Rays' Matt Garza, Orioles' Luke Scott Trade Barbs, With Side of Religion
by FanHouse Staff
Count baseball as another arena where religious discussions don't mix well, and thank Rays pitcher Matt Garza and Orioles slugger Luke Scott for reminding us why.
The verbal spat between the two began after Garza said he was seeking "payback" for an ugly start in Baltimore back in July, something he was, nominally at least, successful in doing Friday night in a victory over the O's.
Scott didn't appreciate Garza's comments, offering a verse from the Bible (Proverbs 3:34: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble") as reason why they were inappropriate.
Garza responded by saying Scott was hypocritical given his home run celebration, which, like that of many other hitters, includes a point to the sky, hugging and high fives with teammates.
by Greg Couch
It's because something is just right about this, something simple. It just feels good, I guess, to see someone in today's huge-dollar sports world do a basic, right thing.
On Friday, the Baltimore Orioles had '60s slugger Jim Gentile come on the field to throw the ceremonial opening pitch and to honor him. And when he got there, Orioles president Andy MacPhail walked out onto the field with one of those big, phony checks they use to show a crowd that they're giving someone some money.
MacPhail told Gentile, "This will take care of what my father started."
The check was for $5,000.
"I couldn't ask for anything better," Gentile told me a few minutes later. "I'm overwhelmed.''
Congratulations to Gentile. And congrats to the Baltimore Orioles, too. You did the right thing, and you did it perfectly. It showed heart. It showed an honoring of the past. It showed class.
Wow. 
Jim Gentile will get his due in Baltimore, after all.
The former Orioles great will be honored in a special ceremony before Friday's game against the White Sox at Camden Yards, the team announced Thursday.
Gentile, 76, recently gained an official share of the 1961 American League RBI total after Major League Baseball and its official statistics provider, Elias Sports Bureau, signed off on research that showed Roger Maris had inadvertently been credited with an extra RBI in his historic '61 campaign. The correction dropped Maris from 142 to 141 RBI, tying Gentile's total for the year.
Gentile told FanHouse's Greg Couch last week that his son had informed him of the change.
"It caught me off-guard," Gentile said. "But it'll be something my kids and grandkids can look back on and see I did something.
"I'm excited about it, but I wish it would have happened about 40 years ago." 
by Andrew Johnson
BALTIMORE -- If the Orioles aren't careful, they're going to run out of excuses for losing.
On the verge of their 13th straight losing season at a majors-worst 32-73, the O's made official what is supposed to be their next step toward ending that dubious streak, unveiling new manager Buck Showalter on Monday.
Thanks to the woeful Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore isn't quite the most moribund baseball town in North America, but that's hardly a comfort to fans here, and, in a year that in many ways represents rock bottom for the franchise, belief that things will ever turn around is at an all-time low.
But listen to Showalter, and maybe you start to have a little faith.
"Because a club has struggled for so long, everybody thinks that everything there is bad. Everybody gets guilty by association, but you're innocent by association, too," he said in his introductory press conference. "That's not the case here. There are a lot of good things, and I've done my homework. We all have strengths and weaknesses. I think the most important thing an organization can do in a lot of cases is evaluate yourself ... and know who you are going forward and how you're going to go about doing it." 
by Ed Price
Here's what the Orioles get with Buck Showalter, who will take over Monday as their new manager:
o. A judge of talent -- someone who can figure out which players can be part of a winning team and which can't;
o. A strong in-game strategist;
o. Someone with experience in building a winner, whether the pre-Joe Torre Yankees, the 1999 Diamondbacks team that improved by 35 games from the year before, or the 2004 Rangers club that lost 91 games the previous year.
Here's what the Orioles need in their new manager:
o. Someone to figure out why some of the young, talented players plateaued or regressed this year;
o. Someone to help president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail set a course that isn't altered by interference from ownership or Orioles alumni;
o. Someone unafraid of the AL East who commands a presence in the clubhouse and is able to change the culture and losing atmosphere.