BLOG: The Voice Of The FAN – Orioles Woes?
THE BLOG
Welcome to the Voice Of The FAN Blog, where your friendly neighborhood web guy/sports nerd reports on the issues people in Baltimore are talking about…and maybe more importantly, typing about – on Facebook, Twitter, texts messages, the comments on this very web site and yes, the occasional note tied around a brick & heaved through the window here at the 105.7 The FAN broadcasting complex. In other words: what YOU actually think. Not what the sportscasters tell you to think or what "experts" think you should think – but the real opinions of real Baltimoreans who spend real money on real tickets & sometimes get real mad (or real ecstatic) at what their favorite teams do. FANs.
THE ORIOLES
What do the FANs think about the 1st 2 months of the Orioles 2011 season? The O's brought in a great manager last year who got immediate results with (by most accounts) a sub par roster. They added some veteran hitting in the off-season, shored up the defense a bit, took a few chances on some vets with injury problems but had upside and hoped the young pitching & a couple home grown hitters would start to pay dividends in the standings of a tough (and expensive) division. Expectations seemed to run high.
After a smoking hot start the O's looked to be a little streaky & came back down to earth….hard. After winning 6 of 7 to start the season the O's dropped 8 in row. Since then they have evened out some, but have lost some real heartbreakers recently.
With the above in mind (oh yeah, plus the decade plus of losing), we asked the FANs on the 105.7 The FAN Facebook page this question:
After last night's heartbreaker, are you losing faith in the Birds/Showalter?
Here is what some Facebook FANs said:
Some optimism:
Marc Friend Not at all, we can't come out first full year and win it all, just take good strides to the finish line. but i do not like mr mike gonzalez i think he is worthless...
(more on Gonzalez in a moment)
…and more
Frank Hoffman With a little bit of hitting, that's easily a win. Can't blame that on Showalter. If the pitching wasn't developing - then I would be seriously concerned. I'm quite happy with their progress.
Sheila F. Beares Philip Too early in the season to lose it. And really, they will always be my team no matter what. At least it's been exciting to watch!
John Hall Not concerned. We have lost games that we had bad breaks. We win those we are above .500
Casey Brewer I wouldn't say I'm losing faith, heck, I'm still here after 13 losing seasons, but, these last 2 losses have taken alot out of me. After all O's fans have been through, they owe it to us NOT to blow a 6 run lead…
Ron Coleman Yes and no...sick and tired of the starters being yanked in the 5th and 6th ings. If they are doing good leave them in there and I don't want to hear about pitch counts these kids have been pitching for ever it's not going to Hurt them.
Kevin Jensen Not losing faith, just frustrated. I think that our main issue is that we feel obligated to stick with failed acquisitions too long.
Wow. Those are real FANS showing some (expected) frustration but overall pretty optimistic.
MIKE GONZALEZ
But wait, just when you thought Baltimore FANs were going soft, we asked about Gonzalez hitting the Yankees Dickerson late in an extra innings loss and here's what the FANs thought about these questions:
Did Mike Gonzalez Intentionally Throw At Dickerson? Should He Have Been Tossed?
Stephen Janowski III Ummm... if he intentionally threw at any target, he'd miss it by 2 feet. So, no. But if he could start intentionally getting batters out, that'd be nice.
Robert Reds Knight no he cant throw up he is a joke cant hit a batter if he wanted to plus he cant find the plate either get him out of here
Kris Cumberland He should be tossed from the team! BUM
That's more like it! LOL!
GET HEARD
Overall some very viable & reasonable comments from some real FANs. The optimism that the O's started the season with seems to be still mostly here, even after some tough losses. Let's hope the O's deliver on the FANs expectations & show us all some competitive baseball moving forward to the rest of the season. Either way I'll be back to take the temperature of you, the FAN, right here.
Want to get on-board & be heard? Got a suggestion for a topic?
Leave a comment below, join us on FACEBOOK and/or TWITTER, text us at THEFAN (843326), or just get your twine & brick ready…and don't worry – we dont take off 4 speling or gramm3r - we just listen to you.
Chris Speer – 105.7 The Fan Web Guy/Social Media Editor/Staff Writer
