"Wearing it"

Too much has already been written about 30-3, but the Sporting News is running a piece today by Todd Jones, giving the insider's perspective of a mega blowout:

At some point, the Orioles had to decide whether to let a position player take the mound. Teams don't like to do this, but sometimes there's no choice. When the difference is 20-plus runs, you'd think there would be no choice -- especially with it being the first game of a doubleheader.

But the Orioles decided to let Paul Shuey "wear it," which is when the manager decides you'll be the last guy to pitch no matter how many runs are scored. Wearing it isn't much fun.

First baseman Kevin Millar would have been an ideal guy to suck up those last two innings for the Orioles. He would have saved the bullpen and prevented Shuey from killing his ERA. You'd like to think your skipper would do everything he can to prevent that from happening.

With so many people writing, blogging, and bloviating about baseball these days, it's easy to forget that the ballplayers are the only ones out there who can truly provide a unique perspective. Sure, there is nothing worse than a vapid, boilerplate ballplayer guest column, but when the ballplayer is smart, insightful, and allowed to offer a semblance of an opinion, this kind of thing really works.