We won yesterday. If we win today, that's two in a row. If we win tomorrow, that's called a winning streak; it has happened before.
The managerial spot is still the hot topic, but for now, let's just be happy that the Orioles went to the west coast and won two of three against a first-place team, and even managing to SCORE RUNS, of all things. Who'd have thunk it possible?
The most notable thing today, though, was Miguel Tejada's decision to push himself into the lineup to keep his streak alive. That itself is not a story, but it's not the whole story. Brian Roberts was scheduled to have the day off, with Chris Gomez starting at second base and batting second, with Jay Payton leading off, and Tejada in his familiar cleanup spot.
Gametime comes, and Roberts is in at leadoff and second base, with Tejada hitting second. Tejada bunts into a fielder's choice, and promptly leaves the game for pinch-runner Chris Gomez.
There are all kinds of things going on here, and I already said enough in the game thread. This is the sort of thing that gives guys like Skip Bayless coronaries, and usually those things aren't high on my list of items over which to get righteous. But this really rubbed me the wrong way.
It's not about the sanctity of the streak, because as blasphemous as it can be to some people, I don't give a damn about Tejada's streak, Gehrig's streak or Ripken's streak. Congratulations, you showed up to work every day for a long time. Normal people at least have the common decency to recognize that some days, it's just fun to call in sick and watch Judge Judy, or Captain Ron on TBS at 10am. All the guys with these iron man streaks are out of their minds. And none of the streaks ever made a difference in whether or not a team won the pennant that year. They are impressive, yes, but they're a me-first thing. And Tejada's move today was as me-first as it gets.
It just seems so bush league to insert yourself into the lineup for the second at-bat of the game and then leave. The wrist is clearly a real issue. Does he plan to do this every day until it heals enough that he can swing a bat and field properly? When we get back to the AL parks, if it's not healed up, is he going to really take a guy out of the game in order to keep the stupid, superficial streak alive?
We all know Miguel Tejada is tough, and the streak speaks for itself. But for God's sake, if you can't play, you can't play. This isn't an issue of being worn down or having a minor bump in the road that can be played through at 70 or 80 percent capacity. This is an injury that has Tejada unable to perform, period. I hope it's just day-to-day, for a number of reasons, but mostly because if it's going to take a while to heal, he's a wasted roster spot.
We'll see how it turns out. For now, Dave Trembley is 2-1 while we search for a new manager. They should really at least give him an honest interview to state his case. If you can humor Rick Dempsey, why not Trembley?