Maybe Next Decade: The Markakis Years
Here is a picture my friend John Wells took of Cal's Cooperstown induction ceremony. The lawn is rife with Oriole fans in every direction. They are waiting for Cal to appear. Once could imagine this very same group of people surrounding Camden Yards, demanding a winning team.
Perhaps the next ten years will be more productive ones for the Baltimore Orioles. The last ten will be remembered for some of the worst relief pitching known to man, a rash of untimely hitting, and steroid abuse. We have the greatest ballpark in the major leagues and we've populated it with a revolving door of marginal and lackluster talent.
Over the past ten years, several moments have stood out. Cal retired and was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Mussina left for the Yankees. There was the Jack Cust belly-flop toward homeplate and the Todd Williams intentional walk that turned into a game winning hit by Miguel Cabrera. Armando Benitez beaned the Yankees. Sydney Ponson was more like a "monsoon" when it came to giving up runs and attacking tourists in Aruba. The Orioles acquired Miguel Tejada and have placed the burden of winning on his shoulders.
The team on the field and the front office have presented a very bad example for the city and its young people to follow and emulate. Ten year old children have never known a winning season. It's hard to fathom that players would rather play baseball in places like Detroit than in Baltimore. It boggles the mind that the organization would refuse to put the city's name on the jersey just to spite the fans. There is no accountability for the bad decisions that have been made.
We lack three essential elements for winning: 1.) Talent 2.) Integrity and 3.) Desire. Games were lost outright, thrown away, and blown by every conceivable method. This year we were no-hit, lost 30-3, and gave up five runs on Mother's Day. 2007 will likely be remembered as the season the Oriole ship hit bottom. The worst season ever. The only players who deserve to wear the uniform are: Bedard, Roberts, Guthrie, and Nick Markakis.
One future bright spot on this year's team is Markakis. He's hit over 20 homeruns and driven in 100 rbi. He has 11 outfield assists. The Markakis era is underway and it figures to be a prominent one for him. He can't do it alone.
On the Sunday afternoon of Cal's induction ceremony, Camden Yards was packed to watch the Orioles play the Yankees. Most of the fans in attendance were Yankee fans. I wondered how many of the large contingent of Oriole fans in Cooperstown that day were there to pay homage to their hero and not to the current collection of players on the field. How many of those fans have give up on Peter Angelos and his ineptitude?
Its not easy being a fan.
posted by DeanboyHoo at 4:02 PM
2 Comments:
Dean-O, as always your points are perceptive and laced with a long-time fan's incredulity at the ragged and threadbare mantle the team has adopted, seemingly by choice. And that's what hurts most about this ignominious transformation from respected lunchpail team to a listless march of untalented castoffs, washed up vets and failed promise -- the Orioles have done it to themselves. No rash of injuries or poor free agency contracts can fully describe the dire circumstances which now surround this team. There used to be the concept of the "Oriole Way" which was preached from single-A ball all the way to the bigs. Now? There's no such thing; the minors churn out far fewer big leaguers than their predecessors. Or they arrive hurt, or over-hyped, or fundamentally deficient. An entropic, inherent malaise. Tejada was probably the last major signing the O's made - and that was five years ago! The ghost of Albert Belle, like that of Xmas past, still haunts Angelos. Millar has done everything the O's have asked of him, but he's not the answer, as great an example as he sets for the others. And Payton? Huff? Wright? Benson? Mora? Gibbons? Baez? Bradford? Geez... where is this team headed?
It's beyond awful. Let's hope that you are right, that Markakis, Bedard and Roberts can somehow lead us out of this mess. With an assist from Andy "Mayday" McPhail.
Til next year (I say this way too often...)
Baseball, baseball, baseball! Don't you boys ever talk about anything else? I though this was a poetry web site.
Let's talk about something hip and edgy...like Sleater-Kinney, the greatest band in the history of rock and roll. And if anyone says anything mean about Sleater-Kinney, I will hunt you down and kill you. I hate people who aren't open-minded enough to love the greatest rock and roll band in the herstory of the universe.
Don't forget: if you're mind isn't open enough to understand this, I will hunt you down and torture you like a muzzie in Gitmo.
And maybe we could extend this conversation beyond baseball to include George Bush, the most honest man ever to serve as president of the United States. I think his record over the last several years proves that he is more honest than George Washington and Abe Lincoln put together! If you think he's a bigger liar than anyone else, then your mind just isn't open enough to understand Sleater-Kinney.
Its a shame about those million dead Iraqis though, isn't it?
A real shame.
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