Seize the Day

Two nights ago the Orioles crushed the Yankees 12-2. They embarrassed Mike Mussina forced him off the mound after just two outs. It's the kind of game where things came together and as a fan you just have to smile.

Later on, while talking to someone about the game, he predicted the Yankees would punish us the next night by a similar score. And I guess he was right. The Orioles lost 8-0.

But thats not the point.

Fans shouldn't be focusing on the next game we might lose. We should be savoring the moments when we win. Especially the big wins like this one. Have O's fans really become so pessamistic that we cannot enjoy a great game without wondering when the other shoe is going to drop. If we keep waiting for the Orioles to implode how can we enjoy the way they are playing now.

I admit, before the season started I thought the O's would struggle to win 50 games. It looks like I was wrong. And I'm happy about it. I'm no longer waiting for my prediction to come true. So what if this batch of youngsters and unheard of players are playing over their heads. We've had so little to celebrate the last 10 years it appears we have forgotten how to take pleasure in winning.

Stop waiting for the "inevitable collapse," if it happens, it happens. But that doesn't mean the level of play right now is bad. We were told this years team was starting to look towards the future. But for right now stop looking ahead. Start looking at now. Don't worry about the standings or the power ranking. Just go to the games and cheer and be happy when the O's win.

We don't know what tomorrow will bring. And time and time again even "experts" predictions have been wrong. Who out there predicted that mid-May the Rays would be this good or the Yankees would be 8 games out of first in last place. So just stop with the predictions.

I know this team has given us a lot of heartbreaks. O's fans have invested a lot of love in this team and have been repeatedly spurned these last 10 years. I know that pessimism is a defense mechanism to avoid getting hurt again. But just stop it. Stop with the what ifs and start enjoying now. Don't think about a collapse and don't think about the playoffs. Don't think about playing above their talent and don't think about finishing above .500.

If a fan can't enjoy a good beating of the perpertual bully, the Yankees, without worrying about a black eye tomorrow then why bother even watching. The joy of the game has been lost. Stop predicting, start enjoying, because however the season ends, right now it's good, solid, and fun baseball.