Orioles owe late-game dynamic duo,The Orioles won again Wednesday night

The Orioles won again Wednesday night. Maybe it shouldn't be surprising anymore. The Orioles haven't spent a day below .

500 this season. They've been first or second in the division for all but 10 days this season, so we really should be used to it by now.

But then you look at that roster, the one with Nate McLouth batting third and Omar Quintanilla starting at second base and Miguel Gonzalez as the starting pitcher. You see that teams have outscored the Orioles by 43 runs -- only Cleveland, Minnesota and Kansas City have been worse in the AL.

It's definitely still surprising. To understand why, all you had to do was tune in for the first five innings of Wednesday's game against Boston. For 15 outs, the Orioles couldn't touch Red Sox starter Aaron Cook. The same Aaron Cook who entered the game with a 1.0 K/9 and a 4.70 ERA carved through the Orioles order for five innings, turning 89 MPH sinkers into ground ball after ground ball -- 14 of them, to be exact. Gonzalez pitched well for Baltimore, allowing just two runs and six hits in six innings, but it looked to be for naught -- just too much Aaron Cook to handle.

And then a switch flips in Birdland. Nick Markakis draws a walk and J.J. Hardy breaks up the no-no with one out in the sixth. Nate McLouth returns from the dead to single home Markakis. Adam Jones reaches on an error by Cook, scoring Hardy to tie the game. The rally is on: Matt Wieters gives Baltimore the lead, Cook is chased, and before you can blink the Orioles are up 5-2.

For the first time all game, the Orioles looked like a major league team, much less a contender. They didn't look back. J.C. Romero and Luis Ayala managed to stop a seventh-inning rally despite an error and the back-end of the bullpen put on a show. Pedro Strop smoothly handled Adrian Gonzalez, Cody Ross and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, striking out the latter pair, and Jim Johnson easily recorded his 35th save of the season.

And that's the Orioles’ secret: Just find a way to get to the seventh inning, no matter how absurd or unpredictable.

Baltimore has spent most of the season looking lost in the first six innings -- teams outscored them 401-342 in the first six frames entering Wednesday's game, leaving them with a half-run deficit on average heading into the seventh. From there on, it's all Orioles all the time -- in the seventh or later, the Orioles have outscored their opponents 146-131.

The flip switched a half-inning earlier than usual Wednesday night, but the idea remains. Staked to a lead, the back-end combination of Strop and Johnson have been nearly unbeatable. Both pitchers induce ground ball after ground ball -- Strop 67.2 percent of the time, Johnson at 69.5 percent. Between Johnson's 35 saves and Strop's 1.22 ERA, the pair has been one of the most effective back-end tandems in the league this season. The Orioles' bullpen as a whole owns a stunning 9.24 WPA on the season after tonight's performance, best in the league by over three wins, and the 16th best since 1974, as far back as FanGraphs carries WPA data. Johnson and Strop combine for 5.64 of that 9.24.

Of course, this leads to the question no Orioles fan wants to hear: Is it sustainable? Are these guys really that good?

Johnson has that shiny save total despite a 3.26 ERA -- solid, but not relief ace quality. He's on pace to become just the 15th pitcher with more saves than strikeouts -- his K/9 inched over 5.0 after striking out Pedro Ciriaco in the ninth. Strop's ERA is disguising a K/BB below 2.0 -- unheard of for ace relievers -- and his 3.30 FIP suggests that he's more just a good reliever than a great one.

But it's hard to quibble with the Orioles’ strategy: Get the ball on the ground and let the infield defense do the work. Both of their big relievers have extremely heavy fastballs that do one of the most important things a reliever can do: Keep the ball in the yard. Johnson has allowed just three home runs; Strop just one. If Baltimore's dynamic relief duo can keep that up, their late-inning dominance can continue.

And make no mistake, it will have to. The Orioles haven't been anywhere near a playoff team in the first six innings this year, and with a roster counting on the McLouths and Quintanillas of the world, that won't change. The Orioles are now a game and a half clear of Detroit for a wild-card slot, with two other teams within three games. There will be no rest for the weary: Baltimore has to keep flipping that switch if they want to bring their improbable, mind-bending playoff run all the way to October.


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T20 deadline extended, Countries given six more days to submit squads for tournament

The deadline for submitting squads for this year's ICC World Twenty20 has been put back six days after requests for a delay from several countries. 

The International Cricket Council had originally set a deadline of Saturday August 18 but has now adjusted that to Friday August 24 for members to reveal their 15-player squads.

The ICC said that the decision to extend the deadline had been made after they received several requests for more time.

The tournament begins in Sri Lanka on September 18 and runs until October 7.

Nights to remember, Promoter gives his verdict on how boxing can grow

Eddie Hearn says boxing is evolving and big shows, not belts, will be the focus in the future.

Speaking on Ringside the promoter said the sport needs to capture the imagination of the public and that match-makers must sidestep the politics to deliver the best shows they can.

"Boxing needs more big shows," he said. "That's what people want; packed out arenas with people chanting and enjoying themselves, that's what the sport needs.

"But more importantly it also needs great fights; fights where you're uncertain of the winner. I hate nothing more than sitting down and watching a fight where I know what the result is going to be before the bell's rung.

"In the future I think belts will become more and more irrelevant. What you need is great fights and sometimes the belt just adds to the politics of trying to make a great fight. I think you'll see fights being made without a belt, or with lesser belts.

"There are some great fights to be made out there domestically at the moment and I think the board are trying to move to make those fights happen quicker now.

"We need to build our stars into big fighters, get them that shot and, if we keep delivering big shows, our fighters will deliver too."

Modric set for Real switch,Deal understood to have been agreed with Tottenham

It is thought that a compromise has been reached that will see Real pay an initial fee of £23.6million, plus a further £3.9m in add-ons.

However, it is also believed that nothing will happen until Tottenham have found a replacement, with just over a fortnight to go until the window slams shut.

If the move goes through it would bring to an end a four-year spell at White Hart Lane for Modric,during which time he has developed into one of the Premier League's most impressive performers.

Criticised

The Croatia international was linked with a move to Chelsea last summer but Spurs chairman Daniel Levy stood firm to keep him at the club.

However, intense speculation resurfaced ahead of the current transfer window and Modric made no secret of his desire to move on.

New Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas criticised Modric after he did not travel to the United States for their pre-season tour, and the 26-year-old has continued to train apart from the rest of the squad.

Villas-Boas has already strengthened his midfield with the signing of Gylfi Sigurdsson since replacing Harry Redknapp at the Tottenham helm, while Joao Moutinho has been linked with a move to join up with his former Porto manager.

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BASSography: George Perry,Had it not been for going fishing on the second day of June 1932

Had it not been for going fishing on the second day of June 1932, George Washington Perry likely would never have found himself in the world and national limelights.

He was born in Rentz, a tiny community in Laurens County, Ga., on June 1, 1912, one of six children (three boys, three girls). His father was Joseph Perry, his mother Laura Vernissi Gladden Perry.

The Perrys settled on a farm near Helena in Telfair County, Ga., and while growing up, George discovered an oxbow called Montgomery Lake off the nearby Ocmulgee River. He fished there many times, eventually building a plywood boat out of scrap materials, which he kept beached among the cypress trees on the lake shore.

He also liked to hunt and was able to provide his family with wild game and fish for the larder to supplement what was being raised on the farm. He had become the family breadwinner after his father died in 1931.

One day after turning 20 years old, George woke up to the sound of rain. He knew he wouldn't be able to hitch up the mule because the rain would turn the fields into a quagmire. So he contacted his good friend, Jack Page, who owned a Model T pickup truck, and they went fishing on Montgomery Lake.

The weather was blustery and wet, but country boys back then didn't mind fishing in the rain. After all, it was June and temperatures were on the warm side. They launched George's boat and took turns casting and paddling. One would sit in the bow and cast, the other paddle, and when they decided to head for shore late in the afternoon, it was George's turn with the rod and reel.

They had not had a strike over several hours and were discouraged, but suddenly a bass struck and missed the Creek Chub Fintail Shiner, reportedly (according to some accounts) the only lure they had. Encouraged, they decided to stay just a little bit longer.

Nothing happened until George decided to cast the lure close to a cypress snag. He gave it a twitch and the plug disappeared in a froth of water. It was a huge largemouth bass, but neither realized just how large until George was able to bring the fish close to the boat. Both men started yelling in astonishment as George leaned over the side and hauled the fish into the boat.

After beaching the boat, the men headed back to the truck where the fish was placed in the back. Then Jack drove back to Helena. It was a trip that took almost an hour across wet, unpaved roads. The J.J. Hall Store was the town hangout for hunters and fishermen and, as fishermen are wont to do, they stopped and took the fish in to brag a bit.

One of George's friends suggested he enter the fish in Field & Stream magazine's Big Fish Contest, which had been running annually since the early 1900s. Rules called for the fish to be weighed on certified scales, with length and girth measurements taken. Then the vital statistics had to be certified by a notary public.

All of that was done, the contest application mailed and then George took the 22-pound, 4-ounce fish home where it would provide at least two meals for his family.

Much to his surprise and delight, the postman later delivered a huge box. "George was tickled to see a new rod and reel" among the prizes, his sister, Rubye Perry Latham, recalled during a 1983 interview.

The Depression was in full force and the Perrys lost their farm because they were not able to pay taxes. Most of the family moved to Sterling in Glynn County, but in 1934, George wound up for a brief stay in Pearson in Atkinson County where he had obtained a job as a railroad guard. He still fished and on a trip to swamp lakes off the nearby Altamaha River, he caught a 13-pound, 14-ounce bass that won a second Big Fish Contest. He was the only contestant to do so in all the years of the program.

In 1935, he married childhood sweetheart Pauline Clements and fathered four children — Barbara (1935), Emory (1937), George Larry (1944) and Celina (1955). Emory died in a drag racing accident in 1952.

During World War II, George operated a Brunswick shipyard crane, saved his money and, just after the war ended in 1945, bought some acreage on a nearby tidal stream and built a marina. He also netted and sold live shrimp for bait.


During the mid-1950s, George became interested in flying, his interest sparked by reading an article about Charles Lindbergh flying solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. George learned to fly at Sam Baker's Flying Service at the Brunswick airport called the Airpark, then became a certified aircraft mechanic. He'd long since established himself as someone who could fix anything.

When Baker left to establish a flying service on St. Simons Island in 1965, George took over as Airpark manager. He hired children to work around the airport, cleaning the hangars, pumping gas and doing innumerable chores. In return, he'd pay them by teaching them to fly.

George quickly developed a reputation as a quirky prankster and ran the airport to suit himself. He attracted a legion of flying friends who would sometimes engage in dogfights over nearby marshes, "with no harm to anyone except ourselves," one of the wild fliers recalled. Of course, such shenanigans were against Federal Aviation Administration rules, but George and his friends thumbed their noses at officialdom and got away with it.

The Perry saga came to an end on Jan. 23, 1974. George was ferrying a plane from Brunswick to Birmingham, Ala., when he ran into inclement weather. He died after his plane slammed into the side of Shades Mountain.

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