Sunday, July 27, 2008

Camden Yards: Sunday, Sunday


Never On A Sunday???

Congratulations to the Baltimore Orioles winning their first game on a Sunday since April 6th. A fifteen game streak of futility has come to an end against the California Angels, the team sporting the current best record in baseball. With a starting rotation of castoffs and unprovens while the pennant races intensify among the real competitors, the balance of the season will be difficult for the Orioles who will get less and less attention as the Ravens begin training camp and get their season underway in September. By then, it’s hard to imagine the Orioles won’t be locked into last place without having the familiar cushion of Tampa Bay at the bottom. In case fans haven’t noticed, the once pitiful bottom feeders now stand atop of the American League East.

Is there any significance to the Orioles Sunday losing streak? Probably not. Still, most serious fans acknowledge that the Orioles were overachievers for the first half of the season. The team is inexperienced, still growing, with vital spots, such as shortstop needing to be filled with major league talent. Being a young team, perhaps routine is important. The Orioles have played well at home, poorly on the road. Sunday afternoon games are a disruption in the routine requiring different focus and preparation compared to the normal home night game. Still, let’s not read too much into this. The Orioles are a team on the mends and just to be able to say that is progress over the past several years. Rebuilding is underway and Baltimore baseball fans, there’s some of us left, can be pleased.

Here’s hoping fans get to enjoy the spectacle of Dave Trembly trying to master a celebratory cigar on the home Sundays that remain. In the meantime, he might want to visit the Havana Club for a quick primer on his cigar smoking technique.

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