O's Snap Losing Streak, Countdown Continues at 71

The Orioles have been struggling lately. They had lost six consecutive games and won only 3 of the last 18 games. But last night they found their bats and were able to hold of the Rays with an 8-4 win. Markakis started the O's off early with a three run home run. And from then on the O's were able to keep creating offense and get the win.

Hopefully this win boosts morale and confidence among the team. They needed this win and hopefully a lot more. There hot start was a surprise to everyone, but this slump has managed to erase all of that early enthusiasm. No one likes to watch their team lose. And the O's have been losing for over ten seasons. I've decided to stop counting the number and just refer to it as over ten. Really it's just depressing.

I love baseball, but I understand why the O's struggle to get fans in the seats. While they do actually have a lot of good discounts and specials, $6 student tickets on Friday. It's hard to rationalize that when you have to spend more on a beer than a ticket. For all the O's promotions, they still are not putting out a winning product. While I appreciate the efforts and the discount tickets that are readily available, I'd rather have a winning team.

Though I am pretty happy about the free ticket to a game for your birthday. That's pretty solid Orioles.

Let's hope this game gets some momentum going and I can throw up a countdown post more than once a week. Oh, by the way, sorry for the brief blogging hiatus. I was finishing up papers and exams for my last semester of law school. It's possible I will disappear again next week due to excessive celebration of being done. Just a warning.

Maybe Next Year

This has been a year of unlikely happenings. And while the world seems to be falling apart everywhere you look with the economic crisis, the on going wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the end of these being nowhere in sight, there have been some great things that have happened this year. And with the new year comes new hope.

I'm just going to talk about the good things in the sports world. Though I love politics, I've tried to keep this blog free of my personal views on the election. However, it is impossible to talk about things happening this year without at least mentioning the historic election of Barack Obama. And to tie this into sports somehow, he has expressed interest in getting a playoff system for college football. And for that policy he has my whole hearted support.

This year has been one of upsets and unlikely characters winning. The World Series featured the Tampa Bay Ray, who had never before had a winning season and the Philadelphia Phillies, whose city had suffered from a 25 year championship drought. The Phillies won and the in an even more unlikely turn of events, everyone is Philadelphia was happy for a few weeks. That was a truly amazing sight. The Rays gave hope to every small market team that with good management and a well stocked farm system allows a team to compete even in a division with the Yankees and the Red Sox.

Another surprise this year for me was the Ravens actually being competitive. With so much turnover and so many changes I picked them to go 5-11. They are now one win away from having the opposite record and going to the playoffs. My hopes for maybe next year turned into maybe this year. A win over Jacksonville tomorrow will cement a playoff berth and even a loss with some help could send them into the post season. The Ravens have been competitive all season and had some hard losses. Overall, they've been really fun to watch and it's been great to finally see some offense from this team.

The Terps football team was one of constant surprises. Each week a different team seemed to take the field. And they seemed to win the games they were supposed to lose and lose the ones they were supposed to win. They went from thoroughly enjoyable to completely unwatchable. It was a frustrating season, but they ended with a respectable record and a bowl game. So next year hopefully they'll be a tad more consistent and go to a bowl game in a warm city, instead of Boise. But a bowl game is always nice, expect another post about this soon.

The Terps basketball team is off to a great start this season. They are 8-2 and winning at the moment. They haven't lost any truly damaging out of conference games. They're only two losses coming to Georgetown and Gonzaga, both ranked. And they have managed upset wins over Michigan and Michigan State. They are playing well with a young team and look to be in a good position going into ACC play in the new year. Hopefully this season will end with a tournament appearance, and not the NIT. Right now things are looking good for the young Terps team.

I also discovered hockey this year. And apparently at the right time. The Caps went from being one of the worst teams in the league to winning their division and making the playoffs last year. Even though they were eliminated in the first round, they fought til the end and gained good experience. This season, the Caps have suffered injury after injury and are still leading their division by ten points. They could make a good run this season if they can get everyone or mostly everyone healthy by playoff time.

Even the Orioles seem to be moving in the right direction. They are shoring up their farm system and trying to sign young players to improve their core. They didn't get Teixeira, but not all is lost. The hometown boy probably wouldn't have been the savior they were looking for anyway. And while it's a slap in the face to go play in New York, that money can be better spent on quality pitching, a far more pressing need for this team. But with Baltimore back on the jerseys, maybe next season will be a winning one.

The Summer Olympics also took place this year. Michael Phelps popularized swimming and won a record eight gold medals. There was also some scandal involved with possibly underage gymnasts. And Usain Bolt shattered his world record 100 meter time even though he slowed down at the end to showboat. China dominated sports I didn't know existed like synchronized diving and trampoline. But the US had strong showing overall and I got sucked into watching sports I didn't care about and cheering for unlikely comebacks. I'm actually excited to see what happens in four years.

The new year is a time to look back and see how far things have come. Its a time to remember the good things of the year and think of ways to make the next year better. With so much turmoil and uncertainty in the world right now its nice to be able to look at sports think of the eternal hope of sports fans. Maybe next year things will turn around.

Thanks for everyone who has supported and read my blog this year. I've really enjoyed writing it and appreciate all the comments and criticisms. I'll try to get a few more posts up this year, but I thought I'd thank you all in advance. Have a happy new year.

Hot Stove Hot Rumors

Now that the Yankees have completed the C.C. deal, the Cubs Peavy deal fell through and the Mets have shored up their bullpen the big story is where will Teixeira fall. There are a few teams reportedly still in the mix for the switch hitting first baseman. And one of them is the Orioles. Teixeira is a Maryland boy and has said he would rather play on the East Coast for family reasons. And he grew up an Orioles fan so somewhere in his heart, he probably still has some tiny desire to play for this team. I'm just not sure that his coming to the O's would be best for this team.

He's a great player and comes with a big price tag. The Nats supposedly offered him $160 million for eight years. The Orioles have also made a big offer in the area of $140-150 million for seven years. I'm glad the Orioles are willing to spend big money to try and become competative again, but I'm not sure this is the best choice. I mean, he is young and really good, but we need pitchers more than a big bat. On the other hand, he could revitalize interest in the club, bring in fans and maybe provide a much needed spark to the team. He could also make it easier to trade Brian Roberts by providing another fan favorite.

So far Andy McPhail has done a good job and made good moves for the team. If the team keeps heading in the same direction in a few seasons, the Orioles might actually be competative again. At this point I'd be ecstatic abouts a winning season, even if they didn't make the playoffs. If McPhail thinks this is the best way for the Orioles to get better, I'm not going to question him too much. It's just hard to get used to the Orioles having competant managment.

The Orioles have managed to make some good moves so far this off season. They got a much needed shortstop, Cesar Izturis, I don't know much about him, but there is no way he's worse than the bumbling idiots they had last season. They traded catcher Hernandez to create a spot for top prospect Wieters and aquired a outfielder/utility man. They seem to be moving in the right direction. But what the O's really need is pitching. I hope McPhail will be addressing that issue soon. I'd really like a winning season soon.

Photo: Getty Images found at the Baltimore Sun

New Uniforms Hopefully Not the Only Change Before Next Season

Today the Orioles unveiled their new uniforms. While I'm happy to report they have not only put Baltimore back on the away uniforms, they have also added a Baltimore sleeve patch to their home and alternate uniforms. I'm glad to see this change. When you have 11 losing seasons, you should try to placate your fans in whatever way you can. But hopefully, these new uniforms will just be one of many changes as we head into the new seasons.

The change the Orioles need most is a new shortstop. Baltimore went through one lousy shortstop after another last year. I'm pretty sure one game, one shortstop had 3 errors, including a ball go through his legs. I can't even remember which one, a testament to how bad they all were. For a team that has had historically good players in the shortstop position, it's hard to fathom how we have went from All Star to Single A players.

The uniform changes are a good analogy for Baltimore management. They waited too long to address the fans desires, and then made just enough changes to show that there has been some change. While they addressed the need to put Baltimore back on the away jerseys, they altered the oriole bird, but kept it as an ornithological correct depiction. I love the old cartoon bird and wished they would have gone back to that. Maybe it's about small steps. The bird was changed slightly so maybe, next year they'll make big changes.

I'm hoping the biggest changes are on the field and on the mound. In addition to a new shortstop, the O's should also be looking for a new first baseman. They have good catcher coming up in the farm system, so really shouldn't worry about that right now. And hopefully some of the pitching prospects will work out. But the Orioles shouldn't be tempted by some of the big names on the hot stove. Yes, it would be nice to think about Manny or Teixiera, but that big money could be better spent on some lesser known young players that will stay in the system a long time. And money definitely needs to be spent on some pitching before a first baseman or outfielder. While they are talented players and big bats, right now solid fielding and pitching will do more good for this team than big names.

I personally would love to see Teixiera return to the Baltimore area and play for the team he grew up cheering for. But, unless Baltimore is one piece away from contention, it doesn't make sense to splurge on him. And it would take a big splurge, because he's not going to come to a losing team willingly, when he can make good money with a contender. I'm just trying to be realistic. Also, anyone who watched this team at the end of the season last year knows they are way more than one piece away from a contender, though they seem to be trying to give up their losing ways.

I'm excited to see what other changes are in store for O's faithful over the off season. And hope that Andy McPhail continues to make smart moves and address the changes that need to be made as well as changes the fans want to be made.

Fall Eases Pain

Fall might be the best sports season of the year. The air is crisp. Well actually its a little humid in Philly this weekend. There's excitement abounding for all the different sports that are starting and getting into the meat of their schedules. Summer is fading away and the its time to replace swimsuits with sweaters, beach weekends with tailgates and baseball with a myriad of other sports.

Baseball is winding down. And even though the playoffs will go into October, my Orioles won't be heading there. I can't say that I'm that upset. I'm actually pretty excited, they have already won 18 more games than I thought they would and since they play their last game today, it might be 19. And they kept me interested in baseball all the way until August, which is longer than most years. But still watching them fall apart in August is always hard. Its a pain that even though its completely expected, never really hurts less because you know its coming. And I'm ready to go from cautious to overly optimistic about my other sports teams and forget the pain the Orioles have inflicted on me once again. And now I'll have some time to forget about it so I can be excited for the heartbreak that will be next season. Though...if the O's could just get some healthy starting pitchers maybe we could be good, maybe even winning season good. See I'm already managing to forget this September.

Another thing about fall is that there's just some gut instinct that this is a time when things are supposed to happen. Yesterday was a prime example. It was just full of upsets in college football. It seemed like all the top 25 teams lost or when they played each other, the lower ranked team won. Even Maryland beat Clemson in an upset. It was completely unexpected and awesome. Maryland didn't really show up in the first half and it seemed like a lost cause. I'm pretty sure my head was in my hands every time Clemson had the ball, I really didn't want to watch them run all over my Terps. I mean, our best play of the first half came when a ball bounced of the shoulder of a Maryland player and being somehow caught by another Maryland receiver. It wasn't even a designed play that got us the most yardage. That's hard to watch. But in the second half something changed. The defense stepped up and suddenly Clemson was facing third downs (which they hadn't really had to deal with in the first half) and Clemson was punting. PUNTING!!! I don't think that happened in the whole first half. But I'm not entirely sure about that, like I said, I spent a lot of time staring at my hands. If you had told me after barely beating Delaware that Maryland would be 4-1 and have beaten two ranked teams at this time of year I would have looked at you quizzically and made some comment about you being overly optimistic. But hell, we could win the ACC, no one else seems to be rising to the challenge. Its a wide open race at this point. Now its completely possible that this team will also bring me pain. I mean just watching the first half against Clemson was excruciating, but we won in the end so its just a minor ache in hindsight.

Also helping me to forget the pain of baseball is the NFL. The Ravens are 2-0 and the defense is looking nasty. Pittsburgh's offensive line allowed Big Ben to get sacked 8 times last week. I'm thinking that he better get ready, because Baltimore loves nothing more than throwing the quarterback around. After two solid starts against terrible teams, the Ravens will finally have a chance to show they can be a contender against a solid Pittsburgh team. Tomorrow will truly be the time for Joe Flacco to step up. Despite the poor offensive line, the Steelers are still a team to be reckoned with, and playing them at Pittsburgh will be a tough challenge for Flaccos first away game. I'm hoping the Ravens bring their A-game and take control of the AFC North.

And as an added bonus hockey season has started. Well, its just preseason, but still. Now a few years ago, I couldn't have cared less about hockey. Then I moved to Philadelphia where people love their hockey. I have to give it to Philly, they love their sports teams, even if they do boo them mercilessly. But that wasn't enough to really sell me on the sport. I watched a couple games, learned a few terms and found out that Ovechkin is awesome, but didn't really pay that much attention. I mean that Caps were still pretty terrible and I can't really cheer for a Philly team and thereby be considered a Philadelphia fan. But then I met a guy who loved hockey. Wanting to be able to talk to him about the Caps and as a result impress him I started paying attention. Needless to say, things didn't really work out with the guy, but that's ok, because I developed a longer lasting and stronger relationship with hockey. It helped that the Caps turned the team around and made the playoffs. Now the season is starting up again and the Caps are 3-0. Hockey season is really long, but its always nice to start out winning. It'll probably be hard for me to watch a lot of Caps games up here in Philly but since hockey plays pretty much every night of the week, I'm sure I'll get a few games in eventually.

I'm even mildly interested in the NBA this year. Not that I'll ever go out of my way to watch a game. But Juan Dixon of the Maryland National Championship team was signed by the Wizards. And that is a move that makes me slightly interested and willing to pay at least a little attention to them.

Overall, I'm excited about the way things have been shaping up so far. And regardless of how all these seasons finish up, I'm happy to enjoy them now. It helps to ease the pain of the looming cold weather and the terrible September for the Orioles.

Apologies

I'm heading back to school tomorrow and the last few weeks have been pretty hectic for me. So I want to apologize to my ten regular readers out there for being a slacker and not updating regularly. I had a great weekend celebrating my friends wedding, then was sick and wrote my last post with a clogged head and a fever, so I'm not sure it makes much sense, and then had another wedding.

But with college football starting soon, NFL starting soon, and the baseball playoff race starting to heat up I'll have lots to write about in the coming weeks. And by baseball playoff race I mean the Orioles Drive for 5. It would be a huge team victory to finish at .500. They haven't been doing that well over the last few games but they have been swinging their bats so we're bound to win a few more. While winning 24 out of the next 34 games seems tough it is possible. I still have hope. And regardless, they have far exceeded my expectations this season already. So I'm happy either way.

As far as college football goes, the ACC is not known for its great football. But it seems to keep getting better. There are even a few analysts who believe Maryland could be the dark horse of the ACC this year. I would love to see that happen. But I'm not ready to get my hopes up quite yet. I'll wait a few games to see what the Fridge has in store for me before I get all bright eyed and optimistic. Whatever happens, it'll be nice to see the ACC actually having some real contenders this year. Let's see what Clemson, Georgia Tech and the rest have this year.

As for the Ravens, I haven't been paying nearly enough attention. People keep getting married during their pre-season games. So I haven't been watching them. Right now I think Troy Smith should be the starter. From what I've read, Flacco is nowhere ready to start and we shouldn't rush him. Boller is Boller. He's not really going to do much for us but he could help us to not lose games. But Smith has shown a lot of potential and growth. And while he can be wildly inconsistent he deserves a chance. Plus Boller has a hurt shoulder, so I think we should wait on him. Smith showed tremendous poise in his few outings last year. And given the chance he can step up and move the ball down the field. He is our best option for starter.

I will be starting school again tomorrow, so I should be able to post more often as I try to avoid doing actual law work. So keep checking back for updates. I'll be trying to post at least 3 times a week. And with all the sporting events to write about I think it will be totally doable. Thanks all for your patience as I've slacked off recently.

O is for Offense

Last night was a big night for the O's. They got their 50th win of the season. Before the season began I predicted the Orioles would struggle to win 50 games. Sometimes it's good to be wrong. It's not even August and while the O's might be in the cellar of the AL East, they are only 5 games below .500. Which really isn't that bad. At least not when you look at our records for the last 10 years. I'm practically giddy.

But while hammering the Yankees 13-4, the Orioles did much more than beat my preseason expectations. There were many big milestone nights. Not only did the O's stop the Yanks 10 game home win streak. So they have managed to beat 2 really hot teams in 2 days after an abysmal previous 10 games. They also had their best offensive night in years. Every batter in the lineup had a hit. And some of those hits were major milestones.

Adam Jones, the young rising star outfielder, had his first career grand slam. A memorable moment for him. This was a great night to do it. But it was not the only career milestone of the night. Brian Roberts hit his 250th career double. That's right 250. Talk about a lot of good hits and stretching a good number of singles as well. The little man has legs. And finally Ramon Hernandez hit his 1,000th hit. How about that for a good night for the team.

Also our pitching is starting to turn around. After a good outing by Olsen, Guthrie showed he still deserves the ace spot by pitching into the 7th before allowing a run and being taken out of the game. So it looks like its on a the Orioles are on an upswing. Let home they can keep it going and creep back up to .500. It was a true night of Orioles Magic.

Sunday Funday

This Sunday I took the day off from watching sports. The Orioles have been slumping lately and had lost 15 consecutive Sundays. They were also playing the Angels who have the best record in baseball. So I figured that I would enjoy my Sunday more if I didn't spend it watching the game. Damn it. I was wrong. Not only did the Orioles beat the Angels 5-2. But Garrett Olson had the best start of any Orioles pitcher in the last 8 games. He made it into the 7th inning. Which has seemed impossible for our pitchers to do lately. George Sherrill racked up his 30th save. That's more than all the Orioles pitchers combined in 2007. What happened?

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited that our losing streak is broken and that we managed to avoid a sweep by a great team, but why did it happen the day I decided not to pay attention. Players tend to be very superstitious. Kevin Millar shaved his head to get back on track. (He likes to grow facial hair but this is against the team policy.) He did it on Friday and then hit 2 home runs. I guess it worked. Sports fans are even more superstitious. I have a friend that wears his Ravens jersey's in a particular order to ensure that they win. I have another friend who believes a Baltimore losing streak can be combated by adding Old Bay to whatever food is eaten during the game. I don't argue with either of these theories as long as we win. I too really believe that how I watch the game has some effect on the outcome. I didn't watch the game and we won, should I stop watching? I just can't do that. Not this season. I can't remember the last time I was still excited about baseball in August. Maybe I just shouldn't watch on Sundays. But Sunday Funday is more fun when the game is on.

So what to do? I will ignore the results of last Sunday as a fluke. Maybe I just needed to change it up to help my team win. I want us to keep winning on Sundays. And I want to keep watching. But this time I'll accept that the win had nothing to do with me. It must have been some other fan or player changing their routine. And next week I'll be ready for a real Sunday Funday. One where I watch the O's continue a streak of winning on Sundays. I just hope that other fan does whatever it was that keeps them winning.

A Plea to Orioles Management

As the trade deadline looms I grow more and more anxious. There seems to be nothing that sports writers like to talk about more than trade speculations. Well, maybe, just at this time of year. But either way, I'm not excited about the talk on the town about my team. I understand the Orioles want to trade some people and have had success from the Bedard and Tejada trades but right now there is talk about trading the wrong players.

George Sherrill should not be traded under any circumstance. Well, I guess if we were going to get an entire rotation of proven starting pitchers, that would be ok, but short of that, we need to keep him. Not only has he been a shining start in our injury plagued bullpen, he's basically the team mascot. His silly uncurled brim has become a trademark of the winning Orioles. During O's games out at the bar, there are now tons of people sporting the flat brim. This team of misfits has rallied around him. He's more than a great closer, he's a symbol of what the team can achieve. Don't take him away from the team or the fans.

Please don't trade Brian Roberts. I know he our most valuable trading chip. But he also is a huge part of this team. Right now we don't have a shortstop, and you want to get rid of our second baseman as well. That's just crazy talk. He's a great player and a fan favorite. And he's never done anything but be good for Baltimore. He's not clubhouse cancer like Tejada, and I doubt we're going to get the same value for him we got for injury prone Bedard. I know he looks like a good trading chip, but after that bare handed catch the other night, I was reminded of how much I don't want to see him go. He's exhilarating to watch and has been a really great leader. With a young team like this we need leaders.

As for Cabrera, there aren't nearly as many rumors floating around about him, but there are still some. Please give him a little more time. He has progressed well this year and really has done well in the struggling rotation. You know you'll be kicking yourself if he gets his head totally together and starts pitching shutouts and/or complete games on a regular basis. Which, he has the potential to do. Just a little bit more time for him, please, please. Plus, I love him and would be very sad to see him leave Baltimore.

Maybe I'm too optimistic or just too attached to the team chemistry we have now. But the only person I'd really be willing to trade is Huff. Yes, he's having a great year. And yes, he's usually a second half player, so he could do good things for us this year. But he's not that young, and he probably won't be around for much longer. So maybe we should get something for him now while his value is so high. It'd better be good though. Because he is hot and has been the difference in more than one game.

Overall, I don't think we should mess with the team very much. And if anything, we should be aquiring more pitching, not trading it away. It's hard to get a team to really believe in each other like this one does. And the fans deserve a chance to see a team win some games in the second half. So don't sell the farm right now for some prospects. Give us a chance to keep watching baseball. I know its been a long time since I was still watching this late in the season. And I don't want to stop.