Favorite Team vs. Hometeam

Well the time has arrived again when my beloved Mariners face off against my hometown Birds. Just what does that mean? Well first it means that I can watch the games in my room on the local network instead of having to watch on MLB Extra Innings in my basement. Secondly, it means that I'll either gain some bragging rights or lose some with my family and friends, even though O's fans have fallen off the face of the earth.

Here's the scoop on this disgruntled O's team from a native son...

-Miguel Tejada and Melvin Mora will both spend this trip to Sea-town on the disabled list. Look for the 3-4-5 guys to be something like Markakis-Millar-Huff. However it will be interesting to see what the lineup will look like vs. the left-handed Ramirez, since Markakis and Huff are both left-handed hitters.

-New Manager Dave Trembley has brought new life to this struggling team. Formerly the team's bullpen coach, he has taken the reigns from Sam Perlozzo who was fired in June. Management tried to get Joe Girardi to manage the club, but he turned down the offer and the O's didn't have a backup plan. Trembley will get the opportunity to coach the team for the rest of the year after proving to management, players, and the fans that he has a new plan for this team.

-The Orioles are coming in after winning 3 of 4 against the White Sox to start the second half. I was at the first game of that series and I watched the Orioles play as bad as a team can play going down 5-0 early in the game. They simply looked like their heads weren't in the game. The turning point for the series came in the 9th inning of that game, when the Birds scored 5 times to make the game close, but lost 9-7. This jumpstarted their confidence and helped them to a series victory. The players showed excitement in the clubhouse after 3 straight wins, and team leader Kevin Millar said that the atmosphere in the clubhouse is extremely confident.