The Twins are already losers today. The Orioles take the field in Oakland tonight, late on the East Coast, with the opportunity to pull into a tie for the second wild card spot. To do that, they'll actually have to win, an endeavor that would be helped, as it would be helped in every game, by non-sucky starting pitching and non-sucky hitting. With the Orioles right now, you never really know what you are going to get.
Take the case of Jimmy Paredes in right field. What the hell, Buck? And this is in Oakland, for crying out loud, so we're talking a place with a cavernous outfield and you're just going to throw a guy who's mostly a DH out there and hope for the best. That doesn't seem like the ideal scenario for rookie Tyler Wilson, called up to start today and possibly about to be optioned again tomorrow. That's life with the Orioles.
The Athletics are losers of seven of their last ten games. They are in last place, 12 games below .500. The Orioles have stunk on the road this year. If they want to compete, they need to start reversing that fortune. Maybe they'll do it against Jesse Chavez and the Oakland hitters tonight, including the Billy Brigade. I think you already know that I won't be holding my breath. Hopefully you don't stay up special only to get to witness a total mess.