Saturday, April 7, 2007

5...4...3...2...1... SELF DESTRUCT!!!

Talk about a night and day difference.

Last night, the bullpen did what they were supposed to do, take over after the offense had given them a lead and hold the game for a W.

Today, the bullpen picked up a shotgun to shoot down the enemy and accidentally had the gun pointed at themselves when they pulled the trigger, blowing their brains out all across Yankee stadium.

What a disgrace this game was. This team is quickly becoming a disgrace too. Screw that, they are one already. They suck.

The O's started off well, making Kei Igawa embarrass himself as he walked batter after batter and gave up hit after hit. He looked like he belonged on the Orioles, truth be told.

The score at one point was 7-2 O's. But then the O's offense fell asleep on the job, thinking their day was over, and the Yankees (big surprise here), chipped away at the lead, making it 7-3 and then 7-6 after Danys Baez walked 2 batters and then gave up a 3-run shot to Jason Giambi. Jamie Walker came in and cleaned up Baez's shitty mess, preserving the lead for the time being. Me thinks Baez is going to be this year's Steve Kline or Mike DeJean.

But after Markakis lead off the inning with a basehit off of Mariano Rivera, the O's went down 1-2-3 like usual. Then Chris Ray came into the game for the save, like he had done the night before. All he needed to do was retire the 8, 9 and 1 hitters. It's not like he was facing the meat of the order. Well, at least not to begin with.

Chris Gomez saved a double off the bat of Doug Mientkavich, but it was only prolonging the inevitable. Ray struck out Melky Cabrera and then the trouble began. Robinson Cano had a basehit up the middle. Then the O's had their chance to end it after Derek Jeter amazingly didn't get his way for once after acting like he had been hit. But then Ray walked him so I guess Jeter did end up getting his way after all. Then Ray hit Bobby Abreu for real to load the bases. And then with a 1-2 count, Chris Ray served up a meatball to A-Rod and he crushed it to the deepest part of the stadium, dead center.

Ballgame, folks.

Again and again, the O's find ways to lose games. Whether they are up small, or up big, they are pissing away games like last night's leftover beer. Year after year, game after game, no matter who is on the roster, the endings are looking more and more alike.

I know playing in Yankee stadium is tough. I know that "statistically" we still have a chance to win the series. But screw that. We could have easily swept the Yanks with the pitching match-up we have tomorrow and come home at 3-3, erasing the stale opening series against the Twins.

Now we're guaranteed a losing record on opening day, which still means little this early in the season, but then again, it means a lot. We're losing the games we normally lose in July and August in April. Plus this team acts like getting back to .500 is like climbing Mt. Everest in Borat's lime green bikini without oxygen.

So even at 1-4, this team is going to struggle mightily to get back to even for the rest of the season. Hey that rhymed!!!

I know some homers will say that "we're getting these kinds of losses out of the way early" but somehow I don't think that's the case. I think we're going to be losing these kinds of games all season.

Same old O's.

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