It’s strangely appropriate that the reliever the online fandom has dubbed Shutdown Sauce has gone off to a place where they put lots of sauce on chili, isn’t it?

Here’s the drill: the Orioles put Alfredo Simon on waivers the other day. He was just claimed by the Reds, which means he’s no longer our property. Since we also outrighted Jai Miller to Norfolk (he cleared waivers for obvious reasons) and reassigned Pat Neshek to minor league camp, there’s room on the 40-man roster for Ronny Paulino and Nick Johnson.

By the way, Neshek didn’t give up a single run this entire spring, which I think makes him a better option than someone like, say, Kevin Gregg, but whatever. Keep baffling us all, Orioles.

Opening Day is this week, so we’ve almost made it! Get ready to suck at baseball, everyone! (Well, maybe we won’t, but the chances of that are as slim as Jai Miller being picked up on waivers, so.)

I really don’t want to do this.

There are few days I hate more than the end of the season. Even though the Orioles pulled out an amazing ninth-inning win, coming from behind to ruin the Red Sox’s chances of making the playoffs, I’m still completely crushed. It’s because I have to say goodbye to everybody now. I guess I should start with that.

• Robert Andino: That walkoff you hit in the ninth should hopefully solidify the #freerobertandino hashtag’s existence on Twitter. You deserve it.
• Brian Matusz: Please, please, PLEASE fix whatever’s wrong with your pitching this off-season. I can’t bear to watch someone I adore as much as you struggling like this. It really hurts.
• Nick Markakis: Keep on balancing strange objects on your chin, buddy. I know you’ll be back next year.
• Adam Jones: You were the absolute MAN this season. I’ll miss you big-time this offseason. If you want any more drawings, just let me know!
• God Matt Wieters: Your cat looks like my cat. Well, one of your two cats looks like one of my four cats.
• MATT ANGLE: COME BACK ALREADY. I MISS YOUR DWEEBISH EARS. I LOVE YOU, FAVORITE ORIOLES PROSPECT.
• Kyle Hudson: You kind of look like a dweeb too, and it’s adorable. I can’t wait to see you next year, either.
• Nolan Reimold: YOU ARE FREE, NOLAN. FELIX PIE IS GONE. With that said, welcome to being a regular-ish player. Except now it’s October so you have to wait until February.
• Jeremy Guthrie: Get better taste in music. Oh, and go Stanford!
• Kevin Gregg: PLEASE LEAVE.
• Alfredo Simon: I’m sad that I can’t put any more Shutdown Sauce on my food until February. This crushes me in a strange way.
• Zach Britton: We both have cats, so you’re cool in my book. (Thank you, Orioles Pet Calendar. Mine arrived in the mail yesterday. Expect a post.)
• Chris Tillman: I’m going to miss the adorable gap in your front teeth. It makes you look so endearing.
• Jake Arrieta: You’re hot.
• Buck Showalter: I’m really going to miss your outbursts this offseason. They made my days so entertaining.  And you know what? In the end, you did the best with the team you had. I’m not sure why you keep getting them to play so darn well in September, though. Can they do this the rest of the season, too?
• Willie Randolph: I’m sorry if last night brought back bad memories of your tenure with the Mets. It kind of did for me.
• Jim Johnson: You’re better than I thought! It’s nice to see you pitching well.
• Troy Patton: OH, YOU’RE ALIVE.
• Chris Davis: Sorry you’re on a team that loses now.
• Tommy Hunter: I could say the same to you, too.
• Mark Reynolds: You walk far more than people notice. Must be the strikeout numbers blinding them. At any rate, I’ll even miss you this offseason.

I’m going to miss everyone, not just the people named here, of course. I just can’t deal with the offseason. Be prepared for a ridiculous number of Arizona Fall League updates from yours truly because I just can’t let go of baseball. Ever.

Oh, and one more thing: good luck in the playoffs, Koji. I miss you to death. がんばれ!

T-shirt design copyrighted to Ian Oland.

I can’t believe what I just saw.

Seriously. We took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Then Alfredo Simon, of all people, shut the Rays down for five innings until they broke through in the sixth and jumped ahead 2-1. The Orioles fought back fairly quickly, though, pushing a run across in the seventh. They set things up for a dramatic finish of sorts.

HAIL WIETERS.

With the game still deadlocked during the eighth inning, Matt Wieters stepped to the plate and hammered the ball. It left the field. Troy Patton picked up the win, with Jim Johnson popping in to record the last out (and thereby picking up the save).

We actually showed a little fight. I’m so beyond thrilled to see that, even if it means we won’t be booting other teams out of the playoffs or anything by letting the Rays win. Hey, it means we didn’t lay down and take it. We fought. I approve, Orioles. Keep on fighting, you Birds!

I’m fairly sure we’re both tired of each other by now. The weather only served to make everything worse.

Yesterday afternoon we all went down to Camden Yards and we played one more game. This one had been postponed by the rain twice, so the fact that we were able to finish it is amazing in its own right.

The fact that we won it? Even more incredible, since we’re the Orioles and they’re not.

Anyhow, we were down 4-1 after three, with Alfredo Simon’s struggles to keep the ball under control giving the Yankees quite a few opportunities. We slowly fought back, and in the eighth Robert Andino tied it up with a single. Two innings later, Andino pushed another single through, and Birdland rejoiced as the team came through.

This might be the most telling part, though:

The Yankees couldn’t do much of anything because the Orioles’ bullpen simply shut them down. Jo-Jo Reyes, Jeremy Accardo, Troy Patton, Kevin Gregg and Clay Rapada (1-0) combined to no-hit New York in the final six innings. The Yankees got just two baserunners, letting the Orioles rally.

Since when did we have an Uehara-less bullpen that was competent? I mean, Kevin Gregg was in there and we still didn’t give up a hit! What is this? I’m not used to this team winning, let alone having a solid bullpen. I don’t even know what’s going on here.

Ah, well, we won. Let’s take it and go on to face the Canadian Bird Team.

If you’re interested in a team named after birds that is consistent with that playing good baseball thing (at least this season), you can check out Steph’s favorite Japanese team, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They’re currently in first place, which is confusing pretty much everyone.

This pretty much says it all right here. Thank you, Enrique Rojas.

Simon should be able to come to camp soon – I’ll update you when I know more about the matter. Right now, what we do know is that Simon owes $55,000 in bond, but he’ll be able to go free and come to camp.

Here are a few little news bites from today:

• Brittany Ghiroli caught up with Kevin Gregg. Check out their question-and-answer session here.
• The family dropped the civil suit against Alfredo Simon, but he was denied bail for a second time. The prosecution is claiming that there is evidence against him. They have until April 9th to formally charge him.
• INTRASQUAD GAME ON SUNDAY. BASEBALL. (This article also has the pitching rotations for this week, so if you’re curious as to when your favorites will be starting, check this out. Prospect fans can catch Zach Britton on Wednesday against the Phillies.)
• Brian Roberts is not yet back at practice, but he’s recovering.
• Derrek Lee has taken batting practice and says he feels good!

Regarding that intrasquad game on Sunday, here’s what you can expect to see:

The schedule calls for Ryan Drese, Adrian Rosario, Wynn Pelzer, Mike Ballard, Raul Rivero and Nick Bierbrodt to pitch for one team, with Chris Jakubauskas, Troy Patton, Chorye Spoone, Armando Gabino and Pedro Viola to take the hill for the other.

No names that are astoundingly huge now, but there’s quite a few top prospects in there. Baseball America ranked Wynn Pelzer 6th, Chorye Spoone 24th, and Adrian Rosario 30th. As you can imagine, I’ll be keeping tabs on this to see what goes down. I’m also going to start my prospect previews in a few days based on BA’s rankings, so stay tuned for those – one prospect for every day in March!

As of Sunday, Alfredo Simon’s case involving the accidental shooting of his cousin was going faster than expected, with sources saying that he could be released within a week to ten days.

Per Brittany Ghiroli’s post about it on MLB.com:

One source said that significant progress in Simon’s case is expected by midweek and that it will “bust this thing wide open,” in terms of proving he was not involved in the death of 25-year-old Michael Castillo, Simon’s cousin who was shot after a New Year’s celebration in the town of Luperon.

Simon — whose gun was determined by ballistics not to be the one that fired the fatal shot — was denied bail earlier this month, and multiple reports out of the Dominican at the time speculated that the 29-year-old, facing an involuntary manslaughter charge, would remain in jail for at least a year as the investigation continued. This week’s expected developments, coupled with the belief that the Dominican authorities are now investigating another suspect, will help expedite Simon’s release.

Simon is currently on the Orioles’ restricted list, which cleared up a roster spot on the 40-man for Vlad Guerrero. Although he could be cleared and be back in Florida in time to throw this spring, he’ll have a hard time cracking the roster since there are currently so many relievers in camp. We’ll have to wait and see if he makes the team at all, let alone makes it out of the Dominican Republic in time to play.

According to AP sources, reliever Alfredo Simon was denied bail in the Dominican Republic and will remain in prison for up to one year whilst the charges against him are investigated. Simon is planning to appeal the decision in order to pitch.

AP photo.

Simon supposedly accidentally shot his cousin, Michael Castillo, whilst firing celebratory shots into the air on New Year’s Eve. He is being brought up on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, the penalties of which if he is convicted have not yet been released.

Simon’s defense attorney, Dinosa Dilone, says his client will likely be acquitted at trial:

“We think the judge acted in such a way to avoid a reaction from the media. There is already forensic evidence that Simon’s weapon did not cause the death of the victim.”

Simon went 4-2 with a 4.93 ERA and 17 saves in 2010.