With the Orioles dead set in last place, conversations at the lunch table and the water cooler have changed this season.
As the season started, conversations revolved around the usual issues of how the team needs to retool its bullpen, or how it’s a shame that such a group of talented hitters can’t act as a cohesive unit.
As usual, conversation turned to a discovery of the reasons behind the record. So is it Trembley’s fault? What about MacPhail? Has he had enough time yet? Someone usually suggests that they spend more money on talent, or some other generic phrase like that.
Someone then points out that buying a team didn’t work last time. A few people blame the Orioles’ emaciated farm system. One person mentions that they have been steadily trying to rebuild that farm system.
A lot of us have been on a lot of different sides of these conversations. In a way it’s just entertaining to hypothesize about what could change or what should be happening.
Something changed last week. It seemed more serious. One of the most frequent topics of conversation was a comparison to the 0-21 start of 1988 Orioles. This officially became the worst start since that season. Even though they had one win, it was still looking grim.
Of course, now they have two wins (and maybe by the time you read this they will have three, though they are down by a run as I am writing this) So now, it’s a little harder to attach any hyperbole to the season. It’s not going to be 1988, but it’s probably not going to be good. I am wondering if the conversations will turn back to the old themes, or if people will just stop caring at all.
I hope people don’t stop caring, and I hope something changes. So, today, MDP is doing it’s part to keep interest alive, with a picture of the park. For our out-of-town readers, we’re also including a key to pronunciation of the street that runs parallel to the warehouse.
Also of note: I came across this entertaining group of cartoons in the sun, which chronicles the season pretty well.
1 response so far ↓
1 Jess // Apr 22, 2010 at 10:38 AM
I liked this post a lot, especially because it seems a lot like conversations about the Pirates. I was thinking that those conversations have been fewer this year, but I think there’s two reasons for that: the Penguins in the playoffs, and Big Ben (that’s been front-page news for weeks). I’m sure we’ll go back to complaining about the Pirates soon.
We should have a Pirates-Orioles bet…
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