Tomorrow everyone will have a good laugh.  30-3 Texas beats Baltimore.  'It would have been worse if they hadn't missed the extra point after the last touchdown.'  Laugh, laugh.  

Well, it isn't that funny.

The Orioles didn't just embarrass themselves tonight.  They put a punctuation point at the end of the joke that has become the quality of pitching in major league baseball.  The worst of it is the first 30 run game in 110 years should have been expected.

The Orioles starter, Daniel Cabrera, has potential.  He has a big arm and strikes out a lot of batters.  Baltimore has waited 4 years for potential to translate to performance.  It hasn't happened yet.  Meanwhile, a pitcher who needed 96 pitches to stagger through 5 innings and give up 6 runs, is making $1,825,000 for making opponents look like the 1927 New York Yankees.

A 4.79 ERA and 366 walks in 621 innings says Cabrera hasn't learned to pitch yet.  It's no wonder.  He only had 61 innings above Class A when he came up.  The big right hander can go one of two ways now, neither of them good for Baltimore.  He could get it together, in which case the Yankees or RedSox sign him as a free agent in a few years.  Or maybe we've seen the best that Cabrera has already. 

Tonight three relievers followed Cabrera put up 4 innings of 20 hit, 24 run, 7 walk relief.  If you can call that a relief.  Here is the perp walk:

Brian Burress is a 26 year old who went into tonight's game with 49 walks in 87 innings.  He's not without talent, but major league pitchers don't walk a batter every other inning.  Tonight he got two batters out and gave up 8 hits and a walk.

Rob Bell has a career 5.62 ERA.  Going into tonight's game he had walked 13 and struck out 17.  That doesn't get the job done.  It didn't get it done in Cincinnati, it didn't get it done in Texas, it didn't get it done in Tampa Bay, and it won't get it done in Baltimore.  Somehow I'd still bet a considerable sum Rob Bell is on an opening day roster next season.  Tonight Bell retired 4 batters out and gave up 7 runs on 8 baseruners.

Paul Shuey has 11 major league seasons under his belt.  He went into tonight's game with a 6.75 ERA, 17 walks and 16 strikeouts and had walked 8 in his last 4 1/3 innings.  Shuey had been out of the majors for 4 seasons because of various injuries.  The final tally for tonight, 2 innings, 10 baserunners, 9 scored.

Aging veterans who are struggling to regain their talents used to do it AAA.  Now they fly first class on chartered jets.  Shuey is probably not ever going to be an effective pitcher again, but if the Orioles let him go would his replacement be better?

Major league owners have built their dream world.  Too many teams, pulled in fences, and a DH rule that turns American League baseball into a video game.  Put in a big scoreboard and launch some fireworks when the home runs come.  If you get someone else to build it, the fans will come and you can sell all the $6 hot dogs and $5 beer you want.

Fans who care about baseball know teams like the Orioles are ripping off their fans and tearing apart the game.  But it won't change.  The owners aren't baseball people for the most part and the Player's Association isn't giving to give up on $5 million DH's or dead weight franchises like the Florida Marlins that dilute the talent pool.  Baseball is what it is and what it will be.  

Before the game the Orioles announced they have signed Dave Trembley to a contract to return next season as manager.  In Bud Selig's world that sounds just about right.