Monday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are on the verge of being swept

Happy Monday, Camden Chatters. I hope you can have a good day after the debacle that was the first two days of the Orioles’ postseason. I think I speak for us all when I say it’s been a real downer.

Anytime that it’s not the postseason, I can rationally talk about how the postseason is a crapshoot. Because of that, the most important thing is for a team to be good enough to get to the postseason many times so that they will have the chance over and over to succeed in the postseason. Any team can get hot and go on a run in the postseason, or they can have a cold streak that would barely register in the regular season but torpedoes their World Series hopes.

But now that it is the postseason and my team is in it, I have lost all sight of that. There is nothing rational about being a sports fan and that goes double in the playoffs. The Orioles have looked simply terrible in the last two games and it feels like I don’t even know who this team is. I am having trouble believing that they ever looked good enough to win in the postseason, even though I just watched them win 101 games.

In game one, the pitching was strong but the hitters were MIA. Last night, it was the opposite. Everyone was worried about Jordan Montgomery, but they scored five runs against him in four innings. Grayson Rodriguez completely collapsed and then Brandon Hyde turned to relief pitchers who are the worst of the bunch. It made no sense to me that he chose to bring in Bryan Baker, who wasn’t even good enough to be on the team for most of the season.

Following him with Jacob Webb, who looked pretty bad in game one, was also a head-scratcher for me. Before Baker came in, the game was 5-2 and it was very early on. There was plenty of time to come back, and the Orioles did just that. I was at the game and it was very difficult to watch.

So now the Orioles are down 0-2 in their best-of-five series and are going on the road to Texas. Their season isn’t over and I am trying hard to hold on to hope. But it’s tough. You get it.

Links

Orioles on brink of elimination after falling to Rangers, 11-8, in Game 2 of ALDS: ‘There is no tomorrow’
Jacob Calvin Meyer's game recap all with the quotes you might want to read from the Orioles about the loss.

Why Orioles can come back in ALDS vs. Rangers - MLB.com
Joe Trezza is trying to keep things optimistic.

Orioles fans still clamoring for seats in Bird Bath section despite plummeting temperatures - The Baltimore Banner
I was at yesterday's game in a sweatshirt, shivering from time to time when the wind kicked up. I looked at the Bird Bath a few times and remember specifically watching them get hosed down after Gunnar Henderson's home run and thinking, "Are they ok down there?"

Orioles fans filled Camden Yards with optimism this weekend. They left disappointed, clinging to hope.
This headline is about me.

Birthdays and History

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have three Orioles birthday buddies, most notably Brian Roberts. Roberts, who turns 46 years old today, played for the Orioles from 2001-2013, though he struggled with injury later in his career. Roberts was never a big home run hitter, but he was a doubles machine. He hit at least 50 in a season three times and 367 in his career. He was one of the few bright spots in a dark period of Orioles baseball.

Also celebrating today are Chaz Roe (37) and Jason Pridie (40).

On this day in 1966, Dave McNally pitched a four-hit shutout and Frank Robinson homered in a 1-0 win over the Dodgers to clinch the World Series. The Orioles held the Dodgers scoreless for 33 innings, setting a World Series record.

In 1971, Dave McNally was back at it! This time he pitched a three-hitter and Merv Rettenmund hit a three-run homer in a 5-3 victory over the Pirates in game one of the WS.

In 1996, some punk kid reached over the wall in the ALCS between the Orioles and Yankees.

In 2014, on the day before the start of the ALCS, the Orioles signed JJ Hardy to a three-year extension. It was a feelgood thing to happen after a fun ALDS, but it didn’t end up being a great investment for the Orioles. And I love Hardy.