In case you didn't know, the Baltimore Orioles suck. And ESPN wants you to know it too, in a recent article titled "Orioles mired in a full-blown identity crisis":
To see how far the Orioles have fallen, you need only buy a ticket to a weekday game in September. Trust us -- they're not hard to find. Monday night at Camden Yards, an announced crowd of 21,742 watched the Orioles lose 9-6 to the Yankees. Judging from the cheers when Alex Rodriguez hit a ball over the right-field fence and Kyle Farnsworth recorded the final out, at least half of were pro-Yankees.
The true test would be if the writer had gone to a game other than a Yankees or BoSox one, but that's OK. That part is only slightly misleading, but not by much. At least this part is accurate:
Baltimore fans have grown accustomed to meaningless games in September. At season's end, the Orioles will be tied with Tampa Bay for the American League futility lead with nine straight losing years. Only the Pirates, who are working on their 14th straight sub-.500 finish, have been more inept.
And I thought Kansas City was bad. Well, they are, but like this?
Speaking of Kansas City, I know the AL is vastly superior in terms of pitching and all that, and it's highly likely that an AL team will win the World Series (because the Smets sure ain't gonna do it). AL teams are much better, yes. But the league also has the teams with the worst records. Just look at these two winners: Tampa Bay (57-93) and Kansas City (58-92). (Good for KC for not being the suckiest team in baseball, at least for the moment.) Compare that with the lousiest teams in the NL: Chicago (62-89) and Pittsburgh (63-87). Yeah, not a huge difference, and of course there are a billion other factors separating these teams and leagues, but it's kind of interesting to see.
Back to Baltimore. Don't forget the protest on Thursday! Buy your tickets now!
Nestor Aparicio, who owns WNST Radio in Baltimore, is organizing a "Take Back the Birds" protest for the 4:05 p.m. game with Detroit on Sept. 21. Aparicio and his fellow diehards plan to assemble at an Inner Harbor restaurant dressed in black (no orange) and march to the park in unison. They'll take their seats in the upper deck, shout "O" during the national anthem, and cheer their lungs out for the local team. And then, at precisely 5:08 p.m. (the "5" in honor of Brooks Robinson and the "8" for Cal Ripken Jr.), they will leave the park en masse to protest what's become of the team under Angelos' ownership.
I like this. Don't care if it's a publicity stunt; I think it's a great idea. Hope it works out!
5 comments:
So they are going to protest by giving their money to the O's?? Wouldn't a boycott make more sense? (I'm sure you could say that people are already boycotting the O's games against teams that aren't the Yanks or Sawx...
Of course the AL has the worst teams. Can you imagine what the Pirates' record would look like if they had to play the Yankees and Red Sox 18 times a year each?
I agree with mr. smooth that giving Angelo$ money does not really hurt him as much as not giving him money.
Also, they should be wearing orange, it sticks out more.
The saddest thing about the Orioles is that they have the money to compete. Every year they try to make a splash in the free agent market and screw it up. Just a pathetic owner and front office.
i miss you! i saw a bunch of canadian things today and thought of you and fred! :)
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