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Song birds: the Orioles and Cardinals have come out swingin', but is this the start of something special or prelude to the same ol' tune?

Sporting News, The, May 27, 2005 by Bob Hille

Here sit the major league standings, the usual quarter-pole collection of surprises and sure things, disappointments and epiphanies (with a dollop of Barry Bonds conspiracy theory, too). Looking at the Orioles and Cardinals, one word--in the literal and the figurative--pops to mind: Birdland.

Stick with me here for a bit of explanation because this flight of fancy is the kind of improvisation on a lark that's a hallmark of jazz and for which baseball's intermittent pauses are pitch-perfect.

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This is a Ken Burnsian intersection of the quintessentially American, a stream-of-consciousness riff on Our Game. Google "Birdland" and you learn about the Manhattan nightclub of legend and about immortal jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker. Read the current baseball standings and you get a glimpse of history retold, gain insight into the early going, yet aren't guaranteed how this will turn out, especially for these Birds.

There is more, much more, to see and hear, a lesson taught in five parts by--who else?--"The Yardbird" himself, Parker, in his own words.

The joy of a baseball season is that annually we suspect, project and expect certain results, yet inevitably, inexorably, we are surprised and mystified by the successes and failures found in 162 works of art, unveiled one at a time.

Look at the National League Central. On opening day, it was easy to wager on a Cubs-Astros-Cardinals trifecta, in no particular order. Each team appeared to have taken a step backward from last season. Now think again about the American League East, in which past performance has proved that money (read: the Yankees and Red Sox) talks and the O's, Jays and Rays walk.

The early surprises, breaking beyond the boundaries: e Cardinals offense, based on a middle of the order that's the best in baseball, appears to be coming around after a halting start (until last week, only two regulars--Albert Pujols and Mark Grudzielanek--were hitting over .300: entering the week, they'd been joined by David Eckstein). The Cardinals' Extreme Makeover. Infield Edition has been solid, if unspectacular, defensively. The addition of Mark Mulder (5-1, 3.44 ERA) and the return of a healthy Chris Carpenter (5-2, 4.02) have set up a rotation that has been a strength early on. In short, pitching and decent defense rather than hitting from a modern-day Murderers' Row has been the April-May highlight.

The Orioles' offense, tilted to the left side of the infield with shortstop Miguel Tejada and third baseman Melvin Mora, has found balance in second baseman Brian Roberts, who is hitting for average and power out of the leadoff spot. Looking back to the offseason, the Orioles' twin general managers, Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan, struck out on getting even one starting pitcher (hello, Tim Hudson), when they needed two. Yet lefthander Erik Bedard finds himself among the A.L. leaders in ERA now that his changeup, the out pitch he had lacked, is so effective, and righthander Daniel Cabrera has been lights-out recently, regularly hitting the upper 90s with his fastball. Translation: Although Tejada and Mora have produced, it is Roberts, Bedard and Cabrera who have lifted themselves far above expectations, and with them their team.

The Cardinals and Orioles have rich and once-intertwined histories, their all-time rosters dotted with players identified as much by their first names as their Hall of Fame pedigrees: Cal and Brooks, Ozzie, Dizzy and Stan. And yet in recent years, their paths have diverged. The Cardinals, who typically draw 3 million through (mostly) thick and (rarely) thin, have been regulars among N.L. contenders since current ownership took over in 1996. G.M. Walt Jocketty annually remakes a roster through shrewd trades and free-agent signings while leveraging the allure of playing in a city players acknowledge as one of the best, if not the best, in baseball.

The Orioles, on the other hand, have seen crowds dwindle at previously packed Camden Yards, a clear sign of knowledgeable fans' frustration with seven successive seasons below .500. They haven't drawn 3 million since 2001, so it's not the arrival of the Nationals but rather the lack of a clear plan for how to contend in baseball's high-rent district.

Yet the teams share this: The Cardinals, who were swept in last year's World Series, last won a championship in 1982. The Orioles' most recent title was in '83.

In past years, the Orioles looked like a collection of mismatched pieces, purchased in an attempt less to keep pace with the Yankees and Red Sox than to at least keep their taillights within sight. This season, the Orioles look like a harmonic baseball machine that is taking advantage of New York's early-season implosion and Boston's reversed-curse hangover (or spotty pitching, if you're less inclined to think in terms of baseball juju).

Though Bedard, Cabrera and Rodrigo Lopez give the team a strong top of the rotation, former closer Jorge Julia has been the linchpin in getting the ball to B.J. Ryan, who with increased movement on a low-90s fastball and a devastating slider has grown into one of the best lefthanded closers in the game.

Song birds: the Orioles and Cardinals have come out swingin', but is this the start of something special or prelude to the same ol' tune?

Sporting News, The, May 27, 2005 by Bob Hille

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