Why O Why...

I'd like to take a moment to talk about my favorite baseball team "The O's". I've loved the Orioles since I was a kid. I was born in Baltimore, and no matter where the military sent us or what country we were living in, watching the Orioles on TV made me feel like I had a connection to home. My first fish was black and orange and I named him Earl Weaver. I really believed Cal Ripken, Jr. was the mayor. Seriously, the first man I ever saw in his panties was Jim Palmer in those damn Jockey ads. (Yes, I called them panties, because if I have to use that awful word, then so do you.) Singing the National Anthem was the best because every time the word "O" as in "O say does that star spangled..." came up I'd scream it at the top of my lungs just like they do at Memorial Stadium, before it became the greatest place on earth - Camden Yards. It was like you could scream for your country and your favorite baseball team at the same time. Not many teams can boast that!

So on Monday morning, I received an emergency text message from my brother, "Perlozzo got canned...the bullpen coach is the interim manager while they look for a replacement...yet another sad day in Baltimore for O's fans." I took a moment to reflect on the constant disappointment which has been my loyalty to this damn team. It's been a rough decade to say the least. The last nine seasons have been losing seasons for us, and we're currently in last place in the AL East. Who are we, the Cubs? I don't want a legacy of pity. That's right, I said it. What's going to happen? Vince Vaughn, John Cusack, and Jeremy Piven are going to start crying? Enough. I'm almost starting to believe that the Orioles are just afraid of success.

In a recent interview with our newly canned manager, he was quoted, "I'd been in the organization a long time, so I pretty much knew what I was getting into," Perlozzo said Tuesday. "I felt I could make a difference. I truly believed I was the guy that could do it." I believed it too Sam. So long buddy. You did your best. Now come on guys, get your crap together and start winning something. The best year of my life can not be 1983.


Vintage Jim Palmer just because....