I haven’t been around a lot on here lately.

I’ve been busy.

Stuff going on.

You know.

You didn’t notice? Hey, don’t feel bad. The cats are generally the only ones who notice my absence … and only when it impacts mealtime. Once they find me, they just sit and stare at me until I feed them.

It’s nice. Makes me feel needed.

The Baltimore Orioles lost 110 games this season. As you can imagine, watching all that losing takes time.

Fun Fact: Do you know how long it takes to become numb to losing? 99 games.

After the 99th loss, you just want to see how many more games they can lose before Major League Baseball steps in and says, “Hey, we love your enthusiasm and all, but maybe Triple A is a better place for you.”

Being the worst isn’t easy. Some seasons you have competition. The Arizona Diamondbacks lost 110 games this season, too.

So, with identical records, who was worse? The Orioles. And, I’ll tell you why.

Consistency.

In order to choose the baddest of two very bad teams with identical very bad records – an important designation since the baddest gets to pick first in the 2022 draft – MLB had to turn to last season to see which team was worse then.

Surprise! The Orioles and Diamondbacks had identical 25-35 records in the covid-shortened 2020 season, too.

So, MLB had to keep digging. It wasn’t until they got to 2019 that that Orioles superior bad’osity became immediately apparent.

The 2019 Diamondbacks? 85-77.

The 2019 Orioles? 54-108.

And that, my friend, is why the Orioles will pick first in the 2022 draft.

Because, not only are they bad right now … they were bad last season … and the season before that .. and the season before that … and, you get the idea.

It’s all about consistency.

Three teams this season – the Giants, Dodgers, and Rays – each won 100 or more games.

Do you know when the Orioles last had a 100-win season?

1980.

Do you know how long ago that was? 187 years ago. Give or take.

 

The top song of 1980. (Debbie Harry is now 76.)

The Orioles haven’t finished above .500 since 2016.

That’s why I haven’t been around much. I’ve been busy losing.

But, I’m here now, and what I want to tell you has nothing to do with the Orioles or their 110 losses. Frankly, I’m sorry I even brought it up.

I want to talk about winning.

Winning. That thing you do when you’re not the Orioles. (Or, the Diamondbacks, but mostly, the Orioles.)

And, two of those winning things from this first week of post-season games merit a mention.

1) Two Outs. Bottom of the Ninth.

On Wednesday’s Dodgers-Cardinals Wild Card game, with the score tied and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers’ Chris Taylor did this:

Hitting a walk-off home run in a do-or-die game is like uber-winning.

But, how about this?

In 2011, Chris Taylor, at the University of Virginia, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth in a do-or-die Super Regional game did this … which sent the Virginia Cavaliers to the College World Series

“This is a dream come true,” Taylor said after that 2011 game. “A player can only dream of moments like this.” Oh, Chris Taylor, you have no idea … no idea.

2) Stealing Home.

The Tampa Rays defeated the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the ALDS on Thursday.

I’m not sure I care who wins that series. Whatever.

But, I was excited when, playing indoors in Tampa, the Rays’ Nelson Cruz hit a homerun off one of the rings of the roof’s catwalk.

And, I was even more excited when the Rays’ Randy Arozarena stole home.

Stealing bases is exciting. It’s risky and has a “bad boy” juvenile delinquent vibe to it. Stealing second is one thing, but, stealing home is just flat out crazy. It’s also wonderful. But, mostly crazy.

Good thing Nelson Cruz didn’t break the catwalk camera when his home run hit the roof. If he had, we wouldn’t have this.

Enjoy the post-season. Root for somebody. And, I hope your team wins. (As long as it’s the Giants.)

StillRebuildingInBaltimore’fully Yours, The Baseball Bloggess