Rangers 13, Orioles 7: Instead of a game recap, enjoy this useless complaining

makes it more tolerable.

This is a recap — just of how many of us are feeling. It isn’t entirely useless, since at least we don’t feel alone. I commented after the MacPhail video that the video was pointless since the folks who watch it don’t have to keep faith, but can’t shake their incurable disease. No one responded to that, and I felt a bit embarrassed at my self-pitying outburst. Now, not so much. Thanks!

I watched every bit of last night’s adventure, but I didn’t listen to a word of it. This makes it much easier to take — my real focus was on a first listen to some new records of old bands, the O’s were just something to occupy my eyes. I got a lot out of The Blues Project Reunion. The O’s were what they are. Maybe you could do the yoga to some tunes while the game is on in the room. The competing reward blunts the pain of the self-injurious behavior.

I’ve stopped making projections of the team’s record a while ago. Once the long losing streak sort-of ended, I tried to guess wins and losses for the next few series, and I was usually pretty close. Then they went 3-5 against the Mariners, Indians and Royals, and I realized their wins so far were due almost exclusively to luck. (How the hell did they sweep the Red Sox?) So I no longer feel capable of guessing. They are actually likely to lose every series. I don’t want this to be the case, and I still root for them to win while they’re actually playing, but obviously no loss can be considered surprising at this point.

This really is a bad team. Possibly a historically bad team. I don’t know how this happened. How does an entire team slump at the same time? Would Wieters be hitting more consistently if he were playing for the Rays? Has Garrett Atkins truly deteriorated to this extent? Should we expect Markakis to hit fewer than 10 home runs a season from now on? What the hell happened to these people? It resembles a curse.

Same thing has happened to me the last few games Stacey. I was at the bar last night trying to watch the game and I just couldn’t after all the Texas HRs and Orioles base runners left on 2nd and 3rd. Hopefully, the series against the Nats is more bearable.

On that note, I’ll be going to the game on Saturday if the weather is polite. My brother got some pretty good tickets and I will probably be wearing my “It’s always next year shirt”. If you are going feel free to stop me and cheers me or bitch about Atkins/Dave.

It’s not terribly helpful, I understand. But the team is total shit right now. Total shit. And we’re supposed to be in “stage 2” and “judged on wins and losses,” and while none of us here really believed that part of it, we had no reason to expect THIS, and so it seems perfectly reasonable to be upset about it.

It totally could get worse. We’ve had OK starting pitching so far. If it goes south, like it did last night, we’ve got a few 2-16 runs in our future. This could be a historically bad team.

How many times in the last dozen years have the Orioles started off strong in April and May… began to fade in June… and then tank it after the All-Star break? So maybe this team will improve as the season progresses. Maybe they will build momentum going into next season with a strong second half, with the young players turning it around and trusting in their abilities. The plan was never to win in 2010. The plan was to compete in 2012. Use the rest of the season to sort out the bullpen. Find out how good Koji can be. Berken seems to have found a home out there. I haven’t given up on Simon and his 1.87 WHIP… possibly as a set up man. Ohman as a left-handed specialist. Everyone else should be gone by next year. Find a closer… maybe in the minors, maybe in free agency (though that didn’t work out this year).

I am telling you, if this team strings together some September wins against contenders, it will give them the confidence they need. That’s what the Rays did in 2007. They were in last place… again, but they were not the team you wanted to play in September. They were young and talented, and had a chip on their shoulder. If the Orioles can be that team this year, then I still believe they can contend in the near future. If they start waiving the white flag in August, like they have every year in recent memory, then next year will be more of the same.

Right after the Cruz HR. I love this team and I have followed them w/o pause my entire life. But at some point it’s just not healthy to subject one’s psyche to this constant barrage of loathing and despair. But, then again, I’m on here 1st thing in the morning checking in to see what happens….Ugh…I need to find a new hobby. Maybe learn how to play guitar or something. This is going to be another long and putrid summer in birdland…

We put 22 people on base last night. To come up with just 7 runs off that is just pitiful.

I was thinking again about ‘88 with the no expectations heading into the season, and the O’s sure delivered. You think back at the sad sacks that year and still kind of chuckle.

This team is an entirely different beast. Expectations were moderately high this year. The O’s were expected to make some strides. The front office was talking about it’s time to start winning. MacPhail stated something to the effect that this is the best team coming north that he’s had. Baseball writers were even taking slight notice and writing that things may be getting better in Baltimore. Then the season started and, to put it bluntly, the team shit the bed. We’ve watched injuries and the young guys under perform, and these guys were to be the nucleus of the future. It has dashed any optimism we had not only for this season but for 2011 and beyond.

You had some excitement coming into this season and the O’s killed it right out of the gate. If they continue to stink you will look back in ten years and still think “I hated that fucking team”.

Look, I can deal with the losing. I can deal with Atkins being useless and the rest of it.

What I can’t handle is the total fucking lack of any hope for the future.

Remember when Matt Wieters was supposed to be Jason Heyward but a catcher? Remember when Matusz was going to win rookie of the year? When Fangraphs was talking about our giving Adam Jones a long term deal? We’ve brought up three top ten prospects in the last season and a half in Wieters, Matusz and Tillman. None of them have done what was expected. Jones looks like he may never figure it out.

The season is still young, and these kids have time to figure it out. But what I can’t bear is watching our top prospects bust, one after another. If they all fail, we have nothing. Not now, and not in the years to come.

We all need a 12 step program. I am the same — can’t resist checking the scores and so forth. Unlike most of you, I am old enough to remember all of the glory days, so maybe even worse for me. Of course, am also old enough to know better!

when MASN started running those “Maximum Izturis” commercials

it would make me feel better (and be infinitely more entertaining) if someone would go Zambrano on a water cooler, or if Trembles would go vintage Pinella on an ump, something. Show me that they care and that they are frustrated at being shit on day-in and day-out. Jones got fined (or likely will be getting fined) by the league for slamming his helmet down a few games back when he GIDP to end an inning. But other than that, it just seems like there is zero fire or passion on this team; a veritable collection of J.D. Drew’s & John Olerud’s. All quite, self reflective, and meek. Fuck that shit. Everyone on the team (with the exception of Ohman) is too uptight. Maybe that’s the problem; they can’t get out of their own heads.

But with all due respect, the way some of you are giving up on the young’uns? Really? I’m sorry but it’s too darned early in their careers to do that. Not everyone’s going to blossom immediately a la Longoria, and of course the coaching staff could be hampering their development.

Just my two for what it’s worth.