(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Baseball Insider Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com joined Zinno to discuss the call-up of Kevin Gausman to make his first Major League start in Toronto on Thursday. Knobler said, “Let’s be serious, if their (Orioles) rotation was going strong, if they had no issues, if the five starters that started the first five games of the season were all pitching well, it’s very possible they would have waited on this a little longer.”

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Zinno questioned the timing of the move because it is so early in the season. There were other options for the Birds, but Knobler pointed out, “If Kevin Gausman is able to handle pitching in the big leagues right now, Kevin Gausman is one of their best five starters. In fact, you could certainly have argued, I don’t think it would have been necessarily the right move, but you could have argued that he should have been in the rotation out of spring training.”

Jake Arietta may very well be the guy who gets demoted back down to Norfolk. He was only on the big league roster as a bullpen arm. Despite the fact that the Orioles are not ready to give up on him, it looks like he will be the odd man out.

Gausman will make his debut on the road, which seems a little odd given that the Orioles could have gotten a huge bump in attendance with the young man making his debut. “If Kevin Gausman pitches well in Toronto and if he pitches well in Washington, I am sure he will get a great crowd the next time he pitches here (in Baltimore). I don’t think you make your decision on trying to get a big crowd for one start, you make your decision based on trying to win, because if you win, you’re gonna get a big crowd for a lot of games,” Knobler said.

(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

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The Orioles recent struggles and closer Jim Johnson’s struggles were the highlight. Zinno questioned his mental toughness. “Jim is a professional and I know he’s not happy, but his mental state is the least of my concerns,” said Viviano.

The Ravens came up next. Rolando McClain’s retirement was the topic. Viviano knew that it wasn’t a real retirement. “It’s a timeout. The young man needs to get his life in order. He’s 23. We know he’s had his issues behaviorally, off the field.” The Ravens begin their off-season workout program this week.

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Things have turned sour for the Birds, who have lost five in a row and seven of nine. So this week’s 6-4-3 will try and stay positive.

Top 6
1. Rangers – only they could over come a three-HR game from reigning Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera.
2. Cardinals – the best pitching staff in baseball took a hit when Jamie Garcia, (5-2, 3.58 ERA) landed on the DL.
3. Yankees – scored the second fewest runs in AL East by just seven. Given up the fewest runs in the AL East by 20!
4. Indians – Terry Francona will get the credit, but GM Chris Antonetti should with signing names like Swisher, Reynolds and Bourn.
5. Red Sox – pretty simple formula: .266 team BA (3rd in AL) and 3.80 team ERA (5th in AL). That equals a lot of wins.
6. Braves – they have slowed considerably since their hot start, but so has the rest of their division.

4 Stats
1. Matt Moore is 8-0. Rays have won all of his nine starts and he’s given up more than three runs just once! By the way, the last lefty this young to start 8-0, was Babe Ruth!
2. Matt Harvey (yes, I will do this once a week!), has five wins. Without them, the Mets would have just 12 as a team. That’s the only thing that separates the Mets from the Astros.
3. Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown last year. He is ahead of his pace from last year already through 42 games: 2012-.304/8/34 vs. 2013-.387/11/47.
4. Jean Segura of the Milwaukee Brewers, leads the NL in batting with a .364 batting averages and 59 hits in 41 games. Last season in 45 games, he had just 39 hits.

Bottom 3
1. Astros – I think it’s safe to say they will hold this spot for the rest of the year.
2. Marlins – I think it’s safe to say they will hold this spot for the rest of the year.
3. Mets – they got their 10th win on April 24th. They have just 17 wins so far this year.

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With the starting pitching being shaky, the Orioles will have to turn to other options, including Tsuyoshi Wada, who made his first start in Triple-A on Thursday. “His numbers weren’t particularly great. He’s exceptionally rusty. He had Tommy John surgery last year,” said Connolly.

The conversation went to the line-up and who is hot and who is not. Nate McLouth is not hot struggling since the beginning of May. Connolly said, “It’s always a concern when guys are not hitting. It goes back and forth. I did not like the fact that they were not starting him all the time. It got him out of his rhythm.” Manny Machado is very hot. “He’s had three hits or more in four of the last five games. His defense is great. His attitude is great. He’s in a really good spot,” Connolly remarked.

Finally, Zinno calls Connolly his favorite argument of the week and that argument was whether or not to trade prospect Dylan Bundy. “I don’t think it’s logical right now because no one is going to be trading for a guy who is hurt and can’t pick up a ball for six weeks,” Connolly said. Zinno said he thinks we over-value prospects and they should be traded for their highest value. “I think there are only two guys who can get you a top-shelf guy for the stretch run and that’s Bundy and (Kevin) Gausman. The problem is any time you project a young pitcher, you really don’t know what you are going to get,” said Connolly.

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Follow Glenn on twitter @gunitradio and follow Mark on twitter @MarkZinno

Follow Mark on twitter @MarkZinno and follow Mike @Swollendome

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Top 6

1. Rangers – giving up the fewest runs in the AL and getting stronger each day. Already 6 games in the AL West.
2. Cardinals – best pitching staff in the NL. The question throughout the summer is can they slow down the Reds offense that will be right on their tail.
3. Yankees – Vernon Wells, Travis Hafner and Lyle Overbay have filled in amazingly for Granderson, Teixiera and Jeter.
4. Giants – In case you haven’t noticed, Matt Cain isn’t even pitching that well. He’s just 2-2 with an 5.04 ERA.
5. Orioles – They are clearly for real. The idea that last year was a fluke is gone. Now they just have to overtake the AL East.
6. Red Sox – Slipping a little bit, but still pitching well and their line-up is very underrated.

4 Stats

1. Since coming off the DL, David Ortiz has 25 hits in 19 games and an OPS of .984. At 37, he’s still pretty good!
2. Time for my Matt Harvey “swoon stat” … his last 4 starts – 27.1 IP, 17H, 6 ER, 30K, 5 BB, 1.98 ERA … 4 no-decisions.
3. After a 1-5 game on April 10th against Boston, Manny Machado’s average was .200. A little over a month later, he’s batting .331 including .396 in the month of May.
4. Punchless offenses like the Astros, Twins, and Pirates all have scored more runs than the Angels (152) with names like Pujols, Hamilton, Trout and Trumbo.

Bottom 3

1. Astros – Almost climbed out of the cellar in their series with the Angels, but it’s secure once again.
2. Marlins – How long before the trade Giancarlo Stanton?
3. Angels – expectations are part of the reason they are here. Money can’t buy everything.

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ESPN.com Senior Baseball Writer Tim Kurkjian joined Zinno to talk about everything baseball. The biggest story in the game right now is another blown call by the umpires and the need for a better replay system. Kurkjian said, “It’s missed calls like this that are going to lead to an expanded replay, but you’re gonna have to get it right!” The percentages of calls that umpires get right is very high, yet the only attention that the umpires get is when they make mistakes.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW HERE:

The conversation turned to the Orioles and their solid start. Last year, Kurkjian doubted the Orioles down the stretch, but he’s not doing that this year. “That’s a more talented team than people give it credit for. What is unmistakeable is the talent they have on this team.” Both guys were beyond impressed with Manny Machado. “We cannot overlook the fact that he is playing out of positon. He is a big time hitter already. And it’s only a matter of time before he fills out and becomes a huge power hitter on the major league level,” said Kurkjian.

The guys closed with the struggles of both the teams in Los Angeles. Both have played 33 games and one team has 13 wins (Dodgers) and the other has 11 (Angels). “I picked the Angels to win the divison and I picked the Dodgers to win the wild card! I’m thoroughly perplexed,” remarked Kurkjian. The Angels pitching has not come around and the line-up has been ineffective. The Dodgers have been marred by injuries. Kurkjian felt that while manager Mike Scioscia, of the Angels, will last the entire season, Don Mattingly, of the Dodgers, may not be so lucky if things don’t turn around.

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Ryan Wilson of CBSSports.com joined Zinno to discuss the latest NFL headlines this off-season. Rolando McClain was once again the topic as Wilson was unclear as to why the Ravens front office went the route of giving McClain a second chance in Baltimore. “Apparently the message (Eric) Decosta was tying to convey was different. The problem is that the Ravens have no depth at linebacker,” said Wilson. The two guys also had a laugh about Titus Young, who was arrested twice in the same day. He is also a free agent who is out of work currently. “We know how this story ends and it doesn’t end well for Titus Young,” remarked Wilson.

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The ever-popular Tim Tebow was up next. Zinno said that the Tebow-fans are actually hurting his ability to get a job in the NFL because it’s too much of a circus. Wilson agreed, “When a minority makes a lot of noise, I wonder how much it really means. Shad Khan may still want Tebow because it puts butts in seats.” Zinno also said that there is no reason for the Jaguars to go get him because they drafted Dennard Robinson and he basically is the same player. “I think Robinson is a little more versatile than Tebow when it comes to getting to the outside,” said Wilson.

Steelers safety Ryan Clark was running his mouth about Tom Brady and the Patriots. Both of the guys agreed it probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do. “[The Steelers] have to face the Patriots on November 3rd and the problem is that every time some guy pops off at Tom Brady, he ends up lighting them up,” said Wilson.

Finally, the most useless 30 seconds in football were discussed as Carrie Underwood will take over the singing of the Sunday Night Football theme. Wilson joked, “All they did was take Faith Hill and put her in a time machine 20 years ago!” Faith Hill resigned from her duties as the voice of the Sunday Night Football Theme song this off-season.

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CBSSports.com Baseball Senior Columnist Scott Miller joined Zinno on Last Call to talk about the latest happenings in Major League Baseball. They started off talking about the Orioles and the possibility of them repeating their 2012 playoff season in 2013. “I know that everyone jumped on their record in 1-run games last year … but I think they have good young pitching. There’s good young position players. And of course Buck Showalter doesn’t miss a thing,” Miller said. The guys talked next about Manny Machado and his rise to stardom. Zinno says he will be mentioned with the names like Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. Miller chimed in with, “He may be behind them in popularity and in name, but he’s no where behind those guys with his game. He’s just a wizard in the field. He’s capable of making plays that make you remember where you were when you saw them!”

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Scott Miller’s latest column was a satirical piece about how the “Cinderella” Red Sox and Yankees have gotten off to incredible starts to be at the top of the AL East. “They still have a lot more weapons than most teams. But I thought that they had both sprung a few leaks,” Miller said. The thought was that with both of these teams expecting to have slow starts, the other three teams could take advantage of it, but only the Orioles really have.

Finally, the gentlemen discussed how cruel the game of baseball can be even to the biggest stars. Both Roy Halladay, who has won two Cy Youngs, and Josh Hamilton, who was won an MVP, are struggling mightily to start the 2013 campaign. “In Roy Halladay’s case, it’s father time. We saw an erosion last year. He spent some time on the DL. He wasn’t the same pitcher.” Miller continued, “In Josh Hamilton’s case, he is just missing everything. He’s swinging at everything and missing everything. He’s always been a streaky hitter.”

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Baltimore Sun columnist Kevin Cowherd joined Zinno on Last Call to talk about the blossoming career of Manny Machado. Coming off a successful 11-game road trip, Machado has made a name for himself. “He’s just proving he is a boundless talent,” said Cowherd. The guys talked about how well Machado has been hitting in the 2-hole. “The guy has a good eye. He’s 20 years old – we forget how old he is, but he’s got a great eye,” Cowherd boasted.

Baseball sabermetricians talk about wins against replacement, or WAR, and both guys agree that Machado is the total package. Cowherd said, “Now he’s proving that he’s an all-around player. Power. He hits for average. He’s fast. And I go back to his defense. His snap throw to first is as good as I’ve ever seen.” Machado has displayed a sense of maturity beyond his age. He has total poise and a super-star mentality. But he’s very comfortable. “He’s not in awe of being in a major league clubhouse. He feels like he belongs,” said Cowherd.

The guys talked about the Orioles start this season. Zinno argued that the Birds don’t have that many holes despite what fans think. “They have won 7 of 10 series this season. That’s how you get to the post season,” remarked Cowherd. The Birds continue to stay in striking distance in the AL East through the first month-plus. They are right where they want to be and need to be.

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE:

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Top 6 -
1. Red Sox – Lost three in a row and Buchholz is being suspected of cheating. Still all is well with the best team in the league.
2. Rangers – Given up the fewest runs in the league and the pitching staff isn’t even 100% yet. And they can still hit.
3. Cardinals – It took them a little while, but six wins in a row have shot them to the top of the NL Central.
4. Giants – They look like they are ready to make that push to separate themselves from the rest of their division.
5. Tigers – won nine of their last 10, granted they just pasted the Astros, but still, they are trending upward.
6. Orioles – finished their longest road trip of the year 7-4 and haven’t lost a game when leading after 7 innings in since Obama’s first term! 107 in a row!

4 stats -
1. Manny Machado has a WAR of 2.0. That’s higher than former MVPs Miguel Cabrera, Joe Mauer and Dustin Pedroia … also higher than perennial All-Stars like Robinson Cano, Evan Longoria and Prince Fielder.
2. Roy Halladay has given up 33 earned runs this season in seven starts. In 2011, he gave up 61 earned runs in 32 starts.
3. If you’re going to Camden Yards hoping for a home run ball souvenir, make sure you are in your seats when the Orioles are up at bat because the Royals, who are in town for a 3-game set, have hit a league low 16 home runs. Chris Davis has nine home runs on the year.
4. Lowest batting average against in baseball – .231 by the Indians, Rangers and Cubs. Highest? .302 by the Astros. Explains a lot.

Bottom 4 -
1. Astros – See stat #4. It’s going to get worse. There will be much bitching and complaining down the stretch about who gets easy wins against them in a playoff push.
2. Miami – They just beat the hell out of Roy Halladay. But then again, so has everyone else this year.
3. Cubs – A new scoreboard should make the limited highlights easier to see!
4. Blue Jays – Money can’t buy everything. Neither can trading for half of the Marlins.

Zinno

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Well it’s one of my favorite times of the year as the 5 most exciting weeks for horse racing have arrived. Saturday will set the table for the following two races. Now, full disclosure, I have missed for the last three years on the Derby winner. But I will give it a shot like I do every year. Enjoy the “Run for the Roses!”

Win: 14 – Verrazano
Place: 16 – Orb
Show: 3 – Revolutionary

I highly suggest the box exacta or box trifecta! Now go get paid!

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First up were the troubles of Adam Jones in center field. ‘You have to care because he is one of the best center fielders in baseball. He is not doing it right now… He has to be a complete player right now for the money he is making”. Zinno is willing to give him a pass on the defensive woes.

Next up is Ryan Flaherty’ problems at the plate, “The gloves been fine but his bats not there”. Dan stated that the Orioles have no other options than Ryan Flaherty or Alexi Casilla.  Zinno is an avid supporter of Ryan Flaherty.

Finally Zinno and Dan discussed Freddy Garcia being called up to make Saturdays start.

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It was another edition of “On the Mark” on Last Call as Mark Viviano, WJZ-TV Sports Director, joined Mark Zinno to talk everything Baltimore sports. Zinno first asked Viv about the Boston Marathon bombings as Viviano has run over two-dozen marathons in his life. “Having run the Boston Marathon myself, I can remember the run up Boyleston Street and the significance of completing the world’s oldest marathon. (I was) shocked like everyone else.”

The conversation turned to the Ravens as they completed their draft. Viviano, like everyone else was pleased with the Ravens draft, but was hesitant because you just don’t know yet. “We don’t know anything until a meaningful game, when the regular season starts, as to how well they did. That being said, the Ravens and their history of success leads you to believe that they probably have picked the right guy,” Viviano said.

Orioles were up next for the fellas. The guys talked about the positives and negatives of the season so far. Viv said, “In a sport in which you play 162 games, you do have to look at the macro. You have to look at the marathon that this is. You can’t get too caught up in stumbling here or there.” The Birds are built to withstand the beating that teams take over the course of the regular season.

Finally, Jason Collins was discussed. Zinno stressed that his announcement was a big deal. Viviano agreed. “We care about (sports). It’s a part of our society. It’s a big part of our society. It’s a big business. Aspects of sports that reflect society are significant. Whether it’s race, whether it’s sexuality, whether it’s socio-economic questions – there is so many aspects that go back and forth in the conversation. That’s what makes this significant.” The guys closed out their discussion with some final thoughts on Collins and sports being so important in society.

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Ian was also asked about the Tebow saga and its end in New York. “In the end it will go down as a very bad deal”. Ian also addressed the rest of the quarterback drama in New York.

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Zinno had national writer Dan Levy of Bleacher Report on to discuss Jason Collins’ coming out as the first openly gay player for an American pro sports team. Levy shot right out of the gate saying “This story is going to resonate … we are going to look back at this day in 10 or 20 years, and say ‘that was the day that everything changed.’” The guys discussed the relevance of the story and how important this is to not only American sports, but to the country as a whole.

Zinno wanted to make sure he gave both sides their due. They spoke about Mike Wallace’s tweet where he questioned why someone would be gay. Wallace pointed out he was just asking a question. Levy responded, “Not only is that guy really not smart, he’s dumb!” But Wallace wasn’t the only one. Levy continued, “There are people who have established careers in our industry, who went on TV, radio and Twitter and said some things that I can’t believe!”

The comparison to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier was brought up. Robinson had a much harder deal according to Levy. He pointed out that Robinson could never hide his skin color, but that’s the choice that Collins’ made. Levy applauded Collins for his courage to do so.

One of the final points of discussion is the timing. Zinno speculated that many folks feel that the timing of it may be curious as Collins is a free agent and needs a job in the NBA. “I think it’s a little cynical to say that he did this to stay in the league and that he did it as a publicity stunt … but it may not be that far from the truth. I think we can look at it the other way and say that whether he plays again in the NBA or not, I don’t think it’s going to matter. I think that the next domino is going to fall,” Levy said. Both men agreed that is was a historic day in American professional sports.

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Top 6
1. Red Sox – best record in the bigs, Buchholz, Lester & Dubront combined have 12 wins and are undefeated. Pitching wins.
2. Braves – coming back down to Earth after an incredible start. Lost four in a row, but Justin Upton is still on fire!
3. Rangers – it bothers me that some people are surprised by their start. No one should be. Josh Hamilton wasn’t the sole reason they won back-to-back AL titles.
4. Yankees – getting solid pitching combined with the rejuvenation of Travis Hafner, Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay have them right in the mix.
5. Orioles – 129 runs are 2nd best in the bigs. A phenomenal bullpen will keep them in contention all season.
6. Pirates – A major-league best 8-2 in their last 10 games shot them to the top of the NL Central.

4 Stats
1. Top 5 batting averages in the AL belong to Carlos Santana, Torii Hunter, Miguel Cabrera, Adam Jones and Nate McLouth!!! That’s right Nate McLouth (.351) also boasts the majors best OBP at .455.
2. The Oakland A’s have the 10th best batting average (.254) and are 13th in HRs (26), but have scored the most runs in the league. Odd? Not really … they league the bigs in walks (117) and doubles (61).
3. You heard it here first folks. The best pitcher in MLB in three seasons will be Matt Harvey. He will be better than Strasburg, Verlander, Bundy and whoever else you wanna put there. 4-0, 1.54 ERA and a 0.69 WHIP. Sizzling hot.
4. For you saber-metricians, Manny Machado has a 1.6 WAR so far this season. That’s third best in the AL. A great sign for the future and the type of player he is. It’s not always about numbers with him.

Bottom 3
1. Marlins – if chicks dig the long ball and more scoring is better for ratings, well, no one cares in Miami anyway.
2. Houston – you have to feel good if your favorite team has a 3-game series coming up against the Astros.
3. Padres – single-handedly keeping the D-backs and Rockies atop the NL West.

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The Bengals are currently slotted for the 21st pick tonight.

Listen here:

(Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Dan Shonka, former NFL General Manager and Scouting Director with nearly 40 years of NFL experience, joined Zinno on Last Call to discuss his final mock draft on his website Ourlads.com. Shonka has the Chiefs taking Central Michigan LT Eric Fisher over Texas A&M’s Luke Joeckel. “It was a paper thin split between the two,” Shonka said. He also said it could go the other way with Joeckel going number one.

Listen to the full interview here: 

Zinno asked about the Eagles taking West Virginia QB Geno Smith at number four. Zinno questioned as to why he would be taken that high when Eagles have Mike Vick at quarterback. Shonka talked about the uncertainty with Michael Vick staying healthy. “He’s gonna get hurt. Michael Vick went through one year of never being injured,” blasted Shonka. Another West Virginia player projected in the first round is WR Tavon Austin. Shonka said, “There are exceptions to the rule. He is a rare, rare player.” Shonka went so far as to call Austin so fast he is like “smoke” … you can’t tackle smoke he said.

Shonka has the Ravens taking Florida safety Matt Elam at 32, with the last pick in the first round. He also talked about the possibility of the Ravens taking LSU linebacker Kevin Minter. Shonka talked about the success of Ozzie Newsome in the past and that this draft should be no different. “There’s a lot of ways Ozzie can do it. For a team that’s constantly picking at the bottom of the draft, they’ve had a lot of luck picking players.”

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Listen to the full interview here:

Former Ravens center and 98.5 The Sports Hub host, Mike Flynn joined Zinno to discuss a myriad of topics, most importantly the events in Boston and the bombings. “It was tough,” Flynn said. A native New Englander, Flynn went on to say “Boston is a tough town. People are tough. It’s a big pro sports town. And when you have a tragedy like that, you can put your mind on sports. It always helps.” The two guys went on to discuss how sports has helped heal the people and the city.

When the conversation turned to actual sports, Ravens LB Rolando McClain was the first topic. “You don’t get arrested seven times if you are marginal,” said Flynn, pointing out that if he was a great player, he wouldn’t have this type of behavior. Flynn continued to talk about the fact that NFL players sometimes are in a “bubble” and are selfish with an ego.

Baseball was up next on tap. Flynn talked about the Red Sox and how they are a different team in the clubhouse and how that has been a big part of their early success. Also the pitching has been the key. “It’s all pitching and that was a big reason why they brought in (manager) John Farrell.” Zinno asked Flynn what he thought about the Orioles start this season and why they have had early success. Flynn commented, “You gotta hang around and find your identity as a team.” The Orioles will have try and find that same success they enjoyed last year.

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1) Where are your divisional opponents on the schedule? This is the most important thing. Win your division and you go to the playoffs. Win 5 of your divisional games and you are half way to a playoff berth and a division title.

2) How many back-to-back road games do they have?? Teams lose the back end of back-to-back road games over 50% of the time. Do they have and 3 game road trips? It’s rare but it happens.

3) Travel? West coast games? It is hard on teams to have to go cross-country. Harder on west coast teams coming east, but it still is a grind to go cross-country and come back and play the next week.

4) Short weeks? Monday night games are great, but coaches hate it. They hate Thursday night games even more. If you get lucky, you have the benefit of being home on a short week.

5) Bad weather games on the road. Going into Buffalo in December sucks. They love it up there, but it sucks and it can be a disadvantage, despite some cold-weather teams are usually perennially poor.

6) Quality of QBs on your schedule. Having to play guys like Manning, Brady, Breed and Rodgers could amount to a lot of losses on your schedule. You’d much rather play names like Sanchez, Gabbert, and whoever is under center in Arizona!

If you stick to these guidelines, you will see that the Ravens have a wonderfully favorable schedule, despite being defending Super Bowl champs!

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For athletes in today’s society, what they have between the ears is so important. It separates the good from the great and it defines the value of a player both on and off the field. When you talk about how a man’s mind works and why it’s important and how it affects not only the individual but others around him, you should get a clear image of Pat Tillman in your head. Nine years ago on April 22nd, Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan. And while we all know the circumstances around his death according to the government were sketchy at best, that isn’t what’s important to remember on this day. Remember a truly genuine one of a kind individual that embodied the type of spirit we all want to be around. If you do your research about Pat Tillman and find out what kind of man he was – forget the football player he was, the athlete he was – look at the type of brother he was, the type of son he was, the type of husband and the type of Soldier he was. You will understand why he made the decision he did. He articulated it so eloquently on September 12, 2001 when he said,

“My great-grandfather was at Pearl Harbor. And a lot of my family has given up – has gone and fought in wars, and I haven’t really done a damn thing as far as laying myself on the line like that. And so I have a great deal of respect for those who have and what the flag stands for.”

In the book, Where Men Win Glory, which was all about Tillman’s life and story, the author John Krakauer, paints a fabulous picture of how for Tillman, it wasn’t a hard choice to make to enlist in the Army. It was almost like it was the only choice … and the best choice. Pat never did anything capriciously. There was always deep thought and layers to the things he did. If you listen to those closest to him talk about him, they make that very evident.

And so while it’s easy to forget April 22 as anything other than just a day on the calendar, I never will. Simply because Pat Tillman ties together two of the greatest passions in my life – sports and the military. I am honored to have been able to call myself a brother in arms with him and only wish I was fortunate enough to have met him. I think we can all do a little to keep his memory alive and the immense sacrifice he made in leaving the NFL and the ultimate sacrifice that he and so many others have made in defense of our nation. God Bless the USA!

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Top 6 -

1. Braves – a three-game losing streak has given them five losses. There are four teams that only have five wins!
2. Rockies – 11-1 vs. Padres, Brewers and Mets. 0-3 vs. Giants. Pretty telling early on.
3. Red Sox – with all that has gone on this past week, they managed to keep pitching … and winning!
4. Rangers – when you are getting pitching like they are, you don’t need Josh Hamilton.
5. Giants – doing it with pitching and offense so far – they’re talented and experienced.
6. Athletics – first AL team to score 100 runs. No one saw that coming.

4 stats -

1. Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells each have five home runs. Brian Cashman looks like a genius.
2. The Orioles have only gotten seven quality starts this season. Tied for 4th worst in MLB.
3. Matt Harvey has been filthy. He’s 4-0 with a 0.93 ERA and he out-dueled Stephen Strasburg.
4. Journeyman John Buck leads the bigs in RBIs with 22. His career-high is 66.

Bottom 3 -

1. Marlins – 43 runs scored this season. The Angels scored 22 in a 3-game sweep over the Tigers.
2. Astros – given up a league high 108 runs. That’s six runs per game.
3. Padres – they only have five wins. A 3-game sweep over the Dodgers has been the lone bright spot.

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What’s really set in the most since the Super Bowl & signing the “big deal”?
“…just trying to get back to a little bit of normalcy & get ready for next year. Start to get a little bit healthy & just enjoy the down time for a little bit.”

Was Joe surprised by any of the Ravens off season moves?
” I think when you are in the league for 5 years you  get so used to all the off season moves that nothing really catches you by surprise at this point. I don’t know if I was ever really, really surprised by any of the moves but, obviously we are going to miss some of those guys. They’ve been great players for us & we wish them the best in the future.”

On being a leader in the Locker room:
“I am who I am & I’ve been that way for a reason and I’m not going to change…I’m going to be the same person & continue to lead the guys in the same way.”

On missing Ray Lewis:
“Ray was obviously that vocal guy on Sunday. But to be honest with you, he wasn’t probably the most vocal guy in the locker room on a daily basis anyway. He was just Ray Lewis & that was enough. He was our guy & I think because of that we’ve just  had so many guys learn to be leaders like that & follow him, It’s a group effort in our locker room & I think it’s going to stay the same.”

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW:

On putting up the stats to be considered an “elite passer”…
I always look to go out there & put up a  lot of statistics & do those things. I don’t think they are necessarily the most important, but they are important. They are definitely something that is important to me & always has been.”

Are you watching Jacoby Jones on Dancing With The Stars?
“I watch Jacoby every week…” “I knew he could dance but I am definitely impressed with some of the things he’s doing week to week. He’s doing a really good job.”

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Who would have ever thought that a hockey game would be remembered more for something that happened before the puck even dropped? And it wasn’t a fight either – but the national anthem prior to the Bruins-Sabres game at TD Garden on Wednesday night showed us all what it means to stand together when it’s needed most.

Rene Rancourt has been singing the national anthem at Bruins games for decades now. The moment was always his. Well after the bombings at the Boston Marathon, Rancourt gave that moment to the city and the nation. And it was great. During the opening lines of our Star-Spangled Banner, Rancourt implored fans with his hands to join in and sing with him. And join in they did. Almost 18,000 people sang our anthem in unison. It went viral immediately. People said it gave them tears. It moved them. It brought us all together. And I think that is great.

But I will take it one step further. I have a deeper appreciation for our anthem than most people. I have served in our military for almost 15 years. I have done two combat tours. I have heard the national anthem in varying events that are both devastating and entertaining. I have saluted the flag during the anthem and I’ve held my hand over my heart. I have stayed silent and I have sung every word. It just saddens me that it takes the tragedy that was the 2013 Boston Marathon to cause people to sing a song that they have known the words to since childhood. That is the way the anthem should be sung EVERY time it is played, at every event. If people did that, maybe bad things would happen less often because we all would stand together in defense of each other.

I don’t want to take anything away from what happened and what it meant to the fans, the city and the people of Boston. It was great to watch and probably even more impressive to be a part of. I can only hope that people will now start to sing our anthem that way all the time.

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After the draft talk, Mark asked Brian about the Ravens offseason, and specifically did they upgrade after cutting and trading key pieces. “That always remains to be seen, it’s a long season and it’s hard to duplicate that but in Ozzie I trust”.

The topic turned to Joe Flacco and Brian believes Joe and the Ravens made the right move, “I don’t know who am I to say it’s what the market bares, and the Ravens wrote the check”.

Mark asked Brian about the possibly of the Jets trading Cornerback Darelle Revis. Mark doesn’t believe that the Jets will benefit from the trade, and Brian agreed. “Before the injury I thought he was single handedly the best player in football, I can’t do it because he makes everyone around him better, so I couldn’t justify it”.

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Jeff Barker of the Baltimore Sun joined Zinno on “Last Call” to discuss Alex Len leaving Maryland for the NBA. He spoke about the reasons why. Barker said that we all knew this day was coming.

Listen to the full interview here:

“The reason they suspected that he would was because he was leaving so much money on the table,” Barker said. The guys also talked about how this can actually benefit Maryland comparing them to Kentucky and the way players are recruited there. Barker said, “In the short term, it hurts Maryland, but in the long term you can say ‘Hey, come to Maryland and you can get to the pros.’”

One of the teams it is suspected that Len may get drafted by is the Oklahoma City Thunder. Barker told Zinno that he knows for a fact that Oklahoma City is interested in Len. Zinno asked Barker if there is a way that Maryland could be better without Len. Barker said that the Terps could replace Len “relatively easily” with Shaq Cleare and Charles Mitchell, but it hurts them a lot on the defensive end because that’s where he was so good.

Finally, Zinno and Barker discussed Len’s career in the NBA. Barker believes that he can grow a lot at the NBA level. “It’s a question of how badly he wants it,” said Barker. “He played great for stretches, then he wasn’t great … and that will tell how long he plays in the NBA.”

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Here is the second installment of my “6-4-3.” Top 6 teams, 4 stats of the week and 3 bottom teams.

Top 6 -

1. Braves – Love the start, but can they be this good in September … when it counts!!!
2. Giants – Resembling the Orioles of 2012 in early going: 3-1 in one-run games, 1-0 in extras.
3. Athletics – They usually start slow and surge late. Time will tell if that is flipped.
4. Rangers – The reason they won 2 straight AL titles wasn’t just Josh Hamilton.
5. Red Sox – They have been getting pitching like nobody’s business! Only team that’s give up less runs in the Braves.
6. Mets – I cringe as I type this … they shouldn’t be here long, but who knows??

4 Stats -

1. The two worst teams in run differential in the American League are the Blue Jays (-20) and the Angels (-19).
2. The Mariners’ Michael Morse hasn’t played in almost a week due to a thumb injury and he still is tied for the AL lead in HRs with 6.
3. Matt Harvey of the Mets is the NL version of Dylan Bundy. The real deal. 3-0, 22 IP, 2 ER, 0.82 ERA and 25 K’s. The real deal.
4. Joey Votto, Adrian Beltre, Miguel Cabrera and Adam Jones have a combined 4 home runs. One each.

Bottom 3 -

1. Padres – They will be the worst team in baseball, not the Astros.
2. Marlins – No one will be watching them lose 100 games and that’s a good thing.
3. Brewers – At least they still have those great sausage, hot dog, bratwurst race at the games!

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(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Fran Charles of the MLB Network joined Zinno on “Last Call” to talk about the first week of the baseball season.

Listen to the full interview here:

Charles recapped Chris Davis’ amazing start and how good he looks. Charles said that Davis is “making it look effortless.” Zinno and Fran continued to discuss how fans seem to overreact to things that happen in the first week and some of the impressive story lines to the league.

Bryce Harper is off to a hot start and the fellas spoke about what he is capable of. Charles said, “He can be the greatest player in the game.” Also, the two gentlemen discussed how the focus of baseball has shifted to the west coast and how all the big teams are now on the “left coast.” Fran talked how the Dodgers and Angels have grabbed a lot of the headlines this off-season, but now have to prove it on the field.

Finally, Zinno asked Fran about the scheduling snafu between the Ravens and Orioles. Fran used to work for the NFL Network, so he has a particularly interesting point of view about both leagues. Charles said he didn’t consider it a “win for Major League Baseball” but thought that it was the right thing for baseball and the Orioles to hold to their schedule.

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It’s a little over a week into the baseball season and I’ve already started to hear people asking questions that should only be asked after 45-60 games, not eight or 10. Fans need to lose this football mentality. That’s the mentality that after five or six games you know what you are. Lose that thinking for two reasons:

1) It doesn’t apply to baseball.

2) It’s not 100% true in football either.

The Ravens are a perfect example. They looked awful their last five regular season games and won a Super Bowl.

A blown save in the first week of the season is not cause for people to question the manager’s decision making. Nor is it reason to wonder about a player’s ability to perform over the course of the rest of the season. Personnel decisions are not made in baseball this early unless an injury happens. Teams have to find out what they are and who they have. The only way to do that is to let guys play. You need to find out what they do in pressure situations. Baseball requires patience and failure. There is a great amount of trust that a manager has in his players that they won’t fail and when they do, they have to go back to them to find out if they will fail again.

There are lots of ups and downs in the baseball season and it is too early to start to panic about the Buck Showalter and the Orioles. This team is built for 162 games. They need to play a lot more of them to find out if that assessment is wrong.

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Let’s get it started:

Top 6 -

1. Braves – the Upton brothers are looking good!

2. D’Backs – would be undefeated had J.J. Putz not been a putz!

3. Athletics – we are surprised, but should we be?

4. Rockies- Walt Weiss is off to a great start in Denver.

5. Nationals – It’s scary how good they are going to be.

6. Red Sox – Not a bad first week, especially beating the Yankees.

4 Stats -

1. Chris Davis’ 17 RBIs are still more than 5 entire teams run totals in MLB.

2. Michael Morse leads the AL in HRs with 5. Looks like a great move so far.

3. The league leader in strikeouts in the first week? Yup! You guessed it. Jeff Samardzija of the Cubs with 22.

4. The Astros team batting average is .199. Think about that.

Bottom 3 – teams

1. Astros – see last stat as to one of the many reasons why.

2. Padres – worst run differential in baseball at -26.

3. Miami – at least the weather is nice. Not much else in South Florida will be.

See you next week!
Zinno

Follow me on Twitter @MarkZinno

(Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Mike Rice said it best today when he said that he wasn’t going to make excuses, and thankfully he didn’t. I mean, really, what excuse could he make? The tape pretty much says it all. As for Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti, we’ve seen nothing but excuses. Nothing but mistakes and poor judgment.

How can anyone in their right mind watch more than 30 seconds of that tape and not be appalled? This is 2013! With each year, each month, each day that passes, we are more politically correct, more regulated, more legislated and more watched than ever before and Tim Pernetti can’t figure out that after 30 seconds of that video that something is wrong and he needs to do something to stop it?

In today’s “cover your ass” society, how can self-preservation not be Tim Pernetti’s first instinct? In almost every situation where something goes horribly wrong – whether it be poor work environments, social injustices or in worst cases, school shootings, we always look to blame at least one level up. Minimum wage workers at Walmart are upset, it goes beyond the local store manager. When horrific tragedies like Newtown, Connecticut happen – we look past the shooter and start looking at the parents, the teachers and the mentors.

When Tim Pernetti saw video of Mike Rice hurling basketballs at players and using homophobic slurs, he had to know that he was going to be held accountable and that he should be taking the most stern action possible. Why? Because we are an over-reactive society. And when you don’t overreact in the exact opposite manner, you are deemed to have poor judgment!

I just have to wonder about Pernetti – I mean, it should be pretty clear that you can never put your hands on a kid. You just can’t do it. If as an officer and leader in the Army, if I can’t put my hands on a cadet or private when training them – and training them to save their lives in combat – you certainly can never put your hands on a kid to win a basketball game.

Pernetti said that he hoped his suspension of rice would help rehabilitate his behavior … that’s not your job Tim. It’s not your responsibility to make him a better coach! If he wasn’t a good coach, you shouldn’t have hired him! You don’t have to make him a better coach, you have to run an athletic department and be a steward of the university, its students and student athletes. I was shocked when he said that. When you think of “rehabilitate,” you think of prison. That’s what jail is for.

And all this should lead to Tim Pernetti losing his job, because he should. We live in a finger-pointing country and when the public sees something go wrong, they use all 10 fingers to point at blame. Leadership failures are also accountable.

Zinno

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It’s like Christmas for me with the start of the 2013 baseball season!!! Nothing like the return of America’s past time to get the juices flowing. And with that, it’s prediction time for me. Here are my best guesses as to how the teams will finish the 2013 season.

Division Winners:
AL EAST – Orioles
AL CENTRAL – Tigers
AL WEST – Angels

Wild Cards:
Yankees, Indians

Divisions Winners:
NL EAST – Nationals
NL CENTRAL – Reds
NL WEST – Giants

Wild Cards -
Phillies, Dodgers

AL CHAMP – Angels
NL CHAMP – Reds

WORLD SERIES WINNER – Reds

Yes, I picked the Reds again! I may do it every year until they win the damn thing!!

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(Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Now I’m not here to talk about whether or not this is a good thing or a bad thing. I’m not going to take sides on whether or not I agree or disagree with a player coming out, because honestly, I could care less. It’s none of my business, it doesn’t affect me and it won’t affect how I view the player or the team he plays for. I’m not that guy.

It’s been talked about throughout last season, through the Super Bowl, into the NFL combine and now this off-season. And I wonder if the NFL has taken notice. If you ask me they haven’t, and shame on them for not. Here’s how I know they haven’t begun to scratch the surface of this issue. Chris Culliver got off scot-free after his remarks at the Super Bowl on Media Day. If you look at other professional sports, when people have made bigoted-type remarks, the leagues have come down on them. When former Reds owner Marge Schott made racist and anti-Semitic remarks, Major League Baseball suspended her for an entire year in 1993. When Kobe Bryant used a gay slur on the sidelines of an NBA game, the league fined him $100,000. So when Chris Culliver stuck his foot in his mouth about having a gay teammate in the NFL, the largest, most watched sport in America, what did Roger Goodell and the NFL do? Nothing. No suspension. No fine. No statement even distancing themselves from the player or the comments.

Shame on the NFL. And it just says that they aren’t ready as a league, to deal with this issue. But they better get ready soon. And they better. Because a gay player is coming out sooner rather than later and for a league that holds itself up higher than others, it can be a disgraceful fall and a permanent black eye for the NFL.

Zinno

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When asked about his preferred position, Nate discussed how he likes to shag fly balls from every position in the outfield just so he can stay sharp if the lineup needs to be shuffled.

When Zinno asked Nate about whether he would like to stay in Baltimore long term, Nate just simply replied “It’s pretty far off right now but I like being here.”

What Nate did stress to Mark was the fact that he is finally having fun playing baseball again here in Baltimore.

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Left Photo: Scott Cunningham/Getty Images – Right Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

He stated that he sought the truth of the situation and he believes the Ravens are putting a spin on it all.

Zinno believes that this is the Ravens problem and that they should “pound sand.”

You can listen to the whole opening segment right here!

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Vegas runner covered all the trends the betters look at for the tournament.

He gave Zinno insight that only six times have the 15 seeds upset the second seed, while the sixteen seed has never beaten the number one seed.

When putting final fours together he recommends having one or two of the number one seeds into the final four.

To get all of Vegas Runner’s insight, listen to the interview right here!

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