50 Million Orioles Fans Can Be Dead Wrong
August 18, 2008
Apparently, we’re living in an alternate sports universe where one of the worst Major League Baseball over the last ten years is also one of it’s most popular. And has 50 million ways to prove it.
“…the Orioles are now receiving the ultimate affirmation on the importance and popularity of their ballpark as they get set to welcome the 50 millionth fan in Oriole Park history — the fastest ballpark in the history of baseball to reach such a milestone.”
So what we’ve learned is that going to Camden Yards is not unlike Arundel Mills, a nice place to eat and meet friends. That has to be the case because 50 million people cheering on a team that hasn’t sniffed .500 since 1998 just doesn’t make a lot of sense, now does it?
Is it Boog’s Barbecue? Is it a love for subpar pitching and unbearable mid-Atlantic humidity? Just what keeps bringing these morons back to do anything other than protest? Maybe there’s something to this whole ‘Orioles Magic’ thing here in Baltimore, because there’s no explanation for this milestone that shouldn’t involve David Blaine.
Maybe I’m just a jaded baseball fan that was disadvantaged from the start. I grew up in the Washington area with a paper that treated the Orioles like a passing hobby, and came of age in a town where Redskins were and are king. But 50 million people is a lot of people anywhere, and in a park where glitz is the only that’s good, it’s just a hard number to digest.
Reflecting on the 1993 Baltimore Orioles
August 13, 2008
Courtesy of Dugout Central, here’s a look back on the Baltimore Orioles of 1993. The golden age of Baltimore baseball when you got beaned by a pitch and liked it, and Cal Ripken Jr. jeopardized his consecutive games played streak on a daily basis:
One day I was sitting at my locker about 3 PM and Ben McDonald was sitting on the couch next to me reading a magazine. The iron man game streak was growing in popularity and it was all new to me. As I sat in my locker I stared across the room into the trainers area where guys were getting taped up and submerged in the whirlpool. I just wondered how anyone could play that many games in a row – impossible. And just then out of nowhere Cal dives through the air (parallel to the ground) and clothesline tackled Ben on the couch. Ben got up and wrestled Cal to the ground. Then Cal got up ran around the couch only to dive over it again and take McDonald down.
I said to myself: only someone that crazy can play in all those games.
Oh, Ripken. Diving tackels are not nearly as interesting as when we hear that you did them in the midst of a streak that galvanized a city and possibly made for the best moment in baseball history.
The Baltimore Orioles Are the Polar Opposite of Michael Phelps
August 12, 2008
On a night where Baltimore swimming legend Michael Phelps made another world record and gold medal look as easy as eating a bowl of Captain Crunch, the Baltimore Orioles made winning a game after a four-run first inning look like trying to catch Captain Jack Sparrow.
Four pitches, four runs. That was what the Orioles gave up in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians last night. They would rally with a five-run seventh inning, but would ultimately blow it in the bottom half of the same inning.
So, where to go from here? The O’s are five games under .500, they are .500 in their last ten contests, and 12 under that mark on the road this season. I would put stock into the next three home stands the Birds have this month, but wouldn’t you know they are against the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox.
Even Captain Crunch won’t be able to save this sinking ship.
Why Can’t Carl Crawford “Be Named Later?”
August 7, 2008
The Baltimore Orioles traded Chad Bradford via waiver claim to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later.
How come “players to be named later” are never great players? Always some minor league clownboot who will probably be busted down to Triple-A within weeks of the deal. Oh, how I wish the Rays would name Carl Crawford later. That would be something for the Orioles.
Even if it was just a mistake, like the GM was getting ready to sign said clownboot’s name on the trade, somebody mentions Crawford’s name, and he writes it in by accident. Yep, that would be a back-back, no-trade-back moment if there ever could be one.
And the lore of “players to be named later” would never be the same.
Mark Teixeira Doesn’t Care About the Baltimore Orioles
August 7, 2008
When a Maryland native says repeatedly that he’s not thinking about free agency and the possibility of returning to play for his hometown team, you can assume that he’s not interested in said hometown team.
“I’m so focused on winning here with the Angels that I’ve put off all the free-agent talk for the end of the season,” Teixeira said. “For me and my teammates, that’s the best thing to do.”
He said that with the Texas Rangers, he said it with the Atlanta Braves, and he’s saying it as a member of the Los Angeles Angels. Teixeira is a human magnet for being traded to good teams, so you figure he’s not going to let free agency do his legacy dirty.
Besides, he allegedly will be looking for $20 million a season for the next ten years, which will definitely interfere with keeping Nick Markakis and other young Orioles that can really bring the team back to some level of prominence.
Get over it Orioles. Teixeira is just not that into you.
George Sherrill’s Mustache is Glorious in Defeat
August 5, 2008
The Baltimore Orioles walked in the the Los Angeles Angels’ winning run last night, but the only story bigger than the Orioles making it exciting in the latter stages of the game was the majesty of George Sherrill’s mustache.
Would you classify it as the Pringles man? Perhaps a look from the earlier Chuck Norris collection. In either case, Sherrill looking all the part of an Ice Road Trucker is a welcome presence in the Orioles bullpen, and might contribute to a late season push towards respectability in the A.L.
The Washington Nationals Are Officially Stunning…
August 3, 2008
…if you take the Washington Post’s word for it. I guess it is a shock to the system that the Washington Nationals actually were on the good end of a sweep; the team had lost nine in a row prior to this weekend, and one of their best players, Ryan Zimmerman, had been giving signs that he was going mad with laughter as of late.
It’s good to see that our Nats have some pride about them. Only a few teams in baseball history have lost 100 games, the figure the Nats have been barreling towards all summer. So the fact that winning hasn’t become totally foreign to them is a sign of good things to come.
Good things being a translation for Elijah Dukes not choking the life out of Manny Acta with his bare hands.
Daniel Cabrera’s Out-of-Control Suspension
August 1, 2008
Suspending Orioles’ pitcher Daniel Cabrera for hitting Alex Rodriguez two days ago is like fining people for sneezing. It just happens. It’s involuntary.
Cabrera throws wild pitches like other hurlers throw change-ups. The entire league knows this, and yet MLB sees fit to punish the guy. The Major League leader in walks, hit batters and wild pitches, he probably couldn’t tie his shoes without people in the clubhouse dodging for cover.
And yet, you want this guy off the mound?
You should want this guy starting every other day.
It’s better to have unpredictability at the mound than consistent heat, which is why Cabrera is even with the Orioles. He’s either going to blow one by you, or hit you in your face; either way, the batter is on pins and needles the whole time.
Yeah, his ERA sucks and he’s lost five of his last seven decisions, but if the Orioles aren’t driven on getting rid of him, we might as well sit back and enjoy the growing legend of the Dominican Wild Thing.
Why Won’t The Orioles Go After Manny Ramirez?
July 31, 2008
Is there an echo in here regarding the Orioles and trading or pursuing free agents? Oh that’s right, the Orioles don’t pursue superstar caliber players.
With all of the trade bait the Orioles have been dangling around the league all season, this could be a good move for them. In Ramirez, you would get a rated ‘G’ version of Barry Bonds, a bonafide hitting legend that can’t field a lick. And with that, you would pique the interest of your fan base and the attention of teams around the league with a seriousness about contention in Charm City.
It’s nice that the O’s went and got Kevin Millar and Aubrey Huff in the last few seasons, but those guys haven’t put you into real contention in the AL East, which is what the Orioles should be looking for. With Tampa Bay having surpassed the Orioles for third fiddle behind the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, not making this move puts even more steam behind the moves those three clubs are going to make every single July from here on out.
No, Manny Ramirez won’t bring you a World Series. Probably won’t even get you to the playoffs this year. And he’d likely be an luxury Rent-A-Bat for the next two seasons. Those are the reasons why you shouldn’t sign him. But standing pat each and every trade deadline gives no excitement to the club or city, and basically amplifies the slow nature of your player development system. Nick Markakis and other young players have been coming along nicely in the last two seasons, but the Orioles surely aren’t the Florida Marlins or Detroit Tigers in that respect.
And since they aren’t, the Manny Being Manny show would be best shot in Baltimore. At least for a season.
They Can Beat the Best, But the Rest…
July 30, 2008
The thing you have to know about Baltimore and Washington sports is that they are, despite what their records may indicate, really good teams. Across the sports spectrum, you can find clubs that can beat the best their leagues have to offer.
It’s the rest of the league you have to watch for.
Take the 07-08 Washington Wizards. They were the only team to beat the Boston Celtics three times last year. The Orioles have put a hurting on the New York Yankees for two games in a row, and the Washington Redskins dispatched the eventual Super Bowl Champions, the first seed in the NFC and the league’s best defense in a late-season three game stretch in 2007.
So what is up with the rest of the world? My sense is that when you win games you are supposed to lose, and lose games you are supposed to win, from top to bottom there is a lack of concentration. Most people blame it on players, but that’s on coaches, scouts, everybody. It may be argued that up and down the roster, players and coaches tend to buy into media-manufactured hype, and they show it in practice and game situations.
But when you’re up against the best, there’s nothing to lose but the element of surprise.
The Baltimore-Washington area is a virtual desert for sports relevancy. It would take a Super Bowl appearance, Eastern Conference appearance or ALDS party crashing for the rest of the sports world to know what exactly in going on here. But as long as the teams and fans are content with being occasional giant killers, there will never be any giant steps taken towards championship glory.
