the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. specter: mr. president, i ask that further proceedings under the quorthumpresiding offt objection. mr. specter: mr. president, i ask consent that i may speak for up to ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. specter: mr. president, i have sought recognition to

comment briefly about the perspective vacancy in the spk of the united states with the res. -- supreme court of the united states with the resignation of justice stevens. i do so to urge the president to select a nominee without regard to any threats of a filibuster. i urge the president to make a selection of whomever he believes to be the best qualified to handle the responsibilities with the view to academic excellence, professional experience, intellect to carry on the battle where we have seen the supreme court veer very sharply to the right. let's -- let's be candid about the supreme court's being an ideological battleground today. that happens to be the fact.

when some decry judicial activism, what could be more judicial activism than reversing the hundred-year precedent that corporations may not engage in political advertising, as the supreme court did in citizens united in a contortion of procedural ma neufergz to take a -- maneuverings, isolate an issue with the predetermined isolated purpose of changing the law on that very vital subject for the operation of our democracy. we have had chief justice roberts in the confirmation proceedings under oath swear that he would not -- quote --

"jolt the system." well, quite a number of jolts in the system with his key vote. we had a very extensive questioning and commentary about chief justice roberts' deference to congressional fact finding. only congress has hearings, hears witnesses and makes determinations of fact finding. when the voting rights came up, all of that seemed to have been -- seemed to have been forgotten. we have a situation where it is obvious that the supreme court makes the cutting-edge decisions on the law of the land. the supreme court, it turns out, decides who will be president in bush v. gore, a decision strictly along political

partisan lines. the supreme court of the united states decides what will be the law with respect to campaign finance reform, as we seek to make a determination as to how we can limit expenditures in political campaigns, the very core of the democratic process. in buckley v. la la valeo in 19, the supreme court said that the first amendment was equivalent to freedom of speech. seemed to me at the time that that was a far-fetched -- a far-fetched decision, and now with citizens united, we find that corporations are somehow persons, somehow entitled to first amendment rights and can advertise in political

campaigns. the supreme court decides who will live and who will die, decides what is the extent of the death penalty. the supreme court decides the extent of a woman's right to choose, casey v. planned parenthood. the supreme court decides about the power of the state to take private property in eminent domain, and so the cases go on and on and on. i have sought for more than a decade now to have the supreme court televised, and twice during my tenure as chairman of the judiciary committee, the committee reported out favorably legislation to require the supreme court to be televised unless there was some extraordinary circumstance invoked by the court. more recently in this congress,

i have modified that effort with legislation which recommends that the supreme court televise its proceedings. when bush v. gore came up, then-senator biden and i wrote to chief justice rehnquist urging that the court allow that monumental case to be televised so the public could see it, considering the very limited number of people who could gain access. when i went over to the court that day, being one of the few who could gain access to the court, the block was surrounded with television cameras, so much public interest, but the cameras couldn't go inside. that day, the supreme court, with the chief justice's order, did change practice and allowed a transcript, an audio transcript to release -- be released immediately thereafter.

i believe congress has the authority, should it choose to do so, to direct the supreme court to permit its proceedings to be televised. the supreme court in a series of cases says that the public has a right to know what is going on inside the courtroom, and that was the case which involved newspapers. well, in an electronic era when the public gets so much of its information via television or via radio, there ought to be that access. but the congress has the authority to determine when the court starts to function each year, the first monday in october. congress sets a quorum for the court, six. congress can set the number of justices on the court, as evidenced by effort by franklin -- president franklin roosevelt in the mid- to late 1930's to increase the number of

of the supreme court to some 15. obviously we cannot tell the supreme court what to decide, how to decide but we can tell them about administrative matters. and the congress has the authority to tell the court which cases to take, so the broad range of matters where the congress can act. i modified the effort that i had to have the supreme court televised instead of requiring it to recommending it, because in the final analysis, the court can make a determination on separation of powers if congress questionimposes a requirement, n be overruled by the court. but if the public had access to what was going on in the supreme court, it seems to me there would be a clamor to have more openness, more transparency and a greater public appreciation of the fact that the supreme court

is a battleground. when considerations are made about, as the sunday talk shows have filled the airwaves just yesterday, a number of senators from the other side of the aisle left the filibuster on the tab table, would not rule it out. the question of what is judge-made law. well, that's very much in the eye of the beholder as to what is judge-made law. but i would urge the president not to pay any heed to that. when we sought to engage in the subtleties of a nominee who will be among the five instead of the four, i suggest that really is -- is a stretch beyond really making any determination. that is, i believe, well, it was candidly said trying to persuade

justice kennedy to be among fi five, as it is speculated with some pretty solid foundation it that justice stevens succeeded in persuading justice kennedy to side on the issue of habeas corpus. we had rasoul v. bush where justice stevens, in a very learned opinion, tracing the authority of detention from the magna charta down through habeas corpus, made a determination that habeas corpus was a constitutional right. the case then came to the court of appeals for the district of columbia, and in a con terted cd opinion -- at least contorted in my judgment -- the circuit court for the district of columbia said it was on statutory grounds and not constitutional grounds. but really, rasoul v. bush, starting with the magna carter and tracing the resolution

evolution, it certainly, as a fair reading would say, was on fair grounds. and then boudimine v. bush came up. and in the circuit, only three justices voted to hear the case and justice stevens was not among them. and had justice stevens voted to hear the case, there would have been four justices to take up the case and it would have been docketed and it would have been heard, but justice stevens voted not to hear the indicates. and it was speculated at that time widely that justice stevens felt with the court took the case, habeas corpus would be rejected. we had the long fight on the floor of this -- of this body and i made a motion, an amendment offering habeas corpus which was defeated 51-48 on the military commissions case. and i predicted at that time that the supreme court would

eventually overrule the congressional determination and reinstate habeas corpus as a constitutional right. and then there came to light information in the military commissions about some very questionable practices and this was a subsequent petition for reconsideration for a grant of cert. and on a petition for reconsideration on a grant of cert, it takes five votes. four votes are insufficient. you have to have five votes to have cert granted. and cert was granted, and justice stevens and justice kennedy joined the other three justices in the petition for reconsideration to grant cert. and in boudamine v. bush, the supreme court said that habeas corpus, in fact -- in fact, was awry. well, those are speculative and those are subtleties but my own thinking on the subject is that the president ought to appoint

somebody who can really be in a sense a warrior in this ideological battle which is going on across the green on the supreme court. that is what -- that is what is happening. and if a new nominee is only a fourth, well, there may be an opportunity for a fifth. president obama is not halfway through his second year. who knows what the future will hold on the electoral process or who knows what the future may hold with respect to supreme court vacancies, but there may well be an opportunity for subsequent appointments to the supreme court. and it is my hope that there will be a nominee whom the president feels comfortable with ideologically. interestingly, when president obama was senator obama, as the

record shows, he voted against chief justice roberts for confirmation. in his statement, pretty much acknowledged chief justice roberts, then judge roberts, competency and qualifications but disagreed with him on philosophical and ideological grounds. but what goes on inside that -- that conference room is known only to the justices. it is very small, very simple, situated right behind where the chief justice sits in court. if you walk right back of that. i think relatively few people have had an opportunity to see that conference room. it is written about as a place where only the justices go. that if there's a knock on the door, as frequently reported, it's the junior justice who -- who answers -- who answers the door. but what goes on inside that --

that conference room decides the cutting-edge questions of the day. and it is my hope that the replacement will be someone with solid academic credentials, solid professional credentials, the intellect and really the capacity to carry on that battle which is an ideological battleground within that supreme court conference room. i urge further that the president look beyond circuit judges. today with the nine justices, including justice stevens, all come from the courts of appeals for the circuits. well, there's great talent beyond the circuits. when brown v. board of education was decided, i believe nunn was a -- had been a circuit judge. why not look for an ex-governor

like earl warren? why not look for an ex-attorney general like robert jackson? why not look for an ex-senator or a current senator, like hugo black was a senator when he was selected to the court? or perhaps even an ex-president, william howard taft had been president of the united states and later served as chief justice of the supreme court of the united statesso i believe we concerned about it. as divisive as the senate has become and as partisan and as gridlocked as the senator -- senate has become, i believe that there are 60 votes in this chamber to reject the concept of a filibuster and that the president ought to have a free hand in selecting his choice in accordance with the considerations which i have outlined. i thank the chair and in the

absence of any senator seeking recognition suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. reed: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reed: mr. president, we're here to move forward on extending unemployment benefits which is long overdue. they expired april 5. we have thousands -- indeed, hundreds of thousands of ash fellow citizens across the nation that need this drve thousands of our fellow citizens across the nation that in this distance. not oalt are we seeing unemployment rates ranging around 12%, but last week we endured the worst flooding in the history of our state. it has swept through a large portion of our state. senator whitehouse and i have been going town to town to town, neighborhood to neighborhood to neighborhood. peoples' homes have been engulfed in water. up through the fourth floor.

they've lost their appliances. they've lost their precious mementos. everything. and we've also had commercial operations that have been flooded. our largest mall in the state, warwick mall, has been complete inundated. closed for almost two weeks. literally hundreds of hundreds of employees have not been able to work. they're now eligible through no fault of their own for unemployment compensation. so we have to do this. this is an example from one state, but it's throughout this whole country. what is also adding sort of further necessity to the legislation before us is that what we have found is that our federal, state, and local officials have been extraordinarily prompt in responding to the disaster. i have to thank the president. very quickly he issued a presidential disaster declaration for rhode island, parts of massachusetts i believe also, and other areas of new

england. fema has been on the ground. they are doing a very good job. but for someone who has lost their home and all their possessions, someone who also might have lost their business simultaneously, every moment is precious. and despite the extraordinary efforts of the men and women of fema, the small business administration, e.p.a., corps of engineers, state officials, local officials, we have to do much, much more for these people. but one of the ironies is that the benefits of the small business administration are essentially providing loans to households and to businesses. however, they limited unless these businesses can get flood insurance. private flood insurance is out of sight financially. public flood insurance has been

without authorization. in this legislation, we will have a temporary extension of the flood insurance program. let me translate that into practical terms. s.b.a. in requirement could go to a business and say -- s.b.a. in rhode island could go to a business and say, you have got flood insurance. we're limited you-to-give you $14,000. now, when you offer that to someone who's desperate, who's seeing hundreds of employees without work, who's trying their best -- in fact, even, you know, the idea of taking another loan is a very great leap forward -- to say, you need $100,000 or $500,000. we can give it to you, but ... it is the classic catch-22. and in this legislation, we can extend this program, even for several weeks, but allow individuals in these affected

areas to qualify for what they need. in terms of home loans, so that the limit is not that high, but it could be up around $40,000. i've been in homes where the damage is excessive. i was yesterday in cranston, rhode island, at a home and walked in. father, two grown sons ripping up the tiles. a whole first floor has to be gutted and replaced. and they may just try to do it on their oafnlt they may try to seek bank lending. but it would be nice if they could get the full support of the federal government, as we've intended when we've passed the s.b.a. laws and disaster relief laws. in terms of economic injury, if there is a business in a has lost all its inventory, that has to close, that has just lost business because of the flood, even if there is he no water on the property, they, too, can qualify for loafnlts i believe the total is up to $2 million.

without flood insurance the cap is $5,000. so going into someone who a loto lost all of this and saying to them, let me explaining this. you can get this but you can't get this. if congress acts, you can get this. we have to do much more for our citizens. if these programs are available, we have to make them truly available. and one of the consequences frankly of this political jousting back and forth is that we sort of lose sight of the effect on our constituents. the effect on real people with real problems. and as a result, they're looking here and saying, what's going on? you've authorized the program. you have money to loan, up to $2 million. but you can't because you can't authorize another pravment we might understand this procedurally. we might understand the delays we see here but the american public doesn't understand. they have a problem, they expect

their government to respond, particularly when the programs are authorized and there. we've done it in the past. i would hazard a guess that every member in this chamber has used or the constituent constit, federal flood relief program. i've supported every one of the programs. because when americans are facing a natural disaster, they need all of us to rally behind them and support them. now is the time for rhode island, for massachusetts -- we need that support. for people to oppose it, oh, we object to this or that, that's not what we're called upon to do. we have people who are desperate because of a natural disaster. we need unemployment compensation for those and for the thousands that are still looking, without success, for jobs. and we also need to assure the people that their welfare is our

goal, and that's what we dovment and we can sort out the nuances of conflicting programs and conditions, et cetera, so that they get the help. so, mr. president, i would hope that we could move through this motion to proceed, get on to a serious debate. i believe we have to extend unemployment compensation through the end the year. this perils of pauline every 30 days leaves people wondering what's going to happen to them. a woman stopped me yesterday and said, when are you going to extend unemployment insurance? we're wer running out of resour. and this is the awoman who's worked all of her life. in fact she told me that she had been laid off once before because she didn't have the training and then she went and got through some federal program education, moved into administration, and was just let go by her company.

because of the downsizing. and she's played by the rules. she's done everything we've asked of her as a citizen. she's just waiting there, and we have to do more. so i would hope that the logic of our constituents might overwhelm the logic of this chamber at moments. and, mr. president, with that, i'd yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk report the hogs mo invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar number 323, h.r. 4851, an act to provide a temporary extension of certain programs and for other purposes, signed by 18 senators. the presiding officer: by unimous consent, the mandatory quorum call is waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the motion to proceed to h.r. 4851, the continuing extension act of

2010, shall be brought it a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: anyone wishing to vote or change their vote? if not, the yeas are 60, the nays are 34. three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn, the motion it agreed to.

the presiding officer: senator from montana. mr. baucus: mr. president, i move to -- move to the table. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

top-seeded capitals. sidney crosby and the penguins get the senators in round one. here are the playoff matchups in the west. chicago blackhawks lost on sunday. that gives home ice advantage to the sharks throughout the western conference playoffs. but all isn't lost for the blacks hawks. they get the predators in the first round. chicago won four of their six meetings. the red wings have the five seed. they'll take on the coyotes.

>> the defending champion lakers are once again the favorites to repeat out west. kobe bryant has had a ridiculously spectacular season of game-winning shots and has overcome finger and ankle injuries in the middle of the season. defensive specialist ron artest on board, l.a. gearing up for another title run. check out the nba playoff push on espn and abc, home of the nba finals. >> lakers trying to do something no team in the league has done since the lakers of almost a decade ago, repeat as nba champions. stuart scott, mike wilbon, jon berry. who poses the biggest threat to the lakers in the western conference? >> i think it's the dallas mavericks. i think they're playing the best basketball of any team in the west. since the all-star game they got it going pretty well. dirk nowitzki is playing fantastic. to me, mike, i think the dallas mavericks are the team to beat in the west. >> i think they're leading the group, byron, leading the whole conference. what worries me about what the lakers have to do is go through

so many teams. suppose they get a first-round opponent san antonio, who could be a 1-8 matchup. then they have to beat the utah-phoenix winner, and then they get the dallas mavericks. that just seems to me like a lot to take on three really good team, and i didn't even mention teams like denver or others who could be substituted in those spots. it's going to be a lot. >> do you think this will be first team that had to go to some serious battles to get to fan final? boston two years ago went seven, seven, six games with detroit to get to the final, so i'm not worried about it, and i don't think they will get pushed. teams two through eight are all the same. they're all good teams. the western conference is strong, but no one can match up with the lakers and beat them four times. >> the lakers stumbling a little bit. for a lot of teams 60% is good. but since the all-star break, the lakers have only won 60% of their games last. year cavaliers and magic, eastern conference final, if they both get back to the conference finals again, will it be a different result than last year when the magic won?

>> yes. >> yes. >> antawn jamison, shaquille o'neal, give that team an entirely different look from a year ago, stewart. they're so much bigger now with jamison being a legit number two. other players in the comfort areas, like mo william, won't have to carry the secondary scoring mode. jamison will do that. the cavaliers are really deep. >> i think definitely getting jamison in the trade is big for cleveland. obviously they got shaq to deal with the big fell remark dwight howard. i think the cleveland cavaliers are definitely primed and they're a much better basketball team than the orlando magic. i think they'll win hit the year. >> doesn't lebron james play for cleveland, too? >> we makes everything else go. >> but he played for cleveland last year and they didn't beat the magic. >> but these guys are absolutely right, jamison coming in, shaq coming in, now you got varejao, ilgauskas and j.j. hickson along with the big fella to bang on howardment i like this team. i think it's their time. lebron james has been off the charts this year.

it's cleveland's time to win. >> here's something cavalier fans don't want to hear. the last time the same two teams faced each other in consecutive years in the conference finals back in 1989 and 1990, the pistons won both times over the bulls. but you got to remember this, the very next year the bulls beat the pistons in the conference finals on their way to their first of six nba championships. >> as we've been telling you, santonio holmes has been traded to the jets. the steelers traded him for a fifth-round pick. holmes will miss the first four games this season after nfl suspended him for violating the league's substance abuse policy. holmes reacts to the trade to new york. >> i'm willing to accept what happened. we put that in the past. they accept it. there's nothing else for us to talk about but how am i going to cope with being here in new jersey. am i willing to work hard and learn this system and move forward? to go back down the same road and make the same mistakes, it won't be accepted around here. it's definitely not a bad thing to be traded at the young age.

it will give you a fresh start to sit back and understand all the mistakes that you've made. you're willing to accept them and move forward. >> well, santonio holmes not the only change for the jets. running back thomas jones is out. ladanian tomlinson is in. a full-fledged makeover in the secondary to accompany darrelle revis. and new place kicker will replace jay feely. >> when you look at the actions of the new york jets, you're seeing an owner in woody johnson, a general manager in mike tannenbaum and a coach in rex ryan that are focused on getting to a super bowl and winning a super bowl. how else can you explain adding the santonio holmes, even though you know he'll miss first four games of the season? you add an antonio cromartie, who had off-field problems but brings you another shutdown corner. you add ladanian tomlinson who

brings character with young shonn greene marriage sanchez is happy about his weapon, adding braylon edwards a year ago. and they're still working to add a pass rusher like jason taylor. this is a team that's aiming clearly for the super bowl. maybe they'll sell a few of those p.s.l. seats in that new stadium, too. >> back in 2004, the steelers had the 11th pick and drafted a franchise-changing player in ben roethlisberger. while there's been some drama surrounding big ben recently, they have won two super bowls with him under center. just over a week, fans in pittsburgh are hoping roger goodell will announce with the 18th pick the steelers have drafted a game changer. pittsburgh 11 draft picks in the upcoming draft, which is now just ten days away. it will be picking up at radio city music hall in new york city. pittsburgh, they have their own picks in each of the first seven rounds to go along with three compensatory picks and one acquired via trade. espn draft expert todd mcshay takes a closer look at the loss,

though, of santonio holmes. >> the pittsburgh steelers obviously lose a great wide receiver in santonio holmes. i think he was one of the most g underrated wide receivers in terms of showing up in the clutch, making big plays and being able to stretch the field vertically. now, when you look at the drafties, i'm not sure this does change a whole lot of things. i think the steelers anticipated the possibility he wouldn't be here this year. certainly a year from now when his contract ran up, and they started to make some moves. arnez battle came in, a special teams player. mike wallace they're developing, nearly 800 yards receiving the past year, and antoine randle ee comes back to the team also. so the depth is there. the question is when do they draft a receiver? i think probably the third round is first time they'll legitimately start looking at it. you can see a taylor price from ohio, a speedster, developmental upside. i think early on in the draft they're very much focused on the interior offensive line and also the cornerback position, interior offensive line could be ponzi from florida or mike

upati, the idaho player, and the second round maybe a chris cook from virginia would be a good fit. >> one week into the season and the tigers are off to a pretty good start. would it continue against the royals? we have all your afternoon baseball action. boss: so word's gettin' out that geico can help people save in even more ways - on motorcycle insurance, rv, camper, boat insurance. nice work, everyone. exec: well, it's easy for him. he's a cute little lizard. gecko: ah, gecko, actually - exec: with all due respect, if i was tiny and green and had a british accent i'd have more folks paying attention to me too... i mean - (faux english accent) "save money! pip pip cheerio!" exec 2: british? i thought you were australian. gecko: well, it's funny you should ask. 'cause actually, i'm from - anncr: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

>> indians and rangers. tied at two.

cruz, no longer tied. fifth home run of the season for him. ties him with albert pujols for the most long balls in the bigs right now. and the rangers getting it done in dramatic fashion. got to like that. texas i should say getting it done in dramatic fashion. cleveland's fausto carmona, eight innings, two earned runs, his longest outing since may of 2008. rich harden, six innings and two earned runs. >> jason campbell is no longer a restricted free agent. the redskins' q.b. has signed his $3.1 million tender. that doesn't mean he'll remain with washington. the redskins have been open to campbell after acquiring donovan mcnabb from the eagles. >> keeping you current here on espnews, west virginia forward devin ebanks is skipping his final two years of eligibility to enter the nba draft. syracuse junior forward wes

johnson also decided he wants to go pro. the junior is jumping ship, as well. and gilbert arenas has been transferred to a montgomery county, maryland, halfway house where he's serving his sentence for bringing guns into the team's locker room. >> still to come here on espnews, ben roethlisberger will not be charged in an alleged sex yule assault case. the steelers quarterback is speaking at the top of the hour. we'll have it for you on we'll have i♪ for you on [ male announcer ] return moisture to your face with gillette's fusion regimen. proven to lubricate during shaving and hydrate after. gillette's fusion regimen. clinically tested to hydrate your skin.

felix pie is back in left field tonight. and miguel tejada looking to find that consistency. it's the o's and rays on masnright now. from or yell park, it's o's extra. the match up for tonight as the orioles match up with the tampa

bay rays. this is a rematch of last wednesday, the second game of the year when garza after a tough inning came on strong and eventually got the win. we'd like to welcome all of you who are watching the nationals plus the phillies on masn. there is no secret what is going on here. it's all about the lack of hitting up and down the lineup. the orioles have scored three runs total over the last 22 innings. three runs in 22 innings. really, there is only two hitters on the rosters that has any kind of a positive trend going right now. so the question is when you are in a team slump, adds the orioles are, and i realize it is only six games, how do you break out it? >> well, jimmy, you have to break it down to its simplest

component. what is my job at the moment. but what do you have to do with men on first and second and nobody out? you have to get those guys to second and third. usually it's hitting the ball the opposite way. if you can see a pattern where the pitcher is throwing you in, step away from home plate, try to get those guys over to 3rd. same thing, you know, you don't want it pop-up at that time. men on second, men on third, nobody out, where is the only place you don't want to hit the ball? right at the 3rd baseman. you saw brian roberts, who is an outstanding hitter, he hits it right down the 3rd base line, we don't get the run. you have to be thinking up there. one pitch at a time. what's the simplest thing i can do to help the ball club if on defense, if you are have pitcher out there, what do i have to do with a one run lead going late in the ballgame. the little bitty things in the game on defense in the outfield, what am i going to do

with the ball to my left and right? make all the simple routine plays as best you can. don't try to do anything tricky. hit the cutoff men. it will all come together. >> well, the anticipated roster move became official today. brian roberts was placed on the disabled list. he has the strained abdominals. manager dave trembley on what is next for brian roberts. >> i talked to richie today and he was waiting to get the word back from the doctor. and he thought that the protocol was going to be whatever they did today, if he was going to get another epidural, you know, for his back or not, i'm not sure. whatever it was going to be, they were going to suggest that he rest for two or three days. and then on friday would be the first day where they would start some kind of, you know,

activity program. and i don't know what that is right now on friday. but i know he is not going on the trip. >> well, the orioles on wednesday will head to the west coast. so he won't be on that trip. we are joined now by joe angel. we are talking about a team slump. maybe not a coincidence, struggling in three games against the blue jays. >> yeah, you know, brian roberts is -- let me ask you a question. what would rick democracy be without jim hunter? he is the point guard. he is the guy who sets the stage. he sets up rick democracy to runs. in particular guys, in these close games. all these one-run games, brian roberts can make a huge difference. he can get on base an extra time. he ask steal second orr third. he can score on a hollow fly ball in a close game. the orioles are not the same

team without brian roberts. that's obvious. they can't wait to get him back. kevin millwood is the ace of this staff and he showed it yesterday. he had a great repertoire of pitches. he knows what he is doing out there. he, too, is struggling a little bit just like most of them to finish off a game. >> yeah. he is, know, a little bit. i talked to kevin before the game today. if you saw that ballgame yesterday, millwood is a veteran and it's a cliche he knows how to pitch, but he really does. he has the ability it get inside a hit are's head. he told me that he has always been a high-ball pitcher. he has always been able to get outs on high deliveries. sometimes a pitch sequence will determine that you go up there. you have to change the sight level. but the guy knows how to pitch. he has been doing it for a long time at the major league level. this is the kind of pitching you will see from kevin millwood throughout the entire

regular season. >> we appreciate the visit. time now for the just for men's spotlight. the keep your edge spotlight brought to you by just for men mustache beard. yesterday wieters collected his fourth multi-game of the year. he is the third oriole since ,000 to have four multi-hit games. just as matt wieters gives the orioles the edge, you can keep your edge with just more men's mustache and beard. first of three against the tampa bay rays. when we come back, we'll get a look at the lineups.

rays. rays. welcome back. o's presented by ford. here is the rays' lineup for tonight as presented by their

skipper joe maddon. jason bartlett, carl crawford and zobrist. zo has a six game hitting longoria. two home runs and 5 rbis. carlos pena, and bat ninth. those numbers, most of that done against the orioles last week. >> he is the one guy in their lineup you have to say to yourself i am not going to let this guy beat me. what i have seen out of longoria so far, there is nobody in baseball who is more powerful quicker. this guy right here, i have never seen a bat as quick as his since eddie murray was in an oriole uniform. he is one guy you have to say to yourself the best thing is keep him in the ballpark. make him hit the ball on the ground. if he gets a base hit, you have done your job. do not let him use his power on

you you, especially with men on base. felix jones, miguel, matt wheaters and luke scott. garrett atkins. he'll bat seventh. say czar as toreis ninth. you know, felix pie i said a couple of times already, he is my surprise player for the american league this year. he has so much talent. and is really coming on strong working with terry crowley on his wing. he possesses power we haven't seen yet. his ability to get on base is going to be better because even when he chops the ball he seems to get out of the batter's box very hit. he is going to get a lot of base hits in the infield alone. as long as that batting average is high, we can use him up in the order and we just now it have to worry about whether he will be accomplished enough to steal a lot of bases. >> we mentioned the orioles over the weekend against the

blue jays struggled with the bats. tonight the orioles get back a key bat that was not available in yesterday's game. let's head back to the masn booth. >> with a 1-5 record, there haven't been a whole lot of offensive highlights for the orioles this year. but garrett atkins has been one of them. he is off to a very good start, batting .350 on the year. he is coming off a tough year in the rockies. now, yesterday he was out of the lineup with a bruised shin. he took a foul ball off of his shin a couple days. you can imagine a position dave trembley was in. he was just five games into the season and already looking at his leadoff hitter for at least 15 days. we now know brian roberts is on the dl list. luckily, garrett atkins has come back from his bruised shin. he is back in the lineup today. he is ready to go. he is looking forward to getting some hits, along with

his teammates. >> i mean, baseball is a numbers games. if we keep getting opportunities like we have, things will start work out for us. the offensive part of the game, we are not worried about it. we will start hitting and guys will be driving in runs. hopefully today is the day to start doing that. >> if you look at the signup, there is a lot of guys that can hit one through nine, but maybe not the power. part of that will fall on you. >> i don't know if my role is to provide power or not. i know my role is to drive in runs. that's what this game is all about, scoring runs and driving in runs. if you are in a position to drive in runs ugot to get it done. we haven't really done that. so things like that are important. and i think that's why i am here, try to drive in runs. as far as home runs go, those will come. if you are hitting balls hard, things like that will happen. >> and the home runs have

happened for garrett atkins in the past. if you look at his average stats from 2006, eighth, he had a .305 batting average, 25 home runners a year. in 2010 he is off to a strong start batting .350. already with 2003 rbis. it's a good start for him. we know what he can do. and i know the orioles are looking forward to see him get back to that 2006, 2007, eight form. >> as amber points out, when you are scuffling to score runs, what a pleasure it is to be able to get a guy back in the lineup after only one game e brings it to tonight's game. >> he seems to have found his swing a little bit. spring training was not good for him. right now he seems to be on the fastball and hitting the ball exactly where it's pitched. if it's out over the plate, he is up the middle the opposite

way. he has gone down the right or left field for a double. i am looking forward to it because he knows what it's like to drive in runs. >> first game of a three-run series. we will break down the pitching matchup as jeremy guthrie lumbers up his start of the year looking to bounce back against the rays on car insurance for over 70 years. and who doesn't want value for their dollar? been true since the day i made my first dollar.

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camden yards. let's go beyond the stadium, orioles and the rays tonight here at oriole park. jerry guthrie is on the mound for the orioles. guthrie, you see his first career seven starts against the rays. a 5.49 e.r.a. however, over his last three starts including last wednesday night, a combined e.r.a. of 2.9. the batting average lower. and also no home runs in his

last three starts against the rays. what did you see last wednesday? what do you expect tonight? >> what i saw was a very consistent mechanical delivery from him. something that was missing all of last year. i hope he doesn't try to chick anything. great movement on the ball, especially the fastball. he has to stay with that pitch and stay down in the zone. he has been hurt by the home run ball trying to overthrow late in games. that breaking ball seems to come up in the strike zone. if he stays focused, jeremy guthrie is going to be the pitcher he was in his first and second year as a starter. >> he is matched up against matt garza who last wednesday allowed two runs in the 1st inning. one was an unearned run. now, against the orioles he is just lights out. 7. 1 in his career against the orioles with an e.r.a.

3.27. a losing record, 21-# 33 with an e.r.a. 4.11. >> garza is a horse. he is the guy that is going to go deep in the ballgame. but the way to beat him is to wait him out. don't make easy outs early in the count and allow him to get off that mound without throwing 15 to 20 pitches an inning. i want to wait. especially if you are ahead in the count. don't be swinging at the fastball that's two or three inches off the outside corner or just a little bit up. make him throw a lot of pitches. you are going to beat him. >> can't there be something here logically about a reverse trend? >> you know, we are not talking about cy young out there. we're talking about a guy who just focuses on getting people to hit the ball where he wants. and he has a good defense behind him. bartlett out there now, he has changed the whole face of their defense. they get some top hit the groundball and get the double

plays ta they need. in a situation where the hitter has you in a good hitting count is let him hit the ball on the ground. trust your defense. don't trieste strike him out. don't try to get tricky. just try to do the simple thing. make them hit and let your defense do the work for you. >> there is somebody in the ballpark even more famous than you. that would be olympic champion michael phelps is hanging out at the game tonight. so michael phelps is in the crowd tonight about to enjoy orioles baseballs a he continues to train for the olympics coming up in london. let's get a look at our web poll question of the night. which orioles starting pitcher has impressed you most so far this season? millwood, guthrie, matusz,berg, or hernandez? >> i would say millwood. i love his pitches.

i love the break on his breaking ball. i know he likes to pitch up in the zone. later on in ball games, in this ballpark they go for home runs. i think it's matusz because in his first start he absolutely nothing and he gave the orioles five decent innings and allowed only two runs. >> that's a good call because he is the only one to win this game so far. we are going to have a lot of fun watching him this year. >> tonight at oriole park it's the ray. when we come back, rick will chat with turner.

it was a lovely day in baltimore and it's a lovely evening. 66 degrees still. slight winds out of the north northeast seven miles per hour. still a very low humidity at 35%. it is a beautiful night for

baseball here at oriole park. justin turner is back in the big leagues. he was called up today. he will take the place on the roster. brian roberts was put on the 15- day disabled list. brian's deal started on saturday. so today is the third day of roberts on the disabled list. we want to get the low down on the new players. we sent our expert rick democracy to find out. >> but i had a chance to talk to justin today because a big surprise, he is going to be playing 2nd base for the orioles. and i todd to him about that just a while ago. >> i was very excited i got the news. gary called me in the office and let me know what was going on. you know, a million things started racing through my head, same way they did last year when they told me i was coming

up in sent. i am excited to get here and hopefully help the club win some games. >> this is your second time. did you always feel like you were ready to play at this level? >> yeah, obviously there are still areas to improve. but i feel pretty comfortable here, yeah. >> spring training, you had a very good spring. you hit over .300. you know you can hit at the major league level. what do you really expect? >> are there goals you set for yourself now that you are here? >> i haven't put too much thought into that. hopefullyic put to the some good at-bats and get some good results out of them. >> spring training for players like him is so, so important because that's where you show the manager that you might be a guy they can count on. and he's back. and what just inturner does is he gives dave trembley a little bit more versatility with brian out because he can play 2nd

base, 3rd base. but you like to have that vert till bat. this guy can flat out hit. >> he showed us at the minor league level he can hit a lot. what i really like the first couple of times i saw him is how he plays defense. he is a very, very good 2nd baseman. i love his footwork around the bag and how he makes runners get down. >> he does everything just perfectly out there. so we are not going to have to worry about his defense at all. we are going to be waiting to see how well he can hit at this level. who is your player to watch tonight? i have won one in a role. >> felix pie. he is my good tonight. but i just have a good feeling about pie this year. >> all right. i am going to go with sigh czar izturis. i like this matchup against garza because i think he is going to slap a base hits the

opposite way. here is the otherren reason. i forgot to introduce him today at the welcome home luncheon and i feel horrible about it. he is looking at me going, jim, what are you going? i totally skipped over his name. just one of those moments. he is going to back me up tonight. >> you realize i might get one more at bat than you. my guy is the leader. your guy is in the nine slot. >> he is going to go up there, make slap a couple of base hits to the left field from left side. i watched his batting practice today, and terry crowley kept encouraging him slap those line drives. it's kind of a double, i hope. i just felt bad that i forgot to introduce him. but he is going to have my back. now, a guy the orioles would like to see heat up is nick markakis because then the team -- >> he is not getting any pitches to heat up with. they are pitching around him this year. he leads the american league

and walks with nine already. his time will come. when they stop walking him, he will get his hits. >> it's amizing the year started for him because last year they were asking how come he hasn't getting any walks. this year he has got a walk in every game. >> well, you can see a couple of opportunities that he has had. he has taken some strike trees, and that's very uncharacteristic. once everybody loosens up with a couple of wins we will see a whole different ball club on the field. >> thanks for joining us. gary thorne and mike flanagan are next. there is my guy. he is going to win for me tonight. it's going to be 2-0. and again bonus coverage for the folks to watch the nats on masn as well as masn 2. enjoy the game everybody. we will see you on the post

game.

for the orioles it has been a split send that has changed the dynamic of their games. a team that could have been 5- 1, it is 4-5. trying to get some of those magic moments for themselves. game one, three games set against tampa bay coming in three and three. first pitch next.

it's the orioles on masn as the series begins on a beautiful evening. the orioles meeting the rays for the second time. they took two out of three in tampa bay to open up the series. welcome, i'm gary thorne. for the orioles not what they wanted. trying to come away with the advantage in these tight ball games has not been their forte as of yet. the orioles last year, starters, was a real problem for them. this year so far early on the hope that their starting staff would be better, well, it is. last year they had a 507 in the e.r.a. right now they are #th in the league. 12th batting average. strikeouts first and innings for start, they are tied for eight. if the orioles starters can continue to put up those kinds of numbers, you have to believe that the orioles' offense is going to deliver some runs. and they stand up for the ball club. there is one pitcher on this team who should have been 2-0

and isn't. he said after the ballgame yesterday he r, millwood was not about himself, but sometimes you make errors. i did not pick the team up. there are not a lot of pitchers around baseball who will say that sort of thing. he could have just talked about how well he pitched and didn't. mike flanagan, that's a nice teammate right there. guys say, you know, he is worried about us winning. >> mike: absolutely. i'll tell you, any good starting pitcher, and kevin millwood is one, wants to pick up that infield. tejada felt worse for making that error . >> millwood to me did a better job. in my heart i thought he was trying to finish the game. no closer available. and i thought he was really going to finish it out. >> gary: we were talking about the offense, mic. you know they are going to start hitting. >> mike: they have to. the last 19 innings they have played they have only scarred in one inning, and that was

somewhat of a tainted inning. the average is down. the runners in scoring position. frankly, there haven't been that many runners left on base. not that many opportunities. >> gary: so the orioles have to get the offense going. in order to support that pitching they won't have michael gonzalez, he and his wife having their first child today. he has gone back home to phoenix for that. >> mike: i am not sure. trembley, he wasn't so sure who the closer will be. >> gary: that's the way it will be tonight when it comes to the bullpen. orioles take the field. we are ready to go. tampa bay and the o's.

mac. >> gary: orioles baseball on masn is brought to you by southwest airlines. go to southwest.com. grab your bag. it's on. and by mitsubishi. test drive one today at the

deto compare sales event. there is a song that goes right to the bottom of my toes. holy, cow. i have to get my skin back on here. >> mike: my hair is stand up on the bottom of my feet. >> gary: welcome back. 66. that's the temperature. our game time temperature. visit train search guam.com to locate an independent train dealer near you. it is hard to stop a tr ane. it is a beautiful evening. clear skies and virtually no breeze here tonight. the starting lineup brought to you by southwest. for the tampa bay rays they will have at the top of the

order a real nemesis for the orioles in jason bartlett. longoria, brignac and navarro. longoria this year already off with a 7.21. let's take a look at the scouting report. >> mike: make the most of the rematch for jeremy guthrie. he pitched pretty well in tampa bay. but was matched up against garza. could use some support in this 3. 6 lifetime against the rays. he could use some run support tonight and attack the rays and sternly that means to get ahead. very potent offense club. put them away early. >> gary: so jeremy guthrie will be looking for the victory here tonight against the ball club in which he is 3-6 against. the orioles will try to

continue those numbers we showed you for the starters that have been so far very good. and defensively. >> gary: macr markakis m right. and matt eater is behind the plate. dave trembley, just get one up there. get this thing turned around and get the feeling going the other way. that's the goal here. jason bartlett leading it off against jeremy guthrie. great to have you with us. first strike. guthrie kicks it up, put one down against bartlett in the leadoff spot. he has a 16 hit streak here. he has pounded the orioles. he started to do that this season. so when you have somebody like that, you really want to get them out of there the first

time around and at least get him to start thinking that make he is not going to get a hit at every at bat. >> mike: that would be good. >> gary: just amazing the numbers he has put up against the orioles. here is the 1-0 delivery on the way. 1-2 and he's gone. so guthrie, that's what he wanted to do. bartlett is retired. one down. >> mike: pretty good signs from guthrie right out of the shoot. keeping everything down. pretty good breaking ball. at the bottom edge of the strike zone, which is where jeremy wants to throw the majority of his pitches. >> gary: here is carl crawford. he lofts one to the gap, and that's going to be a base hit. markakis was playing that way and will hold the speed ster on. so crawford gets the single off guthrie. now guthrie is going to have to worry about the hitter and carl crawford at 1st base.

crawford is two out of three stealing bases and you have ben zobrist at the plate. tampa bay has stolen 8-11 in the season. the orioles have done a good job in shutting down the running game. three stolen bases in four chances against the orioles. he had a good lead over there as crawford jumps back to the bag. >> mike: the rays were 7. 7 against the yankees over the weekend. >> gary: eater is 4. 5 in throwing out base stealers. and the pitch is going to be taken for a ball by ben zobrist. zobrist went 4-12 in the first series in tampa bay against the orioles. the o's got their lone win starting their season there. went 1-2 against them. orioles have lost three in a row. tampa bay has lost two in a row. tampa bay after the orioles

played the yankees and lost two in that series. 82% effective lifetime in stealing bases, crawford. very good. it generates all kinds of problems for the pitcher trying to keep an eye on him. he has walked off a fairly decent lead over there, atkins holding the bag. zobrist, switch-hitter. and he will take that pitch. it is in there for a strike. >> mike: a switch-hitter, he is hitting .467 against right- handed pitching and zero against lefties. >> gary: joe maddon loves this guy because zobrist can play anywhere for him. he plays 2nd base, right field, as he is tonight. wieters back hands that. wherever zobrist goes, the bat goes with him. the defensive position never seems to hinder what he does at the plate. 2 ball, 1 strike.

two ball 1 strike count. crawford back. zobrist has got a .373 batting average life sometime against the orioles with two home runs here in baltimore. this is a ballpark that zobrist loves to hit in. he does real dak here. and one ever the many dangerous bats in this lineup. 2-1 delivery to him will be fouled back and guthrie gets a two ball, two strike count on him. >> mike: last year he became the first player selected to the all-star team after starting six different positions. i think joe recognized how important he was e. >> gary: the mvp most versatile player. two ball two strike count. crawford has not made a move to go. that will be fouled back into the screen. zobrist fighting it off and working guthrie with that two

ball two strike count. guthrie with the 3. 6 mark lifetime against this tampa team, he had a tough game against garza in the first outing this year. a loser in that one. garza did a great performance. that ball is a foul ball over the head of atkins at 1st base. and the count stays at 2 balls and 2 strikes. jeremy guthrie wants to show that the start he had in that game against tampa bay, even though it was not a win, is the way he is going to pitch this year. looking for consistency in his performance. 2-2. crawford leaning, not going. and again inside. zobrist fouls that one off into the dugout of the orioles and holds the count at 2-2. here is one of those early quality at- bats in terms of seeing some

pitches, and guthrie has already thrown 11. has one out and a runner on 1st base. >> mike: he has one at bat by a hitter in an inning, you would be amazed how quickly that pitch count could rise. >> gary: long set. pretty close plays over there at 1st base. crawford going back in. standing up each time. >> mike: as pitcher you want to sort of change your rhythm. you see the quick footwork by guthrie. the lead is so tempting. when you are on the mound, and i obviously was a left-handed pitcher, they are right in front of you you can see that lead. if i was a left-handed pitcher on the mound right now, that lead is way too long. >> gary: that's going to be a base hit out of the reach on lugo. and crawford will stop on second. so there is a big time quality at bat by zobrist.

and there are two on and one away and here comes longoria. two home runs, 5 rbis against the orioles in that series in tampa bay and boy did he blast them. >> mike: he can swing it. very impressive in his 24 years of age. 470 feet. after 425, who cares? it's a bomb. he certainly has the talent. he can run. he can do just about everything. >> gary: he is 3-12 lifetime against guthrie. guthrie needs that groundball double play right here. and that will be taken inside. longoria for a ball. two on, only one out, 1st inning. last year the right ease hit .274 of guthrie. left-handers .289. pitch is outside. longoria taking. and the count now goes to 2-0. so he has the hitter's count going. tampa bay only has four home

runs on the season, and longoria has two of them. if you look at the first two seasons of cal and evan, there is the comparison. only 24 years old. here is the 2-0. longoria down to third. here is the chance for two. there's one. relayover to first. and they got it. a big groundball double play off the bat of longoria. no runs, two hits, no air errors and one left on base. orioles coming up. oh, 10 years. fill it out and mail it back today. 2010 census. about all the discounts boswe're offering. i've got. i some catchphrases that'llideas make these savings even more memorable. gecko: all right... gecko: good driver discounts. now that's the stuff...?

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fill it out and mail it back today. 2010 census. >> gary: longoria grounding into a double play for the first time this season. a big one for guthrie to end the inning. let's take a look at the lineup for the orioles. >> mike: the scottie report on matt garza. he is 7-1 lifetime against the orioles. that's home and away. it's also home cooking, even though he is on the road, he is #-0 here at camden yards. and don't be left out. he has had the lowest batting average against left-handed batters in the majors. >> gary: very, very tough matt

garza, who may very well prove to be the ace of this staff this season in than just name. so garza will make the start after having an 8. 12 season last year. one of the reasons there weren't were wins, he did not get a lot of run important. in fact, he was among the lowest in all of major league baseball in run support last year. and while some people say, hey, that just means you have to pitch better, it still makes it hard to win. here is felix pie in the lead off spot with brian roberts on the dl. who will be the lead off batter while roberts is out game in and game out? not necessarily pie trembley said before the game today. they had some other options. hugo will probably. launched that one in the air. that's deep in center field. pie got it, and good-bye home

run. felix pie with a lead off homer and the orioles have a 1-0 lead! >> mike: there is your instant offense. that's right down the middle. pie does not miss it. a stroke right out to right center field. you see the outfielders give up on it early. >> gary: first run for pie. the first one given up by garza. and the orioles take the 1-0 lead on a nice easy swing loaded with power. cow had been working on that with him today and other times. just easy. crowley kept saying to him in the batting cage yesterday, take that nice easy swing, don't be taking that big cut we saw last night. and he didn't, and he gets the home run.

here is adam jones going after the first pitch from garza. jones has good numbers against garza. he is 5. 14 with a home run lifetime. adam is trying to pick it up after a tough start. garza is going to try to settle it down after giving up the leadoff homer. just wipe that out and move on. that's going to be to center field. he has a base hit. orioles first two at bat. >> mike: the defense hasn't utilized by them. >> gary: and here is nick markakis. it has been a tough start for nick with that .167 average. even though his on base percentage is very high because

of the walks. he will foul that one away. as we have said before, it's not about the walk for markakis. it's about driving in runs. he has nine walks in the first six orioles record. 0-1 count. short lead. runner goes. and he's got him. in the run down, jones be and the tag went on. whatever his read was on garza, it wasn't the right one. >> mike: that was not going for the traditional jump. about halfway to second base. as a pitcher, someone as experienced as garza, you let them get out into know-man's land and step off about halfway

to second. >> gary: that's going to be the first out of the inning. markakis now with the bases he empty. and nick late on that one. so jones gets picked off over there by matt garza, and an 0-2 count on markakis. when you are struggling to get wins, those are the kinds of plays you don't want to have happen. you want to take as many opportunities you have to score. goes the other way. crawford is there. markakis retired. they are two down. that will bring up miguel tejada. home run, 6 rbis for him. one double.

the extra-base hit. he, too, with good numbers off garza. 6-13. and two of those six hits home runs. leadoff homer by pie in this ballgame with the orioles 1-0 lead. that will be handled easily by upton and that will retire the inning. felix pie gives guthrie to work with going to second with a homer. [upbeat whistling continues] discover the unexpected beauty and man-made relaxation in northwest florida. fly southwest's new nonstops from bwi airport to panama city beach starting at $99 one-way. (ding)

tonight's second inning brought to you by luna. call 877-2401 luna. >> mike: quite the year for freddie lin that year. >> gary: a very graceful player. can that man swim? >> mike: i thought it was freddie. >> gary: no. phelps. >> mike: he can swim pretty well. >> gary: carlos pena begins guthrie. pena, upton and burrell.

4-17. the shift is on. going to be a feign to that left side. a 1 ball, 1 strike count. pena was -- pena was talking about the shift that's used against him and a lot of other batters. he said it ought to be illegal. >> mike: or you are going to become one of the best bunters on the planet. >> gary: that's right. one-ball, two-strike count. he, like david ortiz, the both of them have a very common desire to hit the ball towards right field right where the 2nd baseman is playing. they have scored a lot of outs on pena and on ortiz. >> mike: right. they chart every ball in play. when there is like 100 arrows

where that 2nd baseman is playing. >> gary: and a swing and a miss. guthrie up on him to get the strike on him. >> mike: keep him from hitting into the shift. high fastball right by pena. guthrie showing good velocity. good 93-95. >> gary: here is upton. 4-20. .200 afterrable. double. couple of stolen bases. three walks so far for upton. he had a 2-10 in the opening series against the orioles. and the pitch will be taken down low for a ball. the tampa bay team has won six of the last eight meetings between those two ball clubs going back to last year. 1-0 pitch. guthrie, trying to do a nine iron right there. no way. 1-1. >> mike: that's late movement

and down. >> gary: one-ball, one-strike count. upton one of the many young players on this team. only 25. inside out, that one the other way, and it will stay at a ball and 2 strikes. >> mike: it's hard to believe he is entering into his sixth season with the rays at 25. >> gary: he stays healthy, he is going to have a lot of games under his belt in his career. guthrie 1-2. asking for a time out at the plate. >> mike: some of the better throwers in the game are. >> gary: upton a two ball, two strike count. he has hit .260 in this ballpark. >> mike: markakis with 52 assists and upton has 33 assists.

>> gary: and he got him swinging. so upton is out of there. two strikeouts in a row. three in the ballgame for jeremy guthrie. >> mike: is picking a nice run with that fastball this evening. establishing that early. something we talked about getting started early and finish them up. you want a deep pitch count. >> gary: two down, nobody object. 3-16. double. no home runs. ball is inside to him. guthrie had six strikeouts in the first game this year. and the pitch is going to miss down low, and two ball, 1 strike count. burrell 1-8 off guthrie. career numbers in his at-bats. minnesota successfully opened

their new ballpark today with a 6. 2 win against the red sox. 2-1 delivery. broke his bat. and a nice catch made. over the shoulder. nice play. 1-2-3 inning for guthrie. we will go to the bottom of the second. eater scott and atkins coming up.

hanover. welcome back. we saw felix pie come out and hit a leadoff home run in the 1st inning, picking up the

slack for a missing brian roberts from the lineup. that's what he is going to have to do for the next 15 games or so while brian is gone. what does that really mean? well, consider the numbers. if you look at the two games this season so far in which brian did not play, the orioles only mustered up two total runs in those games. as far as the four he did play in, the orioles averaged over four runs per game. so whether or not that's directly correlated, nobody can say. but brian being able to get some pitches definitely does get that offense going. whoever is going to have to pick up the slack, they are going to have to continue to do what felix did. also really quickly, we did just find out before the game brian roberts got an epidural shot in his lower back before the game. he is expected to rest four or five days. he is on the bench hanging out, taking it easy. he will go home. he will not go on the road with the orioles this week.

it will be at least 15 days before he is back. he could have to go on a minor league assignment. it could be a while before he is back. >> gary: just inturner called up to take his place. dave trembley said it was just a matter of we lost the 2nd baseman, so we brought another 2nd baseman out is really the reason. some wonder why you don't bring out another power batter. the pitch is taken inside. eater is up there. he has a six game hit streak going. and you see against tampa bay he started out with that .500 average. he is going to get another run right here. they put the shift on him and the shattered bat takes the ball to the 3rd baseman, longoria, who is playing short. >> mike: that's how you beat

the shift. >> gary: so it's going to be a seven game streak for him. two shy of his career record of nine. >> mike: almost inside out this pitch. he almost had a chance for a double. >> gary: he has had four multi- hit games already. he is going to have a good shot at this in this one. and the orioles get their third hit against garza. scott designated hitter for this ballgame. 3-18. home run, torics. he has never had a hit off garza. 0-10. as mike mentioned at the top. one of the republicans is if you bat left-handed against garza, good luck. .196 last year left-handers off garza. right handers .371. an enormous difference.

.271. 1-0 count. wieters very short lead. it goes to 2-0. >> mike: garza has some pretty amazing statistics, which are usually not the norm. garza is 19-9 versus the east. and 9-25 against everybody else. i mean, and the other one -- >> gary: that's going to be a base hit. wieters will hurry. and he gets in. zobrist with that arm trying to get a forced play. scott gets the base hit. >> mike: now three hits from the left-handers. >> gary: the baseball gods. right when you think you understand. >> mike: two with a broken bat

and one over the fence, right? >> gary: yes. >> mike: placement. >> gary: here is garrett atkins. atkins has a five-game hit streak. he had the shin bruise which kept him out yesterday. he has hit in all five that he has played in. and he will take the pitch inside for a ball. orioles get a chance to put up a runner up against garza again in the second inning. tampa bay won the season series last year ten games to 8. but the orioles had a 5-4 advantage here at camden yards last year. this ballpark has been one that the rays have not had particularly good luck in. garza pitching, the tougher they are, the better he is. >> mike: 1-33 against the others. he is like fifth in winning

percentage among pitchers in the american league who have had success. i think four of the other five are in either new york or boston. they are not pitching against new york or boston. garza doing that against the orioles and toronto and new york and boston, it's quite a feat. >> gary: back at second, wieters, 1-1 delivery. this is why the orioles have to start picking up the numbers. they have had an abysmal .157 batting average coming into this ballgame. 9. 54. >> mike: they are already starting to feel better. they missed a couple of balls. that kind of a base hit can turn your offense around. you start hitting line drives right at people and have nothing to show for it. you break a couple bats, end up with a base hit, everything starts to change. >> gary: one-two delivery. that one standards the

delivery. that will be played by bartlett. he will get the double play. two down, runner on at 3rd base. time is running out for your chance to receive an exclusive brooks robinson figure urine. figur ine. double plays have hurt the orioles early on. they always do. the double plays have taken away opportunities, and garza has a chance to get out of this inning now after the first two orioles reached. wieters on at 1st base. two down and lugo, 2-14. and he will take the pitch up

high for ball. lugo is going to get a lot of playing time. things have happened very quickly for lugo. he never thought he was going to be with the orioles until spring training. until brian is ready to go, lugo is going to see some time at 2nd base. 1 ball, 1 strike count on him, garza. two down. and he gets the outside corner with that pitch. combined for a .380 average --

.280 average. cardinals. red sox. outfield fairly deep on lugo. i would think maybe too deep. here is the one-two delivery. that will bounce. throw down to burrell. >> mike: let's take another look. see wieters on 3rd base i think he thought the bar was going to go behind and it kicked out in front of him. >> gary: and it looked like he threw a fastball. he never got a good grip on the ball. >> mike: if you are in the dugout many times you go, how did you hold that? teach me that. >> gary: garza with a 2-2 delivery on the way, and that will be fouled back by lugo.

orioles losses, five of them all by three runs or lesson the season. they have been tight ball games because the orioles starters and pen, for that matter, have done a good job. but the orioles have not been able to get any kind of a significant lead in the course of the game. and that has cost them because they have given up those go ahead and winning runs late in the ballgame. 2-2. wieters is off third again. swung and miss. a play is go to have to be played. it is. a baserunner left on. orioles have the 1-0 lead

bladen county. go beyond the stadium and visit sara society a at florida.org and plan your next vacation today to beautiful sarasota. and members of the sara society a leadership on hand at the ballgame today. reid bren crack is going to lead it off. once a while this left center, right, short, and first. he also says he can catch but they haven't tried that yet.

he says he can do it. primarily he is going to be in there because joe maddon really likes his bat. brignac three for five so far is going to get maybe more playing time than anyone anticipated in spring training. good pitch by guthrie and a quick 0-2 count. >> mike: what he has done tonight is get ahead. strike one, strike two. >> gary: brignac had a 3-4 against the orioles. that's why they like him. oh, my gosh, way back good-bye home run! into the fence. and brignac has tied the ballgame up. brignac swings to play again. >> mike: see where this pitch stays.

right down the middle of the plate. i'm not sure if it was a straight change-up or a slider. but it was certainly in the top hitting zone. >> gary: in his young career, first of the season, first rbi of the year. and brignac ties the game up. both homers have come leading off an inning. pie in the first, brignac in the third. left-handers hit 21 home runs off jeremy guthrie last season. that was the bug a boo that jumped out so often against him. navarro, switch-hitter, swinging at that one and not connecting. a one-ball, two-strike count. navarro did not have a good

year last year. brignac, a big smile. 2-2 delivery. navarro fights to off. >> mike: and navarro has had his share of injuries over the last couple of seasons. some nerve damage in a leg and also had that ulnar nerve in the left elbow worked on. so a couple tough seasons health-wise for navarro. >> gary: and he swings at one probably away. good pitch by guthrie though. four strikeouts for guthrie. one down. >> mike: at least one of the first three innings, this is probably where he wanted that pitch to bring that. this really runs off the plate. two seam fastball. >> gary: here is the top of the order now. jason bartlett. strikeout victim his first time

up. bartlett takes it to right center field. he continues his onslaught against the o's. jones up with it. nice throw in to 2nd base. a beautiful throw but not in time. and bartlett has got a double. bartlett against thest is now for 6. -- 6-14 this season. t-shirt night tomorrow night. crawford, guthrie takes the throw back. so we told you bartlett has upped it now 17 consecutive games. he has hit on the road against the orioles.

at philadelphia, the longest active mark. but this is a real sore spot for the o's pitchers out there at 2nd base right now. crawford. a breaking ball inside. he had a single his first time up. he is now 10-33. lifetime off guthrie. and he gets an rbi chance right here. misses and guthrie falls behind him. 2-0. tough part of the order now. crawford, zobrist, longoria, and pena coming up. 2-0 delivered. shoots that one to left field. pie is going to play to in a hop. here comes the throw. here comes bartlett to the -- he is out! beautiful throw by pie, and again matt weiter is out there

in the traffic lane to block the plate. >> mike: just a perfect throw from pie. everybody involved, 3rd base coach waving him in. you see it almost past him. perfect one-hop throw. right on the money. on the run throw. >> gary: close play at the plate. orioles get it. and staying at 1st base was crawford. the play was so quick, crawford cannot move down to second. so there are two down, and ben zobrist up. zobrist had a single his first time up. guthrie with some defensive help now. a chance to get out of the inning. and that will be taken down low for a ball. zobrist a .316 lifetime hitter

against the orioles with eight home runs and 29 rbis. they were just loaded with players in their lineup who hit the orioles hard. 1-0 delivery on the way, and that's going to be a strike on the inside corner. and a 1 ball, 1 strike count to ben zobrist. first road game for tampa bay playing their first six at home. and they really emphasizing road games. it cost them last year. they had the highest differential in home-road, win/loss of any team last year. joe maddon has made it clear to the ball club he wants results on the road. he says we've to play .5 # 0 road baseball. runner goes. groundball towards 2nd base. lugo has it. and that's the way to do it.

so a home run by brignac to lead it off. tied it. but that play at the plate from pie cut down what would have been the go-ahead run. oh, 10 years. fill it out and mail it back today. 2010 census.

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we mentioned minnesota get a win at home today opening up their new ballpark. in doing so, they beat the red sox 5-2 today. jon lester got hit, four runs. the new ballpark is now part of major league baseball history. now there are only three parks left that are multi-used other than baseball where football is played. the jace, the a's and the marlins. those are the only ones left. once there were 17. and it was 62 and partly cloudy in minneapolis. >> mike: i remember the old ballpark in minnesota. >> gary: they haven't played a home day outdoors since sent of

'81 in minnesota. of course, one of the big wests is how much will to affect the outcome of wins and losses. they won 54% of their games there, and only 44 on the road. they had the third highest differential in home-road records between 1982 and '09 of any team. garza is playing that one and his first is retired. 1-3. pie coming up. >> mike: felix pie has played an important role in this game.

>> gary: game time here at 1-1. each time with four hits in the ballgame. pie against garza. did not have any numbers against him prior to that homer. now he shows a bunt, takes the pitch inside for a ball. that's not a bad area. that's one of the things dave trembley wants out of pie and anybodiles in that leadoff spot. it's about get on base. he has the speed. if he can get the ball down well, he could be a base hit collector with bunts. 26-year-old by garza, 1-0. no bunt there. 1 ball, 1 strike count. garza tends to be a better first half pitcher. that is not uncommon around major league baseball. 15. 12 in the first half. lifetime 15-22 in the second half. his e.r.a. jumps by about half a run a

game from first halfs to second halves. 1-1 delivery on the way. two ball 1 strike count. >> mike: he only has one win his last 12 starts. his numbers don't add up when you look at his record. 8. 1-12 with a .389 e.r.a. you can tell he likes to compete. power arm. >> gary: he has a two ball, 1 strike count on pie. and the fastball will come inside. and it's 3-1. he is showing a little respect here after that home run was hit by pie. garza trying to work around him. last year his best season in innings pitched first time he passed 100. he was ninth in the american league in k's. >> mike: 17 al starters with e.r.a.s under 4. he was the only one that had a losing record. >> gary: that's that run support that we were talking

about. the count goes to 3-1. he averaged 3.86 runs per nine innings. that was the seventh lowest in the majors in runs scored for a starting pitcher. 3-2 count to pie. one down. bases empty. and pie gets the walk this time. the speed ster is on for the orioles. one out. first walk by garza. on wednesday the orioles will wrap up their first part of the season. tomorrow night game two of this series. neimann took a shoulder off his start. he threw yesterday and said he was fine, so he will stay in.

in that matinee game, bergman makes a start against young david price. the ball misses down low. my sense is garza is working tonight with not all the good stuff we normally see from that guy. at least he is walking around a little. he is miss the zone a little. >> mike: showing a little frustration. a couple broken bats. just not quite been smooth tonight. a home run to start the game. he course, he has had runners every inning. it hasn't been smooth going. >> gary: jones had a single. got picked off at 1st base. adam jammed again. pops it up to short. bartlett. two down. so markakis will try to