And it begins.........

In one night, Oriole fans unrealistic optimism has turned to extreme pessimism in Baltimore. Tonight, the Orioles blew a wonderful opportunity to start the season with a victory as Tampa Bay won in the ninth. Shortly after the game, I made the mistake of listening to local sports radio and boy was that stupid on my part. Several callers referred to the Orioles as a major league team with minor league talent and that phrase is just utterly obnoxious as there are few players on this Orioles team that do not belong in the major leagues. Garret Atkins is the only player in the starting lineup that would have a tough time finding a major league job and the bullpen has only a few glaring problems. The Orioles biggest problem lies in the strength of their division. They simply are not ready to compete with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays and it showed last night. Even against good pitching-good teams capitalize when they have runners in scoring position- the Orioles hitters just simply aren't that good, at least not yet. There is plenty of potential in lineup, the rotation, and the bullpen, but there is still a whole lot that needs to come together. Ugh, the Orioles and sports radio- I should just stay away, they only bring forth frustration. Also, they need to find a closer. Mike Gonzalez is not the answer, although he could be a valuable asset in the bullpen.

However, if the Orioles do become desperate for bullpen help, they could always turn to Barack. Yesterday, he showed that he had one hell of an arm. Not even the menancing Joey Belle would want to step up to plate against that southpaw. His stuff was just knasty.

Anyways, on a more positive note, Friday marks the Orioles home opener and that usually brings forth good things. I'll have to check in with Stills sometime this week and figure out what his gameplan for the game is, I'm sure it has something to do with Natty Boh's and Sliders and that's certainly fine by me.