derek Jeter led off the fifth with a single and Abreu landed the biggest blow with the homer.
"When you look down in the bullpen at that point of the game, he's the best we have," said Perlozzo. "He struck out three guys and the next two hitters was the opposite. I don't know what to tell you. He gets in and out."
Lopez sat quietly, slumped in a chair after the game, tinkering with his cell phone. The frustration was obvious.
"I don't know what else to do," he said. "It's been frustrating the whole month. I guess this will turn around eventually, probably next year."
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun