Go, O’s!
Wish the winning ways would’ve continued. At least we have the orange throwback unis!
Even though they still rocking the worst record in baseball, the Orioles manage to be .500 when I show up at the Yard. In fact, I’m also on a four game winning streak starting with that amazing win against the Marlins, then the final, sweeping game against the Nats, onto a delicious extra inning win against the Rays, and last nights bombastic nine inning awesomeness versus the Angels. Maybe things are looking up?
I had originally wanted 75 wins from this team. Now, I’m just happy for them to play some competitive baseball. No more rolling over and not making a game of it. They’ve got to go out and make the rest of the season fun.
This is what to watch from the team for the rest of the season. First, our young pitchers need to step up. They need to pitch into the later innings and keep the team in the game. Next, the batters have to start hitting to their potential. These guys are probably average hitters, but so far this year they’ve been below average. The Law of Averages is gonna kick in. Our bats just need to hang in tight. Third, defense has to be solid. They don’t have to be all Brooks Robinsons, but they need to minimize stupid blunders. Finally, the bullpen has to be solid. They need to hold leads and shutdown rallies.
That all sounds easy. Let’s hope we finish strong.
In this trying baseball season for our beloved Baltimore Orioles, the fans who stick around deserve better. Tuesday night, Jason Berken t-shirt night, the Orioles had a decent game. They never said die even though they relinquished an early three run lead to be down four then five runs. It took them to extra innings, but they win one. Like the proverbial stuck clock, they’ll win one every now and then.
We had left the game early in the eleventh inning. But the fans that stayed, they were the real winners.
I got the Nolan Riemold bobble head. I had to get the next one, Adam Jones. I find myself down at Camden Yards trading in an unused season ticket for a $1 seat in upper reserve, section 384. I was hoping for a win.
Kevin Millwood on the mound look lost from the get go. Several straight hits in the first and the Marlins were up 2-0. The second inning was more of the same leaving the Marlins ahead 3-0. I was ragging Millwood as he left the mound at the end of the inning. He looked defeated already, and it was still only the second inning. I thought it was going to be a long night of Marlins hits and runs and Orioles futility.
Then the bottom of the third started off with a Craig Tatum double. Then another hit, and another, and another. Finally, the Orioles were up 5-3 and the night felt better. But these are the Orioles and no lead was safe. Will Millwood cough up the lead in the next inning? He didn’t. He came back and pitched respectable going 5 innings and only allowing 4 runs.
Jason Berken continuing with his great relief pitching pitches a nice couple of innings of shutdown ball. David Hernandez finishes up the eighth. Matt Albers comes on for the junk ninth, gives up a run but closes out the win. Why was Albers even pitching? Or even Hernandez? Silly Orioles wasting their guys.
The offense came alive tonight. Jones had a screaming line drive homer, and Miggy came through to seal it with a 3 run homer. Woot!
As the game started I was stewing in my misery in upper reserve 384, drinking a few drinks. Then these guys showed up. They were hilarious. They started cheering. I started cheering. We got on the jumbotron three times! They should’ve been the Fan of the Game, but they had disappeared before then. Dancing and cheering was their forté, and after every score, high fives all around. We cheered. We cheered! We won!
Baseball is so much more fun when you win.
"And Baltimore (13-8) is the worst team in baseball in part because of a deadly combination – the Orioles don't score five runs often enough AND they lose too much when they do."Joe Posnanski, "The Five Run System"http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/06/21/the-five-run-system/
These Orioles will drive you to drink, but as drunk as you get, the nightmare is still with us. It’s another three months until we’re out of this.
Read Joe Posnanski. He's a sports writer for Sports Illustrated, but his blog and his Twitter account contain great observations about baseball and sports. His beat is the Kansas City Royals. They are viewed as a worst franchise than the Baltimore Orioles which is hard to believe. The two teams are the bottom teams of the American League and are always at the bottom in all of baseball. Last year, the Royals had it worst. This year it's the Orioles. Both are going nowhere fast. Last night they played a game which four people came to the Yard to witness. Sadly, the Orioles being the worst team in all baseball lost again.Whenever Joe Posnanski writes about the Royals, I read it as applying to the Orioles. You just need to change the names of the players, but the losing ways are the same. Can't hit. Can't pitch. Can't catch. Can't throw. The story's the same for both teams. It's always amusing. Bad baseball is the same all over.http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/05/10/diary-of-a-losing-team-510/
http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/05/13/the-firing-of-trey-hillman/
http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/05/17/diary-of-a-losing-team-517/
May is slowly but inexorably slipping away. Pretty soon Memorial Day will be here and the start of summer. The heat and humidity will arrive soon to bring some misery to those summer days. Currently, the Baltimore nine are doing fine by misery. They've started the season with the second worst start any of their fans could imagine: a 2-16 apacolypse of bad hitting, terribly fielding, and abysmal relief pitching. There starters held there own, but lack of runs and lack of quality relief pitching doomed the Baltimore nine.I've been to several games. The opening day was joy until the final innings. The next two were no better: home team giving up four runs while scoring a measly one. Then, in comes Seattle. They're offense is even worse than ours even with Ichiro. Baltimore also has games against other woeful teams as Cleveland and Kansas City. It is a battle of the losers.After another tearful offensive perfomance against Cy Young winner, Cliff Lee, on Tuesday, the Orioles were able to battle for two straight wins. It lifts the city and the fans hearts out.I attended both games. Wednesday in the rain, Baltimore's silent bats came alive for 5 runs on 11 hits. Thursday the bats were dead again as Seattle's ace, Felix Hernandez, took it to the home team allowing 1 run on 3 hits. That day started off gray, but the sun came out. In the last half of the eighth, with Brandon League relieving Hernandez, the sun shone brightly for Baltimore.Brandon League has a hard time in Baltimore every time I attend a game. Last year, he closes out a four game finale for the Toronto Blue Jays by blowing another save and tossing the game away on a throwing error. Thursday, he gives up two home runs, one of which is a grand slam to starting to heat up Luke Scott. The grand slam is the game winner. The final out happens at the plate on an Ichiro hit, a Corey Patterson throw, and a beautiful tag from Matt Weiters. It brought joy to the fans. Maybe baseball will heat up again in Baltimore.I took the day off. The Yard was filled with kids. They made it loud, but screechy whenever they cheered. I was in dead center waiting for Ichiro or Luke Scott to bomb it there. They both hit a homer on either side of me. A Mets fan brought his buddies to root for the Orioles: high fives were exchanged during the triumphant blasts!Anyway, I'm now 2-3 this year. I've still got nine season ticket games. And I can't wait for more winning.
