The I-95 Trail of Tears

When you go through nine losing seasons, it's hard to say there are any must-win series that come around. AFter all, your pretty much a footnote on somebody else's playoff season and, other than playing a memorable role of spoiler and holding out hope for next year, it doesn't really make much of a difference. But when Red Sox Nation took over Camden Yards this weekend, it was war. The legions of Red Sox fans descended onto our home and tried to turn the place into Fenway South. You could see it in the crowds, which were far more red than orange. You could hear it in the cheers when things went well for the Red Sox. Granted, Baltimore is beautiful in the summertime and it's a great place to visit. But this was ridiculous and the CBS announcers couldn't get enough of it. They constantly commented on the fact that it was really a home game for the Red Sox, regardless of geography. Even after Saturday's game, Jason Varitek commented "It feels like a home game here. They give us a spark that other teams can't get when they're on the road." Now, if you are an Oriole fan, those words should sting. Granted, the play on the field doesn't necessarily deserve the allegiance that the Red Sox enjoy. But nobody should be outdoing Oriole fans in their house. And that's why the results of this weekend felt so good. Bedard throws a gem, but gets burned by a couple of bad calls and then the bullpen (which suffered a hangover from the Mariner series). Things looked as they always do with the Orioles-Red Sox series. But then the Orioles practically pulled a reverse of the Mother's Day Massacre, only in the 8th and down 5-1 instead of 5-0. No matter--I'm confident the Red Sox fans felt just as bad. Against Gagne and Okajima, the Orioles showed a lot of heart--something I wasn't seeing in the Perlozzo days. Heck, even in Saturday's loss, they wouldn't go down without the fight. How many pitches did Aubrey Huff foul off? That was amazing. When Miguel Tejada's line drive nestled into the left field stands, I let out the loudest yell I have in years. It was vintage Miggy--clutch and turning the tide. When Millar ended it in the 10th with his first walk-off HR since he was doing it with the Red Sox, the Red Sox fans had to take on the long drive home, undoubtedly griping about their bullpen (given his French Canadian descent, I wonder what is French for "F--king Gagne"). I was inspired for the title of the blog from a comment made on Rock Kubatko's blog. I don't want to help the Yankees, but then again, I always said I thought the Yankees were going to make it a race and I'd love to see them win just to remind people that you can't count teams out--especially those with 200+ million dollar payrolls. And the Red Sox Nation has been a little too full of themselves this year and blowing a double-digit lead would be a realtive comeuppance.

As for the Orioles, they have become the cardiac kids. When the 8th and 9th innings roll around, they no longer have to roll over and play dead. Personally, I think a lot of the credit goes to Millar. He keeps things light in the clubhouse. He plays the game with respect. He makes everyone else on the team better. Yeah, I'd rather have Albert Pujols at first base, but team chemistry needs a catalyst and this guy is it. He's the anti-Albert Belle. Players like to play for the Orioles. Anyone remember 2005 when Jay Gibbons admitted that people were counting the days till the end of the season? And he had a pretty good 2005. This year, he completely stinks and yet he was disappointed to be out for the season as he admitted he was having fun. If you've ever been on a sports team in your life, you know how much better you play when you like your teammates. Add to that the mountings successes like this weekend and you start to believe. And when you start to believe, anything is possible. With that, they head off to New York. Guthrie opens things, followed by D-Cab & Bedard. The O's miss Clemens due to the suspension, but with the way the Yankees have been knocking the ball around, it may not make a difference who pitches. But remember, anything is possible...