FanHouse JamieWalker

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the Indians offense apparently busts out every 10 days, just like clockwork.

Cleveland scored 22 runs at Yankee Stadium on April 18 – and then scored 23 total in the next eight games.

The offense reversed course again Tuesday as the Tribe rallied from deficits of 5-1 and 7-3 to win 9-8 on a run in the bottom of the ninth inning and end Boston's 11-game winning streak.

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Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.

Meet the new Rays. Tampa Bay's ascent to the top of the American League has robbed the Eastern division of its perennial doormat, but there's someone new on the block to push around -- the Orioles. It's now been 11 seasons since Baltimore qualified for the playoffs or even had a winning record, and that dubious run will likely be extended in 2009.

But it's not all doom and gloom in the Charm City. In fact, in a little more than a year Andy MacPhail -- seemingly free from the tinkering and meddling of owner Peter Angelos -- finally has the Orioles pointed in the right direction. In any other division, you know one that doesn't have four teams with 80-plus wins already in it, the O's might have even been within shouting distance of the .500 mark this year.

There is little hope of contending in the immediate future in Baltimore, but the organization's recent mistakes have almost all been caused by thinking that there was a quick fix somewhere out there. The Orioles have a rapidly improving farm system and they're not that far from being a real factor, but in order to get there, they're going to need to stay on the track MacPhail has started them down.

Athletes and guns aren't always a good mix (just ask Tank Johnson), but that hasn't deterred some athletes from not only owning but also carrying a firearm everywhere they go. It's old news that Luke Scott has a concealed weapons permit (he was the subject of an ESPN's Outside the Lines segment a couple of years ago), but he's had to face a lot of new questions about it from curious members of the media and new teammates since switching teams over the winter. From Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun:

Scott told of one situation several years back when he was at a Houston gas station and was confronted by a man carrying a shank.

"I didn't pull my gun on him," Scott said. "I would have if he had gotten close enough, and I would have shot him if he wouldn't have backed off. But all I had to do was lift up my shirt and put my hand on [the gun] and I said, 'Can I help you?' He stopped in his tracks. Who knows what that saved me?"

It's too bad he didn't tell the rest of the story -- when he recounted the incident for OTL in 2006, it ended with Scott giving the "man carrying a shank" beer money. As it turns out, Scott isn't the only Oriole known to carry a piece: Jamie Walker also admitted to frequently carrying a handgun, saying, "I think it helps society in the long run. ... Policemen can't be everywhere." Yes, the more people with guns stuck in their belt, the better off we'll all be. That logic is absolutely foolproof. Hooray second amendment!

(via CSTB)

Let me see if I have this right: we stink, we don't spend money, we make terrible player personnel decisions, and we're stuck in a division with two perennial World Series contenders. Oh yeah, and we've lost eight in a row, darn. What should we do about this? I know, let's fire the manager!

Maybe the situation in Baltimore didn't strike you as such, but that's how it came across to me. How can you fire Sam Perlozzo and blame him for the team's failures? Baseball is a game of ups-and-downs. The same club that went 2-13 in June also had separate four-game and six-game winning streaks in May.

Even with the hideous recent play by the O's, Baltimore was still only 29-40 at the time of Perlozzo's firing, not 26-43 like Texas or something. I'm not saying that losing is acceptable, but what did Baltimore's management group really have in mind for this year's team? A playoff berth? A division title? A World Series run? Honestly, look yourself in the mirror for a second before you run your manager out of town.

Well, it appears that the only black organs inside of Jim Leyland are his lungs, not his heart. For his heart is red, and it's bleeding.

After finding out that former Tigers reliever Jamie Walker named his newborn son Jim Leyland, and it wasn't after his old manager, The Black Lung wasn't shy about hiding his feelings.

"I'm broken-hearted," Leyland said. "I thought it was after me. I was touched, but now it's just ancestry."

Poor Jim Leyland. He's going to need three packs of Marlboro Reds and a box of wine to get over this one.

If Jimmy really wants to, I'm sure he can convince one of his players to name a newborn after him. Just threaten to take away some playing time. Maybe promise a youngster a permanent spot on the ballclub.

What's the best way for Andrew Miller to stay in Detroit this season? That's right. Go knock up some chick he meets at the bar tonight in Cleveland and promise Skip he'll name the kid after him. He'll immediately be vaulted to the top of the Tigers rotation. All he'll have to do is have sex with some random woman. Since when is that out of the ordinary for a Major League baseball player?

Of course, it is a woman from Cleveland, but sometimes you just got to take one for the team. Or in this case, the manager.

Previously at The Fanhouse:
O's Pitcher Names Son Jim Leyland, Not What You Think
Mike DeJean Named His Son After Todd Helton

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Well, if Orioles reliever Jamie Walker doesn't want to admit that he named his son after Tigers manager Jim Leyland, then at least veteran reliever Mike DeJean (pictured) will fess up that he named his newborn son after his teammate, Todd Helton.

DeJean's wife, Holly, gave birth to their third child Tuesday, they named their new son Ryder Helton Charles DeJean. Ryder weighed in at 9 pounds, 4 ounces.

Ah well, come on now -- there's two middle names! There's no honor in that. How cheap. That's a backhanded compliment if I've ever seen one. Too good to give the kid one middle name and just leave it at Helton? If I were Todd, I'd ask my name to be dropped out of disrespect. Just kidding. Helton called it an honor, and it certainly was. That's sweet. On a related note, I'm considering naming my first son "Tulowitzki." I think it has a nice ring, no?

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

Previously at FanHouse:
O's Pitcher Names Son Jim Leyland, Not What You Think

From the "wow, what a coincidence" file comes this little story about the birth of Orioles pitcher Jamie Walker's son.

The child, born on Monday, was named Jim Leyland. But not that Jim Leyland.

The lad is actually named after Jamie's dad, James Walker, and his wife Natalie's grandfather, Leyland Estes.

"They both fought in World War II and the baby was born on Memorial Day," Walker said. "We both liked the name, so we thought what the heck."

He knows everyone will assume he named his son after his former manager.

"I'll catch a lot of flack for that. But that's fine," he said. "Jim Leyland's a good man. My wife loves Jim Leyland, loves the guy to death. He's a great manager and a great guy. If people want to think we named the baby after him, let them."

So yeah, there's your clarification. The boy was named after two war veterans and not a cigarette-smoking-take-no-prisoners manager. Even though said pitcher once pitched under said manager. Um yeah, let's just leave this one alone for now, shall we?

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Justin Morneau.

Joe Mauer.

Travis Hafner.

Jim Thome.

These are four left handed hitters that reside in the American League Central division. Soon we may have to add the Royals Alex Gordon to this list. That's why in the AL Central it's important to have that late inning left-handed specialist in your bullpen in case you need someone to get those guys out.

The Tigers had that guy last season, Jamie Walker. Walker was murder on those four hitters last season when it counted, but he signed a three-year deal with the Orioles during the offseason. The Tigers felt that a three year deal was too much for Walker, and though I agree with them, they may be paying the price for it this season.

The Tigers are about to begin the season without a lefty specialist in their bullpen. Wilfredo Ledezma is the lone southpaw in the pen, but he's a long relief guy and has struggled this spring when used in those one batter situations.

Dave Dombrowski admits that having such a pitcher is an incredible asset, but he's not convinced that it's a detriment to his team to be without one.

"If you think about left-handed situational relievers, first of all, there aren't that many good ones in baseball, period," Dombrowski said. "Ideally, you'd like to have one.

"But I think you need to take the best pitchers you can. On our club, it's not as significant because of how the back end of our bullpen (Joel Zumaya, Fernando Rodney, Todd Jones) already is. Zumaya and Rodney get out left-handers out as well as they do right-handers."

Dombrowski's feelings on Rodney aren't entirely true. Rodney had good numbers against lefties overall, but was lit up by Hafner, Morneau, and Thome during the season.

I wouldn't expect the Tigers to try and address this situation through a trade yet though. The feeling within the organization is that after spending a few months in the minors, they'll be able to call up Andrew Miller to fill the need in their bullpen. That is unless the Tigers bullpen gets lit up during the first few months in such situations. Then I'm sure the Tigers will look outside the organization.