Jeremy Guthrie won our little one-day election to serve as Orioles representative for the 2008 Presidential Election, a landslide victory for the right-hander out of Stanford. Final tally:

Guthrie, 45 votes
Adam Jones, 18 votes
Nick Markakis and Jim Johnson, 17 votes
Brian Roberts, 16 votes
Luke Scott, 11 votes
Kevin Millar, 8 votes
Jay Payton, George Sherrill and Chris Waters, 3 votes
Lance Cormier and Chad Bradford, 2 votes
Aubrey Huff and Garrett Olson, 1 vote
Dennis Sarfate and Jamie Walker, 0 votes

I've decided to award the Vice Presidential nomination to Luke Scott, because they just seem like similar type dudes. Running mates, if you will.

Also, they've had similar histories as Orioles. Guthrie came over as a pickup from Cleveland, and helped solidify the rotation in 2007, long a trouble spot for the team. Behind Erik Bedard, Guthrie gave us a great 1-2 punch. This year, he has emerged as a staff ace, proving he was no one-year wonder. No Bruce Chen.

Luuuuke came over as a bit of a throw-in in the Miguel Tejada trade, and has made left field mean something in the Oriole lineup again. After years of suffering through the likes of Payton, Bigbie, Fahey, Rogers, Tatis, Gibbons, Bynum, Conine, Matos, Newhan, Fiorentino, Surhoff, Marrero, and Byrnes, Luke Scott has made the position his home this season.

That's why they have an easy campaign slogan: "A record of restoring order." It's simple, direct, and most important, it's true.

Jeremy Guthrie and Luke Scott -- two men I can rally behind. Two men that have proven their worth. Two men you can be proud of.

Maybe this won't sit well with too many (I've seen a couple of you mention this same thing, though), but I'm going to just come right out and say it.

Just lay all my cards on the table.

Live in the now.

Be 100% honest.

I'd rather have Adam Dunn than Mark Teixeira.

"Whoa, whoa!" you might be saying. "Why?! Dunn hates baseball! Dunn hates everything about baseball! Dunn's not from Maryland! Dunn's not as good as Teixeira!"

I know. I know, I know, I know.

Here's the thing, though: Dunn's going to be a lot cheaper than Mark Teixeira, who is reported to be seeking (through Scott Boras) a $230 million contract. He's going to test the free agent market. We know that. He even told his stalker, Gary Thorne, the other day that he would in fact test free agency and would consider signing with the Orioles.

So, yeah, everyone's all aflutter about Teixeira, and I don't blame anyone for that. He's a hell of a good player, an offensive powerhouse and a Gold Glove first baseman.

But considering the pricetag, we are unlikely to be able to come up with the money, and we are also likely to be outbid, no matter what. The Yankees will come calling, have no doubt about that. So will the Mets.

Meanwhile, Adam Dunn won't command near that same amount of money or attention. He has all that stigma, a lot of it started by the obscene Cincinnati broadcasters. He's a poor defender, he's slow on the basepaths, and he strikes out a lot.

Oh yeah, and he hits 40 home runs every year with 100 walks. And since this is the American League, screw his glove. Adam Dunn came into this world with a "DH" on his birth certificate.

I'm not saying it's wrong to pursue Teixeira, even at the money. He's a splashy signing and a hell of a player. But Dunn's going to be remarkably cheaper and has skills that age well (power and patience).

What say you? Go after Teixeira or focus on Dunn, who will be a secondary plan for the bigger spenders?

Source: MaxBoxing's Steve Kim

Top Rank chief Bob Arum talked with MaxBoxing's Steve Kim and revealed some interesting ideas, including a negotiation to stage a rematch between WBA welterweight titleholder Antonio Margarito and IBF welterweight titleholder Joshua Clottey at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on November 1.

Arum says the show would be a pay-per-view distributed by Top Rank and Showtime, and before you go getting all up in a huff about YET ANOTHER PAY-PER-VIEW, it seems that Arum has some ideas for spicing up the undercard and trying to make it a legitimate full show.

A rematch between Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., and Matt Vanda might take place on the card, as well as bouts featuring WBO featherweight titlist Steven Luevano (a rematch with Mario Santiago?) and something with 112-pound titleholder Nonito Donaire.

If you booked Margarito-Clottey, Chavez-Vanda and Luevano-Santiago, a "Night of the Rematches" would be a nice way to spend some cash on boxing, I guess. All three fights were entertaining the first time around and there is some unfinished business in each pairing.

You know what else might help, though? And I'm just going to throw this idea out there...

How about a pay-per-view show for, say, 30 bucks? 35? Margarito-Clottey is not as big of a fight as Arum might think, and even with a nice undercard, the world is soon to be infested with boxing pay-per-view (Calderon-Cazares, Casamayor-Marquez, Pavlik-Hopkins, Calzaghe-Jones, Oscar-Manny). Top Rank and Showtime could score with a discounted show that promises more bang for your buck than the rest.

And thus, a Presidential nominee for these United States of America.

I know it sounds stupid, but just do it. For me. For kicks.

Now as we all know, the President of the United States has to be born in America, so a good portion of the team is ineligible.

Feel free to think about the politics of it all. Luke Scott is a gun nut, for instance. Jay Payton has a history of professional issues. George Sherrill can't bend a cap right. Kevin Millar's loyalty has been questioned. Aubrey Huff is a pervert. Lance Cormier's name sounds all French. Nick Markakis once represented Greece. Brian Roberts used steroids. Chad Bradford throws underhand. Jamie Walker can't get lefties out.

Have fun. Debate. Elect. Do me the solid.

Before I really start here, I gotta tell ya: Y'all are hiiiiiigh.

Actually, that's pretty much my whole point. You all being high.

Y'all that are theorizin' and speculatin' on the future of Chris Waters in the Baltimore Orioles rotation are hiiiiiiigh.

Y'all that read anything into Lou Montanez hitting a home run in his first major league at-bat are hiiiiiigh.

Chris Waters is 28 years old and just reached the major leagues. He has a career 4.09 ERA in the minors. Chris Waters is not Jeremy Guthrie. There's really no comparison. No one has ever thought Waters was as good as they thought Guthrie was. Waters isn't a stalled prospect that is rising like a phoenix; he's a scrap heap minor league veteran arm. He's only up because Hayden Penn got hit with a damn baseball bat the other day. That's how much the Orioles brass REALLY thought of him -- Hayden Penn and his near-5 ERA at Norfolk were the first choice, not Waters, and I don't want to hear about how highly recommended Waters came from the minor league staff. If the minor league staff is highly recommending someone with Waters' resume, we're boned.

I'm not trying to hate on the dude's success. He had a fabulous game. I wish they would have kept him in for the ninth. There's a very real chance that he won't ever throw that kind of game again.

Montanez is getting spun as a positive because he hit some home runs at Bowie this year. He should have, considering how old he is for the level and the fact that the Cubs once took him third overall in the draft. He is a total and complete flameout of a former prospect. Here's his MLB.com biography:

Graduated from Coral Park HS in Miami in 2000...The Chicago Cubs selected him in the first round of the 2000 First Year Player Draft with the 3rd overall pick...Was signed by Cubs scout Mike Soper...Luis's father, also named Luis Montanez, played professionally in Puerto Rico.

Woo! Mike Soper! 2000 draft! High school! Dad!

They have pretty much highlighted his career achievements.

I'm not, like, disgusted or anything. God love 'em if they both shock the world and turn into real contributors on the major league level. But these aren't prospects that delivered in their first games. These are ... bums. I don't want to be mean, really, but they're bums. They're guys that wound up in our system because other teams didn't want them, they've never progressed the way they should have/were expected to, and they are really just minor league filler.

I couldn't get excited about David Newhan, either. I couldn't get excited about Tike Redman. Travis Driskill is springing to mind. That's the same type of player we're talking about.

And doesn't it strike you odd that these things happened on back-to-back days? Doesn't that just make you think, "Waters was awesome, but now freaking Lou Montanez is hitting a home run in his first major league at-bat. This is a rib, right?"

Luis Hernandez hit .290 last year.

In almost every single case in the history of the organized, civilized world, results at the major league level can be seen coming from the minor league level, and not just when the guys are beating up on players they're simply more advanced than, either. Waters and/or Montanez succeeding in the majors would be a miracle.

I'm rooting for them. I really am. But I'm going to avoid the hysteria about it all, because we're looking less at this:

than we are at this:

In a Sports Illustrated article that reports that negotiations are almost secure for Oscar de la Hoya to face Manny Pacquiao on December 6, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer decided to speak on that matchup, and why Antonio Margarito wasn't considered an option.

Schaefer had this to say:

"We have made it clear [to Top Rank] that we think Margarito has some unfinished business. Frankly, I find it disgusting how people are overlooking Paul Williams. Oscar wanted to fight Cotto because he was undefeated. But Williams beat Margarito. Just because Margarito beat Cotto, why does that make him the best welterweight? Why isn't it Paul Williams? He had that first round knockout of Quintana and he already beat Margarito. So I think it is very disrespectful of Williams. Those two should fight again."

OK...

For real, I don't even disagree with Schaefer that Margarito and Williams should tangle again, particularly since Margarito is not going to get a big payday against Oscar and Williams' other option appears to be Michael Jennings, who isn't quite a Gary Lockett-level mandatory but isn't a whole lot better. (If the Lockett Scale for mandatories was a 0.0-5.0 scale, Jennings would be about a 4.2 Lockett.)

But this is so transparent that I can't help but just laugh at it. I hate slamming Oscar for not fighting the best guy available, because the concrete fact of the matter is that he's made a career out of taking on great challenges. He fought Mosley twice, Trinidad, Vargas, Hopkins (which was foolish), Mayweather, Whitaker, Quartey, and a host of others. Hell, let's even give Oscar the respect and continue: Gatti, Carr, Chavez twice, Camacho, Castillejo, Campas, Paez, Gonzalez, Coley, Mayorga, Sturm...

It also leads me to another brief aside, the stupid claim they first made that Oscar didn't want to end his career fighting another Mexican. Like he was doing Mexican fans a favor or something, you know?

He beat the tar out of an old Julio Cesar Chavez on two occasions. He fought Vargas and Campas in recent years. The fact that Margarito is Mexican only had something to do with this decision to not fight him because Oscar's final fight would have had him as "the villain" to some of the staunch Mexican fans that love guys like Margarito and have never warmed to de la Hoya, no matter what.

Oscar also could have avoided all of this if he hadn't said that "the winner" of Cotto-Margarito -- his words, not anyone else's -- would be a great December opponent. He meant to say that if Miguel Cotto won, he'd fight him. Schaefer's saying now that Cotto would have been considered because he was undefeated.

Where's one of those eye-rolling emoticons?

Oscar choosing Pacquiao even paints him into a corner where he can't say, "Well I don't want to fight at welterweight." Now he has to fight at welterweight!

It is somewhat sad that Oscar de la Hoya's final career moves are going to forever be questioned. No matter what happens in a fight with Pacquiao, he won't escape the fact that he fought a much smaller man in order to avoid someone else. It seems like we've seen this before. (And yes, this will be a license to print money just as that was.)

Schaefer interjecting Williams is sort of a nice distraction method, because who will really disagree? OK, Margarito can't fight Oscar. He should fight Williams, the man who beat him last year and holds a welterweight title himself. We can all get on board with that?

So we're left with the feeling that Richard Schaefer is speaking the truth, letting his voice ring loud for the poor boxing fan who can't speak for him or herself. He also ignores Williams' loss to Quintana when wondering why many think Margarito is now the No. 1 welterweight, and not Williams.

Schaefer is doing a great job here trying to make Oscar-Manny seem viable. Listen, I know a lot of people are taking a real dump on this fight, and that some (like ESPN's Dan Rafael) really like it for any number of reasons. I am somewhere in the middle.

I do think Manny could beat Oscar. For one thing, I don't know how Oscar's body will respond to getting down to 147, and I don't think he has any real firepower left. Manny is a pop-pop-pop fighter whose awkward style has translated into his better skillset as the years have gone on.

But we're talking about a guy that has one fight in his career over 130 pounds and came into boxing at 106. I know it's about money and a few other, less important things. Still, I can't shake that gnawing feeling that this fight just isn't right somehow, and that win or lose, Oscar will never live down some of the backlash he's going to receive. If I were Oscar or Schaefer, I think I'd consider those things a little more than how many Mexicans would boo me were I to fight Margarito. "The Golden Boy" has the pick of the litter when it comes to opponents, and he's choosing someone he outweighs on fight nights by 20 pounds.

I was looking around for an interesting KO of the Day but ran across this video that highlights the legendary Corrales-Castillo fight, and I just couldn't pass up the chance to watch it again. The Sky Sports call was even more breath-taking than the American version, I'd say.

So I thought I'd put it up here, too. It's never a bad day to reflect on this fight.

God, what a battle. I've said it before, I'll say it again: I could live until I'm 110 years old, see my share and then some of great fights, and probably never see another one that was this good. I get chills just thinking about the fight now, especially with Diego gone. There are few like him.

via d.yimg.com

8 innings, 1 hit allowed, 0 runs, 3 strikeouts, 3 walks

Enough said.

It looks like the favorite to face 21-year old British lightweight champion Amir Khan in his September 6 bout is 36-year old American Derrick "Smoke" Gainer.

Gainer had previously turned down the Khan camp because of his obligation to fight on the September 20 undercard of Calzaghe-Jones, but now that that fight has been moved, he's back in the mix.

I really like Khan, and someone as crafty and downright annoying as Gainer is about the last guy I'd watch to put him up against. There's real upset potential here. Khan will have to catch rumblin', bumblin', stumblin' Gainer before he can hit him with his combinations and power shots, and that's no easy task.

On the other hand, Gainer has been very inactive in recent years. He lost badly in 2003 to Juan Manuel Marquez, and lost his next fight in 2005 to Chris John. Since then, he's won a 12-round split decision over tomato can Phillip Payne (who had lost six in a row), and a 10-round split decision over Carlos Navarro in 2007.

Chances are Khan smokes Gainer, and Derrick rides off into the sunset with a final payday. But there is that concern that the savvy vet gives Amir fits. Things like that have happened many times before.

Former WBC 108-pound titleholder Brian Viloria will get another crack at a world title when he faces IBF titlist Ulises Solis on October 11 in Macau. Rumor has it that Nonito Donaire will fight on the same card, but we'll see about that.

Viloria's camp is confident that their fighter is stronger and a better puncher than Solis, but I'm not. Viloria's reputation as a big puncher has gone by the wayside. "Hawaiian Punch" (22-2, 13 KO) was upset in a wide decision against Omar Nino in 2006, then went to a frustrating majority draw with Nino in the rematch, later ruled a no-decision when Nino failed his post-fight drug test. Edgar Sosa was next for Viloria, and Sosa won a tight majority decision.

Viloria is 3-0 in 2008, winning a pair of eight-round decisions and his last fight by third round knockout. I don't think he hits hard enough to be considered a one-punch type of guy against top competition, and Solis is absolutely top competition, arguably the best 108-pounder in the world. Solis (27-1-2, 20 KO) hasn't lost since 2004, when Nelson Dieppa won a weird majority decision (108-120, 108-120, 114-114).

If Viloria is outclassed by Solis, as I expect he will be, he's going to have a tough time getting another title shot. Or else he won't. Maybe he'll lose big and get another title shot against someone else right away. Solis winning would put a big mark on Viloria that he can't beat the best, which makes him attractive for a lot of top fighters.

Should WBA 140-pound titleholder Andreas Kotelnik succeed in his September 13 defense against Norio Kimura, an offer will be made for Kotelnik to face Dmitriy Salita on the Calzaghe-Jones undercard in November.

I like that fight as a PPV undercarder. Salita is noted for his guts, and at 28-0 (16), he deserves a good fight. He's signed with Roy Jones' Square Ring company now, so Roy and Co. are working to get him something good. This would be something good. Plus, I like Kotelnik. Right now, Salita is slated to face Willie Limond on the PPV, but if Kotelnik-Salita can be made, Limond would be moved into a fight with Darling Jimenez. I really pray that Calzaghe, Jones and HBO don't think Limond-Jimenez is a pay-per-view quality fight.