What a season it was. If I'm not mistaken, most of the experts (re: guys that want other people to hear him talk) said the Orioles would come in last. Again. My prediction was a bit more optimistic. I predicted the Orioles to finish closer to .500. And they did!
I only attended three Orioles games this year, down from nine last year. I saw opening day, compliments of the Mayor of Eldersburg. I saw the 2nd game against the Red Sox, compliments of Casey Cares. I saw the third game, which coincidentally was not only my first Yankees game, but also my first playoff game, which was the 2nd game of the series, compliments of a friend of a friend. He posted them on Facebook, I told him that if no one replied, I'd be more than happy to go with him. And with him I went!
If you've never been to a playoff game, you've never truly experienced baseball. During a regular season game, there's a lot of mingling and socializing going on. We're actually prompted when to cheer. Not in the playoffs. We were on our feet almost the entire time. Fans were loud. Fans were cheering. Fans were paying attention to the game. And fans did not need to be prompted for the rally cries. It was beautiful.
The best part is that the Orioles won the game. And like almost all of the other games, it was a great pitchers' duel. The game ended after midnight, but I didn't care. It took nearly 30 minutes to walk out of the stadium because EVERYONE stayed to watch the whole game, but I didn't care. It took almost another 30 to get out of the parking lot, but I didn't care. It took another 35 minutes to get home, but I didn't care. I got home at 1:30 am, but I didn't care. I finally put my head on my pillow at 2am, looked at the clock and realized that I needed to wake up for work in 3 hours and 45 minutes, but I didn't care. I got to see the Orioles in the playoffs. I got to see a game that hasn't happened in Baltimore in 14 years. I got to see a team that made the fans proud!
Sadly, the Orioles lost two out of the next three games and were eliminated from the playoffs by the Evil Empire. Who says money can't buy you happiness? If winning the playoffs and the World Series make you happy, then money is exactly what you need. Just ask Brian Cashman and 12 million New Yorkers. For sale - one World Series. $250 million.
If you want to know what the crowd sounds like after a playoff win, listen to this video!
I watched every single Orioles' playoff game. All five. This is something that I probably haven't done since 1983. (Thank you, Tito Landrum!) I seriously doubt that I did this in 1996 and 1997.
The Yankees haven't fared as well in the 2nd round. In the first round, we can blame it on the great pitching. Now we can confidently place the blame on the players inability to hit the ball. I heard Elliott on DC101 this morning say that MLB ought to let the Yankees start using steroids again so that they'd be more competitive. Hysterical!
My Orioles' hangover extended into the weekend. Oh, those Ravens. The Ravens did not win that game, Dallas lost it. And with Webb and Lewis out, possibly for the season, our defense will not be able to prop up the team against upcoming foes such as Houston, Pittsburgh, and the NY Giants. I'm hoping for the best, but wouldn't be surprised to see the worst. Ugh....
So, when does hockey start???
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