I am a Baltimore Orioles fan. I turn into an 8 year old kid everytime I get my ticket scanned, go through the turnstile, and pass the gate. I pause "superstitously" to adjust my cap for Orioles "good luck" that night. My eyes get big, my ears take in the pre-game music, and I follow my nose to Boog's Bar-B-Q to say "hi" to Mr. Powell if he is on his stool signing autographs and talking to fans. For The next three and half hours or so, I am in baseball heaven.
Have to remember, I have gone through ALOT to be at this game tonight. Bought my ticket on-line weeks in advance, have driven 210 miles from central Southwestern Virginia, and checked into a local hotel already. So four games a season is usually my limit.
With a record of ONLY 19 wins, and 52 losses (at this writting)it is very hard to be a loyal Orioles fan. It is very flustrating to see your team lose night after night against even medicore teams. Whether it is a poor outing by the starting pitcher who is throwing "batting practice", a game changing throwing error, or a dropped ball... my poor Orioles find some way to lose.
Since I watch the majority of the games on Mid Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), I hear all the pre-game, during the game, and post-game comments and analysis from the in the broadcast booth "experts". Usually they get it right, but they are human and make mistakes. One on-going theme and subject I fully agree with is "it begins and ends with great pitching". And the Baltimore Orioles have none. Great pitching can shut down great hitting everytime... that is a fact! Need proof? Think of the tandem "one-two punch" of Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson winning the World Series for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Baltimore Orioles have neither great starting pitching, nor an excellent bullpen. Ownership and management does not go out on the free agent market and sign the best ace pitchers available like other clubs who have no regard for payroll like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Not real good at "before the dead line" trades either. The few they do sign to inexpensive contracts have questionable records, sporadic sucess, and often lousy overall stats. Seems the Orioles "want to cultivate from within" with first round draft picks and their minor league clubs. This idealogy still has not produced a winning team on the field for years now. Orioles need to "buy" some pitching talent - it is that simple folks!
So I remain a flustrated loyal Baltimore Orioles fan, watching and going to games when I can, knowing no one in ownership or management cares what little 'ol batspeed29 thinks. Seems the Orioles are on their way to losing over 100 games this season... must be the wonderful staff AND Boog's roast beef sandwiches that keep me coming back to Camden Yards :)
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