BLOG: Simple Pleasures
I'm not going to sit here and act as if the Baltimore Orioles' finish erased that bitter disappointment of the 2011 season. There were still not as good as many thought they were going to be. They were bad on the mound from the starters right down to the closer that they brought in here.
Yes, I can still remember not believing that Derek Lee would be the answer at first base, but they still signed him. What happened the last few weeks of the season does not erase any of that and I'm not alone in feeling this way.
However, I will say the way this team played down the stretch, winning six out of their final 10 games of the season, was a lot of fun. They added a play-off feel for baseball to this town because they did not roll over and die for contenders. They eliminated the Boston Red Sox on the final game of the season to give a fan like me something to cheer for.
Yes, it's probably petty for me to take solace in the demise of someone else, but isn't that what sports are all about? If I can't get in, isn't is great to know that your team was able to ruin it for another team that you hate? Doesn't misery love company?
The O's finished the season with under 70- wins. That's something that I did not think was going to happen this year. I did not believe it would take a late season run to clinch a non-100 loss season again. It happened and I'm not happy about that.
However, at least I have Wednesday night. At least I can say I witnessed my home team shake things up in Beantown. If you hear rumors of Terry Francona being fired. If you hear rumbling of David Ortiz not returning to the Sox. If you start seeing signs of finger pointing in their clubhouse... Yeah, we did that.
Rob Long
