The Baltimores are in last place.
But, there’s a bright side too, today.
Last night it didn’t get far worse,
Because they didn’t play.
Despite my nagging and feeble poetry, the Orioles season has not turned around.
I wrote to them on Sunday which did no good, because they lost on Sunday, too.
Thank you Cincinnati Reds for losing last night — you have, at least for the moment, nudged just under the O’s to have the worst record in baseball.
Off days are becoming a solace. At least I won’t be disappointed.
You know that old saying, “You can’t lose if you don’t play.”
Well, it goes something like that.
One hundred years ago today, May 8, 1918, the Boston Braves were having a bad start, too. They began the season 5-13, a .278 win percentage.
Just like the 2018 Orioles (and their 8-26 record), the Braves had their league’s worst record.
But, on May 8, 1918, the Braves won, defeating the Brooklyn Robins (today’s Dodgers) 4-3.
They came from behind three times to do it. But, they did it.
They committed three errors in the game.
But, they won.
It gave them their first two-game win streak of the season.
Sure, they lost their next game, but …
You do know what happened after that horrible-bad start by the Braves? You know what happened with them don’t you?
They went on to win …
Well, they went on to win 53 games. This wasn’t good enough to win the World Series (some other team from Boston did that).
And, it wasn’t good enough to win the NL pennant (they were 28.5 games back of the Cubs).
But, it also wasn’t bad enough to finish last. (The Cardinals and their 51-78 record did that.)
See, even I’m ready to set the Orioles bar down to – “please don’t finish with the worst record in baseball.”
On Sunday, I suggested that the Orioles follow in the steps of the 1896 Baltimore Orioles who, after a poor start, dealt with an unlucky opossum mascot in order to break the jinx.
For those of you that believe that opossums are underrepresented in baseball, I present to you Otey, the Swamp Possum mascot of the Arkansas Travelers, the Single A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
The Travelers, led by Otey the Swamp Possum, are 14-15 on the year, and currently fourth in the five-team Texas League North division.
courtesy of the Wildlife Center of Virginia
Real opossum. Harmless and kinda-sorta cute.
OK, so maybe opossums aren’t the way to go.
But, someone better do something, because if I have to keep coming up with poorly written poetry about how bad this season is going, my brain will melt.
Dear Baltimore Orioles,
Please win today. Please.
Your very sad friend, The Baseball Bloggess
The Baseball Bloggess 
The 1918 last place Cardinals should give you solace (if the O’s pay attention). In 1919 the last place Cardinals picked up a new club President and Secretary (today the Secretary would be called the General Manager) named Branch Rickey. The next year majority owner Sam Breadon took the President job allowing Rickey to concentrate on matters on the field. It worked out pretty well. Maybe the Orioles should take notice.
v
Good point, v. Because, yes, the trouble in Birdland does start in the front office. In 2015, the Blue Jays tried to lure O’s GM Dan Duquette to Toronto to become a VP. The O’s refused to allow Duquette out of his GM contract so the deal never happened. We were all joyous that Dan Duquette was staying. I don’t think his heart has been in Baltimore since. Never stop someone from taking another job. It clearly won’t turn out well.
May I suggest an on field brawl? Seemed to help us lose the ugly. And I don’t condone that sort of thing because the losses while players paid the price wasn’t good either! But play did get better. Just a thought…
The O’s aren’t really a brawling bunch. Plus, we’re so short on players, a brawl would only lead to suspensions and more players lost. We would have to put a real opossum at short to fill out the lineup.
Thought the same with the Rockies, that was weird. And you can’t call up any minor leaguers…that was news to me, but they could lose 1 player at a time. So you don’t deplete the number of players/ opossoms too badly!
If it makes you feel any better, I’m a Reds fan.
Oh no! That doesn’t make me feel better at all. Now, I just feel bad for both of us. Although it is nice to know that I have someone who understands my sadness. Good luck to the Reds … and the O’s. May we not be lousy forever.
Of course, the 1918 Braves toiled in the myth-high shadow of the 1914 team. Both teams boasted Rabbit Maranville, my father’s boyhood hero. (Though it seems kind of unbelievable even to me, my father was born in 1912 and was 43 by the time the caboose of the family–me–came along.) I even have a book inscribed as belonging to “Rabbit” Boyd. I guess the sense of identification was strong! I don’t know why the Rabbit was his guy, and now it is too late to ask. :-(
I have added “The Wire” to my queue at Netflix, on your recommendation. I have been hesitant to do so. You know I love “Homicide”, so i am not some Pollyanna. But I found the much-ballyhooed “Breaking Bad” too relentlessly dark for my taste. So we shall see. I am at least going to dip my toe in the water. I’m practically Jeanne D’arc here. Courage oozes out of every pore.
My Tigers coughed up a 5-1 lead to the hated Texas Rangers last night. (I used to love them when I lived in Texas; I still do love the Rangers of 1978-84.) Fiascos are coming swift and hard, now. I haz a sad. Cry with?
Stick with The Wire … it is violent, but it is so worth it to see the underlying message. Each season takes on a specific urban issue and treats every person — the good ones and the bad ones — with respect.
And, clearly, you’ve got some rabbit mojo in you. We need to get you out to see the Kokomo Jackrabbits.
Omg, instant fan! GooooooooooooooooJACKrabbitzzzzz!!!!!
Last week as I was watching the Mets get swept for an entire six game homestand, some by double digits, I kept thinking, it could be worse, I could an Orioles fan.
Yup, now I’m feeling even worse.