From the Baltimore Sun

I was secretly hoping this would happen.  It's a great move by the Ravens and their offense.  Neal can still play and it was a wonder he didn't sign sooner.  He's still one of the best FB in the league.  For those naysayers who say that FB isn't an important position, let me remind you that a FB who sees play on the field is vastly more important than a WR who doesn't.  This is also a great relief for pass protection, as Lorenzo Neal will definitely be an asset on pass plays, which will help our struggling line.  It's kind of cool that they are thinking of using LeRon McClain as a running back, he can put a hurt on opposing linebackers.

As soon as Neal was cut, I was hoping he would sign with us because of Cam Cameron.  The Ravens just got a little bit better today.

So, today George Sherrill pitched in the 9th when the Orioles were down by six runs.  Since this was not by any stretch a clutch inning for the O's, it's safe to assume that he was pitching for the benefit of the scouts present, and that the Orioles are seriously considering trading Sherrill.  That's good (I'm sure everyone here will agree).

In the inning, he faced five batters, gave up two singles, and struck out two.  All three outs were against left-handed batters, while both hits were against right handers.

So, my question is, was this outing a good showing for the scouts, that will help increase Sherrill's value?  Or does giving up to hits remind scouts that he's a mediocre closer?

Over on lookout landing, they keep tons of statistical information, and this particular post caught my attention.

http://www.lookoutlanding.com/2008/7/7/566526/unlucky-hitters#comments

The way they measure "lucky" hitting is by comparing someone's line-drive percentage to their BABIP.  The average luck factor = BABIP - LD% = 11.  This relies on the knowledge that Fly balls and ground balls both have about a 90% fielding percentage, while line drives have a 30% fielding percentage (although I'm not sure how they get the number 11 from those numbers) so a player that hits more line drives should get more hits.

As this pertains to the Orioles, Ramon Hernandez has been one of the unluckiest hitters this season, with a LD% of 22.2% and a BABIP of .257, giving a luck factor of .035.  This more or less confirms what we already suspected about Ramon, and hopefully he'll continue his improved prouduction through the second half. 
The second unlucky Oriole is ... Melvin Mora!  With a LD% of 19 and a BABIP of .243, he has been getting an ugly 5.3 luck factor, which might have something to do with his terrible season.  Hopefully we can expect his numbers to improve during the second half as well.

As for lucky hitters, we have Adam Jones, who has an LD% of only 17.9% and a BABIP of .356!  I suppose this means that he won't be likely to keep up his performance during the second half, but that might be mitigated by the fact that he has generally been improving as a hitter this season.  In addition, I would assume being fast as hell also increases your BABIP.

As a side note, all-star phony Jason Varitek is also one of the luckiest hitters in baseball.  Sure, his BABIP is only .275, but his LD% is a paltry 12.10%  That is terriible folks.  The only current Oriole with a lower LD% is Guillermo Quiroz, with and LD% of 11.5%.  Incredible.

Today Traschel and Loewen pitched, which means

Friday - Guthrie

Saturday - Cabrera

Sunday - Burres,

and by Monday, no-one has had the traditional 4 days rest.  Could this mean a start for Matt Albers?  We wouldn't seriously ask Trax or Low to skip a days rest, that seems to be asking for trouble, right?  I wouldn't mind seeing Albers start, he's looked OK in long relief, but I wonder if Trembley thinks he's ready.