Rob Long: Welcome Machado
Earlier today, on the Vinny and Rob Show, we discussed the decision by the Baltimore Orioles to promote Manny Machado from AA Bowie Baysox to the Big League club. While the announcement was made last night, (I received an email from the O's after 11:30pm) it is my opinion that this decision was made before then.
Buck Showalter is a baseball guy, but saying he doesn't care about anything but what goes on between the lines doesn't seem to suite him. If you recall, the word on Buck was that he would wear an organization out with his desire to control every aspect of baseball operations. If that's true, maybe Buck, or someone else in Birdland, remembers that about an hour before the O's first pitch on Opening Day, the Ravens posted a question on their Facebook page that asked the fans to vote on whether they'd rather be in a football stadium that day.
That was Opening Day for the baseball team. You can't blame the O's if they saw that as a sign of disrespect. Yes, the Ravens later issued and apology but who says the O's forgot?
Yes, tonight is only the preseason opener for the Baltimore Ravens, but it's usually pretty big here. Come on, you're talking about the same fanbase that's upset because they aren't allowed to see the team practice everyday. Preseason football is huge around here. Yes, I believe the Orioles would look to steal the show tonight. They are off for the Ravens regular season opener and it would be impossible to steal the show on that day.
Today, they had the opportunity and they took it. No, I don't believe they brought Manny Machado up for that reason but I do believe they brought him up today for that reason. If the O's were off tonight, Manny would have still been a Big Leaguer at some point this week.
Nonetheless, the Ravens start tonight and the O's are still relevant. For the first time in a long time, the O's can actually compete for attention with the football team and if you're a fan of both, you win.
Rob Long
