Heartbreakers....Countdown 28

The Orioles have been up and down all season. And every time I want to give up on them, they come back with a great performance and convince me to give them another chance, convince me that they really are worth my time, that they really will get better and not break my heart all the time. Last night was one of those nights. After a heartbreaking loss in the 9th two nights ago, they come back with a 13-4 rout and all of a sudden I'm hopeful again. This season is done. But its good to see that the young O's aren't giving up. Maybe that means they'll work hard in the off season and next year will be better.

It looks like the foundation is coming together and next season will be better. But I'd like for the rest of the season to be bearable to watch. I live a block from Camden Yards and I like to go to games last minute since tickets are always available. But I'd like to think we have a chance of winning some of those games. This is an old story. I'm not sure how many times this summer the O's have had a good night and I'm praising the young players and fawning about how it's about to come together. I'm tired of writing it.

But that's the way it goes being a fan of a losing team you foolishly believe is on the cusp of getting better. I think I'm a pretty good barometer for the average fan. I want to give up on my team when they lose. I want to forget about this season and move onto the next sport. But as soon as they show signs of life I forget all that and just want to see them do well. I'm happy football season is here. But I'm sad this is another losing season for the O's. Technically they could go on a crazy tear and wind up with a winning season, but the odds of that are astronomical. Oh well, maybe next year.

By the way, I now have a blogger bet going for the Maryland - Virginia Tech game with College Game Balls, more details to come later. But if you are a blogger interested in a fun wager about competing teams. Let me know.

Pie Hits For the Cycle....Countdown 33

Last night I had two different friends ask me if I wanted to go to the game. I was kind of tired so I decided to just watch it from my couch. Big mistake. Not only did the Orioles rout the Angles 16-6 but Felix Pie hit for the cycle. That's an amazingly rare feat, though it seems to have become somewhat commonplace this season. It is one of my dreams to see this in person. It was an all around good game for the O's.

Tillman got his first major league win. It seemed his nerves were calmed after a the Orioles 6 run first inning. The Orioles seemed determined to get him his win as they went on to score another 10 runs and tying a record with 9 doubles and 12 extra base hits. It was a good night to be an O's fan.

The team has been struggling a lot lately, only having won 8 games since the All Star break. Which is just depressing to think about. So to see an offensive explosion like last night gives a fan a little hope that the rest of the season isn't going to be so terrible. That they will occasionally give us something to watch and cheer for.

Overall the O's were great last night. But Pie was the star. He hasn't been playing regularly but really took this opportunity to step up and show that he belongs in the Majors. He is only the 4th Oriole in the club's history to hit for the cycle, the others being Cal, Brooks, and Huff. That in itself is pretty amazing. Congrats Pie. And watch out Reimold, Pie is gunning for your spot.

Photo:AP/Rob Carr

Optimism Killers

Before the All Star Break I had a lot of hope for the O's. They were playing well and I thought things were starting to look up. I guess I was wrong. It was a lie I told myself so many times I started to believe it. But it has become painfully obvious that it'll be at least another year before we can enjoy a winning or even a .500 season.

There was a lot to look forward to this year. Lots of young new players and prospects including Matt Wieters. There have been surprisingly good young pitchers like Bergesen and Tillman is looking good as well. The O's seem to have a stocked farm system and keep adding to it with trades like the Sherrill one. It appears with that we are banking on having out third baseman of the future. Which means Mora will probably be gone as soon as his contract ends. While the future is looking brighter and the next few seasons should be ones where the O's are improving, this season looks lost.

Yesterday the Orioles lost 18-10. That doesn't even sound like a baseball score. Even when they get their offense going, they let up more runs than they can score. It's embarrassing and I'm fearing that by September or even in a week I'll be too distracted by upcoming football seasons to even care about the O's any more. The Ravens are already starting to take over headlines and soon the Terps' season will be in full swing. And the O's losing season will be a distant memory.

I don't want to give up on the O's every August. But they leave me no choice. They are not only competing at baseball, but with the other sports teams that start playing in the fall. I love the O's. But sports is about hope and it's easier to get excited about teams that actually have a chance of winning something. The O's are on the right track. But they're not there yet.

In other random news, I've finished taking the Bar exam and I'm now living in Baltimore again. This really just means I'll be able to write more and hopefully be able to have more access to Baltimore sports. It'll be a lot easier for me to go to Terps games and whatnot. Sorry for the brief hiatus but the Bar basically consumed all of my time and energy. I hope to be writing more regularly from now on.

Oh... in case you still care, the O's are wins away from a .500 season.

Second Half Hope...Countdown 44

The Orioles are now into the second half of the season still with a less than .500 record. This usually means terrible things. And in recent years past we fans have had no reason to hope that the O's would keep steady or even improve during the second half. Usually we'd wait until after the All Star break to write them off, but definitely by August our interest was waning and by September, did anyone even realize they were still playing baseball?

But this season, I have hope. Maybe not that we'll be better than we were that first half. I think streaky how the O's are going to continue the season, but then again, I don't think we are going to collapse at the end either. At least this is my hope. We have so many young players and even more potential players to bring up from the minors I'm hoping we can avoid a September full of loses.

While this countdown is probably futile now, I'm still going to continue with it. There is still the entire second half of the season to go and anything is possible. We have a legitimate outfield or young players. We have a what looks to be a solid infield and our pitching is somewhere around passable, but it's mostly young and hopefully that means improving as the season goes on. I mean this is the team that had the largest comeback in franchise history. And it was against the Red Sox. That is something to be happy and hopeful about.

Yes, we are going to blow games with dumb plays and bad base running. But whatever, they're the O's. And for the first time in a while, there's hope again.

Maybe It is All Starting To Come Together...Countdown 73

Last night Adam Eaton stepped up and managed to allow only four hits and no runs in 7 1/3 innings leading the Orioles to a 6-2 win. The White Sox have a powerful offense so it's not as if he was pitching against the Nationals. After two lousy starts maybe he finally found his groove. The big question this season has been pitching? Can the Orioles' starters eat up innings? Can they prevent the huge hemorrhaging of runs? Will the bullpen be able to preform in a close game? The first few games the Orioles bats were able to keep all those questions at bay. But now it is starting to look like a starting rotation is coming together.

Maybe last night was a fluke. But I hope not. Maybe Bergensen isn't ready for the majors. Again, I hope not. I think that after the first few weeks the talent is being assessed and the pitchers are starting to feel more comfortable in their roles. They are starting to settle in and step up. Maybe after all the times the O's have traded pitchers only to have them finally start reaching their potential, it's the O's turn.

The offense of the Orioles has not been in question this year. Everyone seems to have a hot bat. Yes, they have had some down nights, but that's to be expected. I think they understand they have to carry a lot of the weight for the team. Seven different Orioles were able to get hits last night including a couple of doubles by Huff and Scott. Only five other teams have scored more runs than the O's. Which is a good sign. If our pitching really is coming together, the Strive for .500 countdown can be a success. Only 73 more wins!!
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Let's go O's!

Young Pitching Pans Out...Countdown 74

After a week of loses and injuries and inconsistencies on the mound the Orioles finally won another game. They beat the White Sox 10-3. Now they are back at .500 and only 74 wins away from a .500 season on the year. And games like last night's are the kind of games that give you hope for the future. The O's called up Brad Bergesen from Triple A and he was able to tame the big bats of the Chicago White Sox by only letting you three runs in 5 2/3 innings. That's a solid start and Orioles are looking for.

It's amazing that we seem to have a farm system once again. Woo hoo! The Orioles also gave this young started the run support he needed and more to gain his first major league win. If he works out the O's could have four decent starting pitchers. Guthrie, Uehara, Hendrickson and Bergesen. All have now had at least one solid start. Yes, there have been some bad games in there, but honestly, if I told you before the season that the Red Sox would sweep the O's in the first series against them would you have been surprised. No. The big surprise would have been the start.

Hopefully, the pitching is beginning to settle and the bats are staying hot. Hope that Strive for .500 actually makes it to zero is alive again. Don't burst my bubble. Last night was a good night.

O's Win Again Despite Pitching Woes (Countdown 75)

The Orioles managed to pull off another win last night with a 7-5 showing. They now sit atop the AL East and have won their first three series of the season. They've take two out of three from the might, spend happy Yankees, and two out of three from the AL Champion Rays. And they have a chance to sweep Texas tonight. The bats of the Orioles seem to be on fire. They've scored 50 runs already this season and the offense has showed little sign of slowing down anytime soon. They even have a chance to sweep the Texas Rangers tonight. If you had told me all those things before the season started I'd be ecstatic.

But looking at all that doesn't really show what's going on with this team. Just focusing on the positive paints an overly rosy picture of this team. Usually I like to focus on the positive. As an O's fan it's what you have to do to stay sane and keep caring. But I can't do that right now. Which is a shame because who knows how long we're going to be able to keep winning and be in first place. I really want to just focus on the positive but our pitching is in such bad shape that I just can't.

The Orioles used six different pitchers last night. SIX! Ok, so Simon is apparently injured and only lasted four outs. And our bullpen did step up and hold the Rangers off until Sherrill let up a two run homer in the 10th. Even Sarfate didn't allow any runs. But this is not a viable solution. The O's need starting pitchers. At this rate the bullpen will be worn out by June. Is it a possible game plan to just have a bullpen and have each pitcher pitch one inning every game? Could that work? Because it seems like the O's are working with something like that.

Hopefully, this is a minor injury for Simon and he will come back and be a consistent starter. I'm not asking for greatness here. I'm just asking for an average starter that can pitch more than two innings without blowing the game. Hendrickson is up tonight. His last outing was exactly what I was looking for in a starter. He pitched 5.1 innings and with one earned run. That is what a pitcher at the bottom of the rotation should be doing. I'm not looking for complete games. I am looking for more than one time through the line up. I'm hoping he brings his consistent game back tonight. I don't need flashy or dominant. I just want consistent wins.

Adam Eaton struck out six in four innings in his start against the Rays. He also allowed four runs. I'd like to focus on his ability to pitch strikes but I was at the game and he got blasted. Hopefully, he'll start pitching more strikes the other team can't hit. I'll cut him some slack because it was against the Rays. And they were in the World Series last year. But he wasn't that great for the Phillies last year. And it just makes me wonder what Baltimore is thinking.

With an offense and a start like this I want to be celebrating. Instead, I'm just worrying about when the other shoe is going to drop. I'll take the wins where I can get them. It's still early and there is still time for things to fall into place. But if the starting pitching doesn't improve, I'm not sure the countdown will make it to zero. Even though we seem to keep winning, I already feel like Strive for .500 is in jeopardy. Oh yeah, the Orioles are now only 75 wins away from a .500 season.

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O-pening Day

This is the best time of year to be an O's fan. Well it's probably good for any fan of a baseball team with a not so winning past. It's the beginning of the season and anything is possible. Yesterday it rained for all morning and I was a little worried. It looked as if the the game was going to get postponed. But fans still showed up to see the O's take on the Yankees.

It didn't seem like the best match-up to start the season. C.C. Sabathia was on the mound and the Yankees spent what seemed like a limitless amount of money this season to stack their team including hometown boy Mark Teixeira. But Baltimore fans showed up in droves to support the O's and boo the Yankees. And today, the Orioles are 1-0 after beating the Yankees 10-5.

The team played solid all day. Everyone seemed to contribute and the defense looked solid. It was reassuring to see a shortstop that didn't have any errors, let alone the kind of errors that make the blooper reels. It seemed like the day just got better and better. The rain stopped, the sun came out and the O's offense showed up ready to play.

I know its early in the season. But I'm hopeful. I think the O's could be over .500 this year. Yes, I think they can have a winning record. Well it's a tall order and a lot of it falls on young pitching. But I don't think its impossible. Who knows, the Rays went from never having a winning season to playing in the World Series. It's no less ridiculous to think that if the Orioles play solid defense all year full of good fundamentals and lacking in flashy, showy plays, that it could be a good year.

Don't talk to me about flaws and shortcomings right now. I'm all about hope.

Photo: AP/Susan Walsh

March Giddiness

I love March Madness. I love the first weekend the most. It's when the upsets happens, when the Cinderellas go looking for their slippers, and when you can spend several days in a row ignoring all your obligations and just watch basketball. And with all the terrible things happening in the world right now, we could all use a few days to focus on so pervasive that billions of dollars of production are lost. March Madness might not be what the economy needs right now, but it's exactly what people need right now.

Everyone fills out a bracket and gets a chance to win. Everyone gets to feel like they know whats going on. And even when you are crying over you're bracket a week from now, it'll be ok. All of the teams had a chance, well not the team the won the play in game, but you know, all the other ones. Everyone has someone to root for right now. Even if your favorite team didn't make it. There is some team that you are loosely affiliated with and can root for.

Personally I'll be pulling for Maryland. But being from Baltimore, I'd also like to see Morgan State do well. Maybe they'll be the first 15 seed to take out a 2 seed. Doubtful, but it'd be cool. I also will be supporting Temple. They don't hold the same place in my heart the Maryland does, but in general people don't feel as strongly about their grad schools as their undergrads. Well, at least that's how I feel. But I'd still like Temple to do well, and upsets are always fun as long as its not my team getting upset. And Dionte Christmas is explosive, I'm taking the guy from VCU to be this year's Curry but Christmas would have to be my second choice. I've probably just doomed both of those guys. But whatever, I have to put out a few predictions to be mocked.

Either way tomorrow should be great. It should be a national holiday in my mind. I'll have to add that to my platform for Sports Czar.

GO TERPS!!

The Audacity of Hope: Life as a Sports Fan

On Friday a friend asked me when the parade started so that she could avoid it. She then went on to say that she thought sports fans were the dumbest people out there. They get all excited because they have no lives and root for sports they can't play. And then get feel like they have achieved some sort of personal victory because "their team" won. I thought this was an odd thing to say to me, since I'm probably the biggest sports fan she knows, and I spend way too much time watching, reading and writing about sports. But it got me thinking about why do people invest so much time and energy and emotion into their sports teams.

Sports allow people to invest in something bigger than themselves. When you are a sports fan, you are part of something. There is a large group of people who bond over the triumphs and failures of a group of athletes playing a sport at any level. You watch a game that you love and forget about everything else. They are an escape where you can focus on two teams or athletes fighting it out. They are an alternate reality where everything can be broken down to x's and o's or simple mechanics.

Sports are a reason to get together with your friends. They are a reason to party and celebrate. Be it the Superbowl, the World Series, March Madness or just a Sunday afternoon. There is always a reason to meet up with people and hang out and talk.

Fandom can be a family tradition. Even if you don't support the same team as your parents, many times they are the ones that instilled the love of the game in you. I may complain about how long the baseball season is and how terrible the Orioles are, but I get a little teary eyed every time I drive past the spot where Memorial Stadium used to stand. I'm not the worlds biggest baseball fan, but the sight of that stadium's old spot are enough to flood me with memories. And I have my parents to thank for that, for instilling a love of sports in me.

Sports also give people something to talk about. During a lull in the conversation, sports are an easy topic. While people harbor strong feelings about their teams, they are usually willing to talk about sports in a mostly civilized manner, unlike religion or politics. They are a common ground among most people. Everyone has at least one sport that they at least half way care about even if it's rhythmic gymnastics.

If you're like me, they are also a way to pick up guys. Yeah, I use sports to pick up guys. It's easy to butt into a conversation about sports, rattle off a few facts, and then apologize for butting in. Usually guys are then confused by a girl with even a cursory knowledge of sports, so they forget you rudely interrupted and happily accept you as part of the conversation. And it's an easy way for them to talk to a girl. So everyone wins.

But I think most importantly sports give people a sense of hope. I sense of anything can happen. And a sense that if you keep trying long enough and work hard enough, you will persevere. There's always next year. It could happen. America is still a country that loves an underdog or Cinderella story. Don't believe me, look at every sports movie in recent history, see any stories about how great a dynasty team is? People believe that you can rise above your place. Sports are a reason to hope. A reason to cheer. A venue for heroes to arise and villains to be defeated. Dramatic story lines are created. No one stays on top forever. And for that reason, your team could be next.

Sports often lead to heartbreak instead of championships. But there enough victories during a season that its worth watching. And the little victories of beating a rival or making the playoffs are usually enough to tide a fan over. Besides, there's always next year. Sports give people a reason to hope and if for no other reason, it's great to be a sports fan.