Lee Lowenfish

I've decided to let the larger world of cyberspace meet one of my alter egos, Teny Ymota.
It is an acronym for The Earl of NY Your Man On The Aisle. The Earl of course is homage to the late great Hall of Fame Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver. Your Man On The Aisle comes from my need for aisle seats at games and concerts and plays because of my osteo-arthritic knees. Forgive me if this is TMI.

The 2016 Orioles surprised us all with a seven-game winning streak to start the season. They have now cooled off and fallen a half-game behind the Red Sox as the first week of May begins.

Only overly emotional baseball-mad people agonize over early season standings - did someone call me? No, seriously folks, standings don't really mean anything until late summer. With the introduction of two wild cards in each league, they may mean even less. But you do see trends by May & as always solid starting pitching rotations is a big key.

The Orioles have gotten surprisingly good work from their young staff although none of them have yet pitched late into games. I like the idea of young right-handers Kevin Gausman, Tyler Wilson, and Mike Wright all getting chances to succeed in the rotation.

The shoulder issue of another right-hander free agent acquisition Yovanni Gallardo has given the youngsters their chance to step up. Veterans Chris Tillman and Ubaldo Jimenez round out the rest of the all right-handed staff.

Closer Zach Britton sprained his ankle Sat. night trying to make a great play on a drag bunt. It doesn't look serious enough to send him to the DL. Zach has vastly improved his defense on the mound and his loss for any length of time would be very serious.

The Birds were not so lucky with shortstop JJ Hardy who will be out for over a month.
He suffered a hairline foot fracture when he fouled a ball off of it. Hardy is a very underrated defensive shortstop whose bat has come alive again this year.

The Orioles do have in-house replacements. Manny Machado, the shortstop of the future who almost miraculously four years ago became a great third baseman with no experience at the position, can slide over to short. Supersub Ryan Flaherty can fill in at third which will probably be the first realignment that manager Buck Showalter tries.

I can also foresee former Reds shortstop Paul Janish coming up soon from Norfolk. He's a better shortstop than Flaherty and we know how well Manny can play third. I think Machado is a mature enough of a pro now to handle either position until Hardy's return.

There is also the possibility that another free agent pickup Pedro Alvarez could go to the hot corner. He's no defensive whiz - Pirate fans learned that - but he's kinda young to be a dh and he is beginning to hit a little. Alvarez could also switch positions for a while with first baseman Chris Davis who is a far better athlete and baserunner than people realize.

I have always loved Ryan Flaherty and what he has meant to the team but his long-term future as an Oriole seems very cloudy now. The Orioles must see what they have in Hyun Soo Kim, the new outfielder from Korea. Also playing time is needed for Nolan Reimold and Rule 5 rookie Joey Rickard in the outfield which means another newcomer Mark Trumbo goes to DH where Alvarez has been for most of the year.

Never a dull moment in Orioleland but the J. J. Hardy injury will mean more defensive uncertainty than anyone wanted.

ON THE COLLEGE FRONT - The Columbia Lions finished in a tie for second with Penn in the Gehrig Division of the Ivy League. They got bragging rights for second because they beat the Quakers three out of four this past weekend. But Princeton clinched the crown by winning four at Cornell. Dartmouth still could catch Yale for the Rolfe division crown. Winner of the Rolfe plays Gehrig winner Princeton with the NCAA bid on the line.

The 11 members of the Columbia Class of 2016 finished with the second most wins in school history, topped only by the Class of 2015 that won three Ivy League titles in a row and in 2015 won three games in the Miami regional.

The class of 2016 can still hang their heads high. Left fielder Robb Paller slugged many home runs and hit for a high average in the course of his final season. Starter Adam Cline pitched solidly as did Kevin Roy before he succumbed to elbow woes that curtailed his last college season.

If ever a save was gotten in the sixth inning of a game, it was provided by senior pitcher George Thanopoulos who struck out two Quakers with the bases loaded in the Lions 9-8 win in Saturday's second game. Senior Thomas Crispi got the win and seniors Logan Bowyer, John Kinne, and Nick McGuire went a combined 9-13 with 5 RBI and 7 runs scored in their final appearance as Lions.

Quite a legacy, fellows, and thanks for the memories.

NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT . . .
Here's a Teny Ymota tip from the arts - Check out "Born To Be Blue," a 97-minute film inspired by the tumultuous artistic life of jazz trumpeter-singer Chet Baker. It stars the very talented music-loving Ethan Hawke in the Baker role.

A marvelous actress from London of Nigerian-Scottish descent Carmen Ejogo shines in the role of a composite of the women in Baker's life. The film is directed by Robert Budreau. Its images and sounds have stayed with me despite seeing it a few weeks ago.

That's all for now - always remember: Take it but take it.
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The first pictures from the spring training camps in Florida and Arizona are always tonic for the soul of this baseball nut. Nice to realize that every team will remain 0-0 until early April when the records start to count.

I find it ridiculous to rank teams before games really matter, but the 24/7/365 world of punditry requires endless copy. The Orioles were recently ranked by many “experts” in the bottom third echelon of the 30 MLB teams.

The rating might have inched a little higher with the Birds’ recent signing of former Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers right hander Yovani Gallardo. Then again it might drop because suddenly on Feb 25 former Rockies/Astros/Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler changed his mind on signing a three-year deal with Baltimore. He decided to return to the Cubs on a one-year contract for reportedly $8 million with a mutual option for 2017.

Fowler's sudden reversal cost him millions of dollars because late last year he turned down a $15.8 million one-year "qualifying offer" from the Cubs. (The number was based on the yearly average of free agent contracts signed in the last few years). Fowler’s rejection meant that any team signing him had to give a high draft pick to Chicago. That obviously decreased the market for his services.

Fowler now returns to the Cubs for barely half that money and a mutual option for 2017. The Orioles keep the draft pick and presumably will hope that the Cuban defector Dariel Alvarez, oft-injured Nolan Reimold, and maybe at times newcomer Mark Trumbo and versatile slugger Chris Davis can patrol right field successfully.

The “qualifying offer” system will be one thorny issue to work out this year between players and clubs as they negotiate a new Basic Agreement that expires before the end of the year. At least there has been over 20 years of labor peace in baseball and fortunately there does not seem to be any strike or lockout issue looming.

The “qualifying offer” system may need some tweaking but I don't think it should be scrapped. For the first time players actually accepted the offer. Orioles catcher Matt Wieters, recovering from Tommy John surgery, doubled his salary by agreeing to a one-year contract. Veteran Astros outfielder Colby Rasmus also decided to stay in Houston.

What is fascinating about contracts in all businesses not just sports is how unexpected consequences can arise after the ink is dry. Most famously in the 1976 Basic Agreement that brought free agency to baseball, the owners wanted a non-collusion clause. They
were fearful that agents could collude to bring multiple players to one team.

As it evolved, it was the owners who colluded in the mid-1980s about offering anything to free agents. And the Players Association won two grievance in front of two arbitrators that led to over $300 million in penalties levied on the owners.

Now, happily let me return to stories of the beautiful game and not the often ugly business.
The Orioles look like they will go with an all right handed starting rotation in 2016. They will need bounce-back years from the probable Opening Day starter Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez near the back end. Ubaldo Jimenez could be slotted second or third with newcomer Gallardo in the other position.

The recently married Jimenez has loads of talent but has found it very hard to repeat his delivery. Oriole mound mavens Dave Wallace and Dom Chiti (son of onetime Mets catcher Harry Chiti who was the player to be named in a trade for himself) have helped streamline the mechanics for Ubaldo – one of the great first names ever in baseball.

The key for the mound staff may well be Kevin Gausman, who at last will not be shuttled back and forth to Norfolk’s Triple-A farm club. He will be expected to pull his weight in the rotation. Another important piece may be Dylan Bundy who is out of options and hopefully at last healthy. Both Gausman and Bundy throw very hard as do closer Zach Britton and converted shortstop Mychal Givens.

I love my team and always try to find a glass at least half-full. But I just KNEW that Bundy was ultimately headed for the DL when I read that this number one draft pick participated in an intense workout program as a high school phenom in Oklahoma.

Sure enough he has been injured regularly since he turned pro. So has his brother Bobby another Oriole pitcher lacking the high ceiling of Dylan. Dylan is out of options so he must make the team or be put on the waiver wire. Bundy’s saga will be one of the stories to follow in spring training.

NOTES FROM THE NYC SPORTS SCENE IN THE WINTERTIME
The online Gelf Magazine organized a very stimulating evening in Greenwich Village on Tues Feb 23. First up was prolific Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated discussing his latest book (written with Tufts social psychology prof Sam Sommers), "This Is Your Brain On Sports: The Science of Underdogs, The Value of Rivalry, and What We Can Learn from the T-Shirt Cannon."

Among the tidbits that Wertheim shared was being in a Fenway Park crowd with a Red Sox fan wearing a Manny Ramirez uniform. When Alex Rodriguez came to plate, said fan shouted, "A-Roid, A-Roid!" Our guy is always misunderstood, Their guy is a crook.

ESPN producer Justine Gubar has penned another crisp sounding title, "Fanaticus: Mischief and Madness in the Modern Sports Fan." Among the adventures this intrepid reporter engaged in was going to Columbus, Ohio during the scandals that cost head football coach Jim Tressel his job. She was pilloried on-line but bravely met her accusers.

Last and certainly not least at the Gelf evening was the very witty Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal who talked about his first book "Little Victories: Perfect Rules for Imperfect Living." He confided that his original title was "Remember Your Pants," his one advice to the Little League team he was coaching.

Gay rightly considers "psychotic parents" the biggest scourge in sports - those misguided folks who heap their unfulfilled dreams upon their children and will fight umpires and other parents to meet their warped goals.

A final tip of my cap to my two alma maters' basketball teams - the Columbia Lions at 8-2 in the Ivy League going into the last four games of the season. If we beat Princeton Fri night Feb 26, Penn the next night and Brown and Yale the first weekend in March, the worse Columbia can do is tie for the title. Tall order indeed because Yale is 9-1 and Princeton 8-1 but nice to be in the hunt for first time in decades.

And how about my Wisconsin Badgers who have won 9 of 10 in Big Ten play after losing a lot of early season games and their legendary coach Bo Ryan to retirement. His handpicked successor Greg Gard has brought back Ryan's formidable "Swing" offense with its excellent spacing on the court.

Looks like Wisconsin will have a chance, albeit a long shot, to compete in March Madness and harbor dreams of a third straight entry into the Final Four.

That's all for now - always remember: Take it easy but take it.
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