THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010
KLMNO BASEBALL
EZ SU
D5 Weather a factor in new schedule
Decision to commence season in March avoids a November conclusion
BY DAVE SHEININ On the same night Major
League Baseball released its pre- liminary 2011 master schedule, featuring an earlier start and fin- ish to the season, the Minnesota Twins beat theChicago White Sox to increase their lead in theAmer- ican League Central race to seven games. Why the link between these
NICK WASS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brad Bergesen pitched a seven-hitter for the Orioles to outduel Kyle Drabek in a game that ended in just 1 hour 55 minutes.
Bergesen, O’s hand Blue Jays a quick loss
BY DON MARKUS
baltimore — The Baltimore Orioles had a few back-to-the- future moments on the base pathsWednesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays at Cam- den Yards. They ran their way out of at least one potential big inning early on against a pitch- er making his major league debut by being a little too bold. Fortunately for Brad Berges-
en, the Orioles continued to experience the kind of mo- ments that have become the norm under new Manager Buck Showalter, and continued to make the kind of plays that point to a much brighter base- ball future in Baltimore. Sparked by some dazzling
defensive plays, including a pair by shortstop Cesar Izturis and another by right fielder NickMarkakis, Bergesen deliv- ered his second complete game in a little over amonth and the Orioles, after not beating the Blue Jays in their first 12meet- ings this season, completed a three-game sweep with a 3-1 victory before an announced crowd of 13,651. In a game that took one hour
and 55 minutes from the time to complete — the quickest Orioles game this season by 10 minutes and the first sub two- hour game since May 2005 — Bergesen (7-10) improved to 4-1 in eight starts under Showalter
and the Orioles (58-88) im- proved their record to 26-15 since Showalter took over. It was the team’s ninth win
in its last 11 games and 13th in the last 17. “The tempo was great,”
Showalter said of Bergesen. “Good plays seem to happen behind guys that have that type of tempo in the game. Izzy put on a clinic tonight, just about in every phase you want to see. Bergy was the story tonight, but I’ve got to tell you Izzy is a close second.” Said third baseman Ty Wig-
ginton, who immediately fol- lowed an error in the first after bobbling a roller by Vernon Wells by throwing out Wells at home plate after a double by Lyle Overbay, “The reason we won tonight was Brad Berges- en, plain and simple.” Bergesen outpitched Kyle
Drabek, who came to Toronto as the prime chip in the deal that sent ace Roy Halladay to the Philadelphia Phillies. The son of former major league Doug Drabek, who finished his 13-year career with the Orioles in 1998, the 22-year right-hand- er gave up three runs and nine hits in six innings. Bergesen turned in his sev-
enth quality start in his past nine outings. The Blue Jays’ run came on Jose Bautista’s major league leading 47th home run.
— Baltimore Sun
two events? Because the Twins’ crucial victory Tuesday night brought them one step closer to securing a playoff berth (up seven games with 18 to play) — and brought baseball one step closer to the chilling possibility of No- vember baseball in Minneapolis, where the Twins now play in a new stadium, Target Field, with- out a roof. It is exactly the sort of scenario the Special Committee for On-FieldMatters was seeking to avoid when it recommended the schedule shift. “I think there’s a real issue with
the weather,” said Los Angeles Angels Manager Mike Scioscia, who serves on the special com- mittee, told reporters Tuesday night. “You can get bad weather in October, but. . . . the chance of good weather is much better than if you have a cold spell in the first week ofNovember.” Thus, the 2011 season will start
at the end of March (with the Twinsplaying their first sixgames on the road), and will be complet- ed by the end of September, with the World Series wrapping up before Halloween. This year, by contrast, the regular season ends on Oct. 3, with Game 7 of the World Series scheduled forNov. 4. For theWashington Nationals, the 2011 schedule will concen-
March 31 Atlanta April 2 Atlanta April 3 Atlanta April 5 at Florida April 6 at Florida April 7 at Florida April 8 at N.Y. Mets April 9 at N.Y. Mets April 10 at N.Y. Mets April 12 Philadelphia April 13 Philadelphia April 14 Philadelphia April 15 Milwaukee April 16 Milwaukee April 17 Milwaukee April 19 at St. Louis April 20 at St. Louis April 21 at St. Louis April 22 at Pittsburgh April 23 at Pittsburgh April 24 at Pittsburgh April 26 N.Y. Mets April 27 N.Y. Mets April 28 N.Y. Mets April 29 San Francisco April 30 San Francisco May 1 San Francisco May 2 San Francisco May 3 at Philadelphia May 4 at Philadelphia May 5 at Philadelphia May 6 at Florida May 7 at Florida May 8 at Florida May 10 at Atlanta May 11 at Atlanta May 12 at Atlanta May 13 Florida May 14 Florida May 15 Florida
May 16 Pittsburgh May 17 Pittsburgh May 18 at N.Y. Mets May 19 at N.Y. Mets May 20 at Baltimore May 21 at Baltimore May 22 at Baltimore May 23 at Milwaukee May 24 at Milwaukee May 25 at Milwaukee May 27 San Diego May 28 San Diego May 29 San Diego May 30 Philadelphia May 31 Philadelphia June 1 Philadelphia June 2 at Arizona June 3 at Arizona June 4 at Arizona June 5 at Arizona June 6 at San Francisco June 7 at San Francisco June 8 at San Francisco June 9 at San Diego June 10 at San Diego June 11 at San Diego June 12 at San Diego June 14 St. Louis June 15 St. Louis June 16 St. Louis June 17 Baltimore June 18 Baltimore June 19 Baltimore June 21 Seattle June 22 Seattle June 23 Seattle June 24 at Chi.WhiteSox June 25 at Chi.WhiteSox June 26 at Chi.WhiteSox June 27 at L.A. Angels June 28 at L.A. Angels
PAUL BATTAGLIA/ASSOCIATED PRESS Target Field, the newhome of theMinnesota Twins, could hostNovember baseball this season.
trate home games during April and September, with fewer home games during the summer months. In addition, the Nation- als are one of two NL teams (the Pirates being the other) with only six home interleague dates (three each against the Orioles andMar- iners in June). The Nationals will play interleague away games at the Orioles, Angels and White Sox. The Nationals open at home
for the second straight year, host- ing the Braves onMarch 31, April 2 and April 3. They close the season Sept. 28 at Florida. It isn’t just Minneapolis that
MLB was worried about in terms of World Series weather. Dicey weather in Philadelphia wreaked havoc upon the 2008 World Se- ries, to name one recent example. ButtheTwins’ decision to foregoa roof at their new yard may have
2011WASHINGTONNATIONALSSCHEDULE TIMES TBA
June 29 at L.A. Angels July 1 Pittsburgh July 2 Pittsburgh July 3 Pittsburgh July 4 Chicago Cubs July 5 Chicago Cubs July 6 Chicago Cubs July 7 Chicago Cubs July 8 Colorado July 9 Colorado July 10 Colorado July 15 at Atlanta July 16 at Atlanta July 17 at Atlanta July 18 at Houston July 19 at Houston July 20 at Houston July 22 at L.A. Dodgers July 23 at L.A. Dodgers July 24 at L.A. Dodgers July 26 Florida July 27 Florida July 28 Florida July 29 N.Y. Mets July 30 N.Y. Mets July 31 N.Y. Mets Aug. 1 Atlanta Aug. 2 Atlanta Aug. 3 Atlanta Aug. 4 at Colorado Aug. 5 at Colorado Aug. 6 at Colorado Aug. 7 at Colorado Aug. 8 at Chicago Cubs Aug. 9 at Chicago Cubs Aug. 10 at Chicago Cubs Aug. 12 at Philadelphia Aug. 13 at Philadelphia Aug. 14 at Philadelphia Aug. 16 Cincinnati Aug. 17 Cincinnati
Aug. 18 Cincinnati Aug. 19 Philadelphia Aug. 20 Philadelphia Aug. 21 Philadelphia Aug. 22 Arizona Aug. 23 Arizona Aug. 24 Arizona Aug. 25 Arizona Aug. 26 at Cincinnati Aug. 27 at Cincinnati Aug. 28 at Cincinnati Aug. 30 at Atlanta Aug. 31 at Atlanta Sept. 1 at Atlanta Sept. 2 N.Y. Mets Sept. 3 N.Y. Mets Sept. 4 N.Y. Mets Sept. 5 L.A. Dodgers Sept. 6 L.A. Dodgers Sept. 7 L.A. Dodgers Sept. 8 L.A. Dodgers Sept. 9 Houston Sept. 10 Houston Sept. 11 Houston Sept. 12 at N.Y. Mets Sept. 13 at N.Y. Mets Sept. 14 at N.Y. Mets Sept. 15 at N.Y. Mets Sept. 16 Florida Sept. 17 Florida Sept. 18 Florida Sept. 20 at Philadelphia Sept. 21 at Philadelphia Sept. 22 at Philadelphia Sept. 23 Atlanta Sept. 24 Atlanta Sept. 25 Atlanta Sept. 26 at Florida Sept. 27 at Florida Sept. 28 at Florida
increased the baseball’s urgency for making a change. Because of the National
League’s victory in the All-Star Game, the latest date for aWorld Seriesgamein anALpark this fall would be Nov. 1 (Game 5). An onlineweatheralmanacshowsan average high temperature of 47 degrees and average lows of 31 in Minneapolis for that date. Using Oct. 25 (a week earlier) instead, the averages are 51 and 35 de- grees, respectively. The shifting of the schedule,
along with a slight shortening of spring training, leaves the door open to further, more substantial changes — most notably the pos- sibility of expanding the Division Series from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven format, something MLB will discuss with the union during the next round of collec- tive bargaining. The current la-
April 1 at Tampa Bay April 2 at Tampa Bay April 3 at Tampa Bay April 4 Detroit April 6 Detroit April 7 Detroit April 8 Texas April 9 Texas April 10 Texas April 12 at N.Y. Yankees April 13 at N.Y. Yankees April 14 at N.Y. Yankees April 15 at Cleveland April 16 at Cleveland April 17 at Cleveland April 18 Minnesota April 19 Minnesota April 20 Minnesota April 21 Minnesota April 22 N.Y. Yankees April 23 N.Y. Yankees April 24 N.Y. Yankees April 26 Boston April 27 Boston April 28 Boston April 29 at Chi.White Sox April 30 at Chi.White Sox May 1 at Chi. White Sox May 2 at Chi. White Sox May 3 at Kansas City May 4 at Kansas City May 5 at Kansas City May 6 Tampa Bay May 7 Tampa Bay May 8 Tampa Bay May 10 Seattle May 11 Seattle May 12 Seattle May 13 at Tampa Bay May 14 at Tampa Bay
May 15 at Tampa Bay May 16 at Boston May 17 at Boston May 18 N.Y. Yankees May 19 N.Y. Yankees May 20 Washington May 21 Washington May 22 Washington May 24 Kansas City May 25 Kansas City May 26 Kansas City May 27 at Oakland May 28 at Oakland May 29 at Oakland May 30 at Seattle May 31 at Seattle June 1 at Seattle June 3 Toronto June 4 Toronto June 5 Toronto June 6 Oakland June 7 Oakland June 8 Oakland June 10 Tampa Bay June 11 Tampa Bay June 12 Tampa Bay June 14 at Toronto June 15 at Toronto June 16 at Toronto June 17 at Washington June 18 at Washington June 19 at Washington June 20 at Pittsburgh June 21 at Pittsburgh June 22 at Pittsburgh June 24 Cincinnati June 25 Cincinnati June 26 Cincinnati June 28 St. Louis June 29 St. Louis June 30 St. Louis
bor agreement expires in Decem- ber 2011. This will all feel a little weird at
first next spring, to be sure, with most teams starting their seasons on a Thursday or Friday, and ending on a Wednesday. The last time the regular-season schedule endedona day other thanSunday was 1990. In regards to interleague play,
much of the focus, understand- ably, is on the Chicago Cubs’ first-ever regular-season visit to Boston’s Fenway Park, where the two franchises last met in the 1918World Series. The Baltimore Orioles will wel-
come the St. Louis Cardinals to Oriole Park at Camden Yards for the first time.
sheinind@washpost.com
Staff writer Adam Kilgore contributed to this report.
2011BALTIMOREORIOLESSCHEDULE TIMES TBA
July 1 at Atlanta July 2 at Atlanta July 3 at Atlanta July 4 at Texas July 5 at Texas July 6 at Texas July 7 at Boston July 8 at Boston July 9 at Boston July 10 at Boston July 14 Cleveland July 15 Cleveland July 16 Cleveland July 17 Cleveland July 18 Boston July 19 Boston July 20 Boston July 22 L.A. Angels July 23 L.A. Angels July 24 L.A. Angels July 26 at Toronto July 27 at Toronto July 28 at Toronto July 29 at N.Y. Yankees July 30 at N.Y. Yankees July 31 at N.Y. Yankees Aug. 2 at Kansas City Aug. 3 at Kansas City Aug. 4 at Kansas City Aug. 5 Toronto Aug. 6 Toronto Aug. 7 Toronto Aug. 8 Chi. White Sox Aug. 9 Chi. White Sox Aug. 10 Chi. White Sox Aug. 11 Chi. White Sox Aug. 12 Detroit Aug. 13 Detroit Aug. 14 Detroit Aug. 15 at Oakland Aug. 16 at Oakland
Aug. 17 at Oakland Aug. 19 at L.A. Angels Aug. 20 at L.A. Angels Aug. 21 at L.A. Angels Aug. 22 at Minnesota Aug. 23 at Minnesota Aug. 24 at Minnesota Aug. 25 at Minnesota Aug. 26 N.Y. Yankees Aug. 27 N.Y. Yankees Aug. 28 N.Y. Yankees Aug. 29 N.Y. Yankees Aug. 30 Toronto Aug. 31 Toronto Sept. 1 Toronto Sept. 2 at Tampa Bay Sept. 3 at Tampa Bay Sept. 4 at Tampa Bay Sept. 5 at N.Y. Yankees Sept. 6 at N.Y. Yankees Sept. 7 at N.Y. Yankees Sept. 9 at Toronto Sept. 10 at Toronto Sept. 11 at Toronto Sept. 12 Tampa Bay Sept. 13 Tampa Bay Sept. 14 Tampa Bay Sept. 16 L.A. Angels Sept. 17 L.A. Angels Sept. 18 L.A. Angels Sept. 19 at Boston Sept. 20 at Boston Sept. 21 at Boston Sept. 22 at Detroit Sept. 23 at Detroit Sept. 24 at Detroit Sept. 25 at Detroit Sept. 26 Boston Sept. 27 Boston Sept. 28 Boston
THOMAS BOSWELL Contrasting managerial styles define rebuilding projects boswell from D1
afternoon to take a series in Atlanta fromthe best home team in baseball. Unless theNats suffer a total
collapse,Rigglemanwill keep his dugout seat in ’11.Heworries about his job, but shouldn’t. The teamis on pace towin 10more games than ’09 and, after being last in run differential the past two years, has actuallymoved ahead of nine teams in that basic stat,which often gauges basic progress. “We’ve had to use 14 starting
pitchers this year. You neverwant to lead themajors in that stat,” said President StanKasten Wednesday. “Thatmeans you’ve had to use nine starterswho weren’t one of your five best. That’s a big hurdle [for a manager]. I keep saying I’m surprisedwe’vewon 62 games.” Of 80men since 1900who’ve
managed for at least 10 seasons, Riggleman has theworst career winning percentage (.442).But he’s alsomanaged the Pads, Cubs, Mariners andNats. Thatmay define “mitigating circumstances.” As theNats face a Stephen
Strasburg-less ’11, theywant stability andmore of the solid development of rookies that Riggleman has overseen thus far. So, get used to the contrast, in personalities and baseball theories, on display 40miles apart in Camden Yards and Nationals Park. Showalter continues a baseball
tradition of light-a-fire-under- ’emmanagers fromLeoDurocher toDavey Johnson toBobby Valentine. They come in full of
energy, brains, quips and opinions, and aren’t afraid to step on toes. Twice, Showalter has wonA.L.Manager of the Year. The first time, he lasted onemore season. The second time, he stuck around twomore years. Just one season after 100wins inArizona, hewas gone. That’s tough to do. Now, after three years of TV
announcing, hasBuckmellowed? Dowewant himto?Root for sparks. It’ll bemore fun. One of Showalter’s first tactics,
to toughen his youngBird pitchers,was to leave the bullpen idlewhen they got in jams. The message, he says, “You created this. You get out of it.” Also, instead of obsessing
about scouting reports on famous hitters and, thus, pitching out of fear, Showalter and pitching coachRickKranitz told their staff to trust their stuff, use all their pitches and dare those various scary Yanks,Rays andRed Sox to hit ’em. The results: Seldomhas a
young staff gotten somuch better so fast.UnderBuck,Baltimore suddenly has 28 quality starts in 41 games.Acomplete game by BradBergesen onWednesday capped a three-game sweep of the Jays, a teamthat had been 12-0 against the pre-BuckBirds. Can’t make this stuff up. All season,Kasten has praised
theOrioles and predicted they’d turn. “They are a good young teamabout to getmuch better,” he said. “But they are in a tough, tough division. For them, it can only be donewithway above average pitching.”BrianMatusz and powerful JakeArrieta have blossomed fastest. In a brutalA.L.East division
that has drippedwith swagger for decades, theOrioles have usually done bestwith chip-on-the- shouldermanagers likeWeaver, Johnson and FrankRobinson. So, we’re fromlittle Bal’mer. So, you’re rich and famous. Sowhat? Showalterwas bornwith that
’tude.When he approaches an ump, he’ll say: “Yeah, I got the rule. I justwant to knowwhat you got.”Each time anOriole is hit by a pitch, he concedes that he debates retaliation. “Don’t let your emotions rule you. It’s real easy to showhowbig your tail is. Howmanlywill you feel [if people get hurt]?,” he says.But an eye-for-an-eye is part of his worldview. Showalter exemplifies the
extrovert, the brash innovator, whileRiggleman is the gentlemanly introvert, dedicated to implementing thewisdom that’s been handed to him through generations. When it comes to baseball
theory, Showalter is perfectly suited to theA.L.’s big-inning style.He oncemanaged a team that hit 260 homers, had only nine sacrifice bunts all season and seldomstole a base. If he has input, you can bet theO’swon’t remain last in the league inwalks and homers, the core ingredient of theBigBang. Conversely,Riggleman comes
out of the St. Louis Cardinal small-ball school that thinks pitching, defense, speed and one- runwins are essential.He once managed the Cubs in homer- havenWrigley Field, yet had 83 sacrifice bunts and 176 stolen base attempts. If soon-to-be-free AdamDunn ended up anOriole, itwould probably suit the
strategic predispositions of both teams. Ex-Orioles constantly compare
Showalter’s dugout appearance and intense demeanor toHall of FamemanagerEarlWeaver. “They look somuch alike, right down to theirmannerisms, that it’s almost scary,” says former OrioleMike Flanagan. Their theories alsomirror each
other to a degree. “Earl calledme after I got the job,” said Showalter.Any tips? “Something to dowith ‘three-
run homers,’” said Showalter. As the Showalter and
Riggleman regimes play out at opposite ends of a parkway, baseball peoplewillwatch one extra element of spin:Rizzo and Showalterworked together in Arizona. Amongmany possible
managers,Rizzo talked to Showalter last yearwhen Riggleman still had an interim tag. TheNatsGMspeakswell of Showalter, but he didn’t hire him. CouldBuck have been enticed? We don’t know. TheNats have played .375 ball
for the last fourmonthswhile the Orioles have played at a .625 pace inwhat Showalter calls “a new two-month season” for his team. One teamhas been playing like set their feet afirewhile the other, just days ago, had to be harangued for not playing harder. Those extremeswon’t last. Butwith foils as perfect as
Showalter andRiggleman,we can be sure thatWashington and Baltimore have just begun this game ofmanagerial “compare and contrast.”
boswellt@washpost.com
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