Goodbye Chris Gomez, There's Always Next Year

Just as soon as it looked like things were turning around, the Orioles were beaten 30-3 by the Rangers--in their own park. Pummeled. Routed. Mauled. Embarrassed. Exposed. Run-ruled. Touchdowned. Body-slammed by a revamped Ranger team that had unloaded its big stars. A friend asked why we didn't plunk the Rangers for running up the score. Well, it's easier said than done. They would actually need to hit the target and the ballspeed would only be slightly faster than the hurlers from the Little League team, Chinese Taipei.

On the same day, the Orioles announced Dave Trembley as manager for 2008. They players relaxed. The trading deadline had passed so everyone was safe and the coffers of Mr. Angelos would continue to flow for the forseeable future. Trembley was the only question. With him locked for 2008, the Orioles could safely fold up their tents and roll over. Suddenly, the "magic" required to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory returned. They lost the next three games to the Twins, after leading two of them through seven. Before Texas came to town, they were 58-65, only seven games from .500. Now they are 11 games under and counting. They teased us into being fans again. The circus is packed and the caravan is pulling out.

A few weeks ago, the Orioles traded Chris Gomez, someone who brought professionalism and class to the franchise as a utility infielder. Gomez hit .300 and played next to near flawless defense at short and third while Mora and Tejada were on the DL. His reward: sold to the Indians for $20,000. They had a winning record when Gomez started games after Trembley took over. Gomez was one of only a few Orioles I could cheer for this year.