“Cricket. Cricket. Cricket.”

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More reflections from my “Day with the Dalai Lama”

While His Holiness the Dalai Lama refreshes mind, body, and spirit with the nightly “good sleep” he recommends for all of us, he has a friend in India who, instead, watches television well into the night.

As His Holiness impresses on us how healing, revitalizing, and important a good night’s sleep is, he widens his eyes and laughs and laughs as he describes his friend who enjoys a good cricket match on TV.

“I prefer to sleep, not look at cricket,” the Dalai Lama says. “He can watch cricket all night.”

“Cricket. Cricket. Cricket.”

An average cricket match, by the way, can run about six hours a day – with matches lasting three to five days.  Those lengthy cricket matches are known for their utterly civilized breaks and tea times. No cheap 7th-inning stretch for these fellas.

By comparison, the average baseball game in America runs about three hours (unless you are the Baltimore Orioles, in which case, you could very well go on for 12 or 14 or 18 innings … and rival cricket hours, except no tea time.)

So, I’m wondering … how did His Holiness know that I watch way too much baseball?

Does he know that some games this season kept me up well past midnight?

Does he know that last Sunday’s hours-long rain delay in Baltimore meant I slogged through the next day with less than three hours sleep?

Does he know that a season of baseball is 162 games? That the Orioles (and your favorite team) will play some 500 hours a year (even more if they go to the post-season)? That’s a lot of baseball.

His Holiness doesn’t know my deep dark baseball-watching secret. Well, if he reads this blog, I guess he does now. But, I’m pretty sure he’s sleeping, not blogging.

Oh, sure maybe you don’t watch baseball (or cricket). But, maybe you have your own kind of baseball that keeps you up … reading, or knitting, or worrying, or work, or … reading blogs. 

I think many of us have our own cricket.

Many of my massage clients come in to their appointments tired. They tell me they might fall asleep on the table. Some tell me that the little nap they catch during their session is the best sleep they’ve gotten in awhile.

Some of my Yoga students fall asleep in class during relaxation. They drop right off. And, snore.

We are a sleep-deprived culture. And, we all know it. And, yet, many of us don’t make the changes we need to improve our sleep. (And, by “many of us,” I, of course, mean me … and  maybe some of you, but mostly me.)

So how much sleep is enough? “Eight, nine hours, I think, is good for health,” the Dalai Lama says. Ayurveda and Yoga, which call adequate sleep absolutely essential to healing, suggest seven or eight. Basically, everybody agrees that somewhere between six and nine would be great. My cat Stevie highly recommends 18.

Writing this has made me tired.

Oh, wait, Giants-Cardinals game is about to start.

I’ll sleep in November.

Stevie takes the Dalai Lama’s good sleep advice to heart.

Read Part One of my “Day With The Dalai Lama” … click here.

“I Feel Very Happy.”

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When the Dalai Lama stands before you and says, “I feel very happy,” you believe him.  And, you wonder, why, oh why, can’t I capture just a bit of that simple, sweet happiness? A completely pure contentment that is based on nothing more than, well, being happy.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama reminds you that happiness doesn’t come from acquiring stuff – either material things, or relationships, or experiences. It just comes from the belief that being happy is, basically, the right thing to do.

Being a good, decent, compassionate person is the key to inner peace … and happiness.

Simple.

Then he smiles slyly at you. Because he knows it’s not nearly as easy as it sounds. But, he smiles because he believes that you might at least give it a try.

The Dalai Lama was in Charlottesville, Virginia today – just an hour or so away from us. He spoke at two interesting and inspiring events and we got to go to both. I guess you could say I hung out with the Dalai Lama today. How cool is that?

When you’re in the presence of such a loving and genuine spiritual leader, you can’t help but feel blessed to be in the same space.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one thinking – oh, hey! Did you see that, did you?? He looked right at me and blessed me … me … me.  I know he did. I know it. He picked me out of this crowded pavilion, held my eyes, and smiled. 

Did he look right at me? If I was sure he had, you can bet I would have mentioned it much earlier. Doesn’t matter, though. I felt the loving kindness of his presence. We all did, I think.

It’s the sign of a blessed person who can convey that sense of intimacy and kindness in such a crowded and anonymous place.

The Dalai Lama requests that he not be photographed during his events. I honored that request. His empty chair, however, didn’t mind.

I took lots of notes … I’ll share more soon.

But, I’ll pick out just one message from his talks for now. And, because I have learned the lesson of kindness, compassion, and fairness from His Holiness today, I’ll also let my Husband/Editor choose his favorite lesson, too.

From Me: “A healthy mind is an important factor for a healthy body.” 

It is our state of mind – our peace of mind – that cultivates inner peace and happiness. And, a healthy mind, nourished by happiness and mindfulness, can bring physical health as well. This is such a valuable reminder. A negative attitude can bring illness – even modern science has proven this connection.   A positive attitude can heal.

From My Husband: His Holiness was asked how he maintains his good health at age 77 while keeping a very full, busy travel and event schedule. His Holiness rested his cheek against his hands and closed his eyes. “Good sleep,” he said.

So the message from His Holiness the Dalai Lama that I share with you today is this – stay positive, get good rest.

Simple.

P.S. Just for the record … I did not – did NOT – check the score of the Giants-Reds game until His Holiness had left the stage and the pavilion had begun to clear. But, goodness … Grand Slam, Buster Posey!

P.S.S. That thing about getting good sleep? Definitely. As soon as these late ballgames are over. Promise.

 

In Part 2 of “My Day With The Dalai Lama” report, His Holiness exposes my baseball-watching habits, recommends some “good sleep,” and inspires my cat Stevie. Click here.

How To Enjoy Your Next Rain Delay

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APRIL 2016 UPDATE! Wondering about the rules governing rain delays? How long will yours last? Will your rain delay ever end? (Yes.) For my April 2016 update & all your questions answered, click here: “Your Rain Delay Companion”

Rain delays, I’ve discovered, are even more like Yoga than an actual baseball game.

You have to create your own focus. You have to slow yourself down. Way down. You have to be in the moment and you have to be patient.

The Sunday night Orioles-Yankees game came with a bonus 2-1/2-hour rain delay. That’s a lot of just standing around. Did I mention it was barely 50 degrees out?

Fun Fact: Rain Delays don’t last forever. Fun Fact #2: Rally Towels are very absorbent.

The dynamics of some 48,000 people hunkered under the concourses, killing time, would be a great sociological experiment. For the record, 48,000 people in one place is about 5x the population of the county I live in.

So, here’s what you can do during your next 2-1/2-hour rain delay:

* You can drink.  I wouldn’t advise it, but you can do it.  You can drink a lot in 2-1/2 hours. You will be incredibly entertaining and funny for the first hour. After that, you’ll be shunned, even by the people you came with.

* You can do a scientific jersey count poll. In this practice, you count the players represented on jerseys as they pass by. For the person wearing the Adam Jones jersey who walked back and forth several times – nice try, buddy, we only counted you once. We decided that pitchers are underrepresented on jerseys. We also discovered that a player can be long gone, long-ago traded to another team, or just faded into the annals of “wait, who? Doesn’t he work at the car shop downtown?”, but if you spent $100 on a replica jersey 10 years ago, you’ll wear it anyway.

Continue reading →

“That Ball’s Gone, By The Way”

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Baseball doesn’t change much. The rules you learn in Little League are pretty much the ones that will get you to – and keep you in – the Big Leagues. And, one of the most important rules is this: Keep Your Eyes On The Ball.

Whether you’re batting, or fielding, or even if you’re just watching a game.  In Yoga, this concentrated, focused gaze is called Drishti.

So, the Orioles won last night, 1-0, over the Tampa Bay Rays, thanks to a Homeric homer by RF Chris Davis.  (He’s homered in six straight games, an O’s record.)

Use your Drishti … Watch it here.

Post-game attention quickly shifted to New York where the Red Sox led the Yankees going into the 9th. A Red Sox win would be good news for the O’s who still don’t know where their post-season game will be or whom they will play.

But, the comfy Red Sox lead evaporated as the Yankees rallied in the bottom of the 9th.

The Oriole fans on Twitter would have been hand-wringing, if they weren’t madly tweeting their anguish. (What I learned reading Twitter last night: You can fit a lot of creative curse words into 140 characters.)

Meanwhile, back at The Trop in Tampa … Orioles’ hero Chris Davis was being interviewed by MASN broadcaster Jim Hunter, while the Yankees game played on a TV in the background.

Chris took his Little League training to heart – he kept his eyes on the ball over at Yankee Stadium, all the while giving a nice, chatty interview. The best part – and why I love it and am sharing it – comes when, not missing a beat, he quickly and nonchalantly calls the homerun that ties the game for the Yankees, and then goes right back to the interview.

It’s around the 1:48 mark. Watch it here.

No anguish from Chris. Instead, he reminds us that that there’s no hand-wringing required when an exciting play is unfolding.

The Yankees won, by the way. Making tonight’s games even more important for the O’s. Keep your eyes on the ball.

About That Oriole Pumpkin

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Oscar has an Oriole pumpkin. Do you?

[UPDATED: October 2013 and October 2014]

Yes, I have the Oriole Bird stencils for your pumpkin. Smiley Bird. Angry Bird. The new “We Won’t Stop” stencil. Read on! 

Back in 2012, I was very excited when people started coming to my blog … Someone out there really cares what I think about the Orioles? What I think about Nick Markakis? Manny Machado? Darren O’Day? They want to read what I know about the history of the world’s most perfect game? (I’m blushing.)

It didn’t take long to discover that you’re not coming to read my insights about baseball after all.

You want the elusive Oriole pumpkin stencils, don’t you?

OK, I’m bummed that you didn’t stop by to see what I have to say. These words don’t write themselves, you know. (And, I write a lot of them … just click here to read my latest post. And, if you’re an Orioles fan … sign up to get my posts, we’ll have fun!)

But then …

Yay for my 20-year-old super-cool cat Oscar who gets attention whenever his pumpkin photo pops up on Google. And, yay for for the Orioles … in the post-season!

That pumpkin I carved back in 2011 was a mess. (But then, so were the 2011 Orioles.) I didn’t know what I was doing, and really, put sharp objects and me in the same room and there’s bound to be blood.

Yours will be better. The Orioles were too busy making their way to the World Series to update the stencils in a timely fashion, so I’m doing my part … here they are.  (Just click on the stencil you want, then right click to save it on your computer.)

OrioleBird Stencil

 

Here’s Angry “Buckle Up” Bird.

And, new “We Won’t Stop” for 2014:

We Wont Stop 2014 Stencil

 

It’s hard to find the stencils online. But, here’s the link to these Oriole stencils if you prefer the PDF format. Click here.

But, those are awfully fancy pants for a pumpkin.

So, here’s the more primitive stencil I used back in 2011. I think it’s much easier to carve.

This easier Oriole stencil should be here: http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/bal/downloads/y2009/retrohatbird.pdf

This simpler Oriole bird stencil is also in PDF form.  Click here.

Tape the stencil to a pumpkin. Poke a nail along the stencil’s lines and onto your pumpkin. There you go … carve away!

Have fun. Don’t cut yourself. And, I hope you find a cool cat to pose with your Oriole pumpkin.

Go O’s!

(Extra credit if you carve an Oriole pumpkin and post the photo in the comments.  Or email it to me at jackie@thebaseballbloggess.com and I’ll post it for you!)

Go Out & Have Fun

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Sometimes my Yoga students scowl in class. They try so hard to move into – or stay in – an asana (pose). They want to succeed and show their body who’s boss.  And, their faces get all scrunched up sometimes, and their brows crinkle. They are trying so hard to be perfect.

When I see all the serious frowns in class, I’ll remind them to soften their face or smile. Or, I’ll say something irrelevant and stupid to get them to lighten up.

After all, it’s only a pose.

There is so much stress in our daily lives, no need to make more on the mat. It’s important to remember the playfulness of Yoga.

If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that for me Yoga and baseball have many parallels.

And, so here’s where baseball gets serious, too.

The Baltimore Orioles clinched yesterday. They’re now assured at least one playoff game for the first time in 15 years. They’ve proven their many, many, many, (many) detractors wrong. They have heartily and forcefully won the arguments of those who said their season was merely luck.

And, as they played yesterday (sweeping the Red Sox incidentally), I noticed a change in the fans. Lots of happy. Lots of cheering. But, also, lots of serious. People clenching their hands, frowning with worry, on the verge of tears. I was tense, too.

My Editor/Husband (formerly a Yankees fan, but now coming over from the dark side to all that is good and Oriole), is getting a bit testy during the games as well – barking at a crummy pitch or a poorly played ball. (Hi Honey. Lighten up on Jim Johnson will you? He’s fine.) I tend to look away during tense moments, try not to care too much, to ease the stress.

I talk a good game – I love baseball, because it’s baseball. I love the Orioles because they’re the team that “brung me”. I don’t get swept up in the victories. I love the game for the game.

But, now I’m getting excited. And, getting stressed because the games mean something more.

Over-zealous fans sort of bug me. There they are rubbing it in loudly with every victory … and then getting angry or defensive with the next loss. They seem to take it too seriously sometimes.

They miss the point.

It’s only baseball. It’s a game. 

Manny Machado is smiling & having fun. So, I will, too.

Orioles third-baseman Manny Machado (Hakuna Machado!) said in a recent interview that Orioles Skipper Buck Showalter has reminded everyone to have fun.

And, that’s the lesson for me this week, too … even if it only goes one extra post-season game.

It’s too darn fun to be in a playoff race to let stress and tension and worry mess up the good.

Strangely, I think I carried some of the excitement and stress over to my Yoga mat yesterday.  I think I hyper-extended my sternum.  I’m not even sure that one can do that.  But, I think I did … trying to be a Yoga superstar and push through a pose, trying to show my body who’s boss.

Life is stressful.

But, Yoga shouldn’t be. And, neither should baseball.

So, I’m going to enjoy this week, no matter what it brings.

Go O’s!

Free Baseball!

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I love that broadcasters call extra innings in a game “Free Baseball”. 

No one calls it “Free Basketball” or “Free Football”.  (Do they?)

Basketball has “overtime”, which is probably the dullest thing they could have come up with.

Football has its “sudden death”, which is appropriately violent, and, given the frightening increase in head injuries and permanent debilitating damage the game does to many players, is probably a fair-enough description.

But, “free baseball” is a gift.  You’ve sat through two … maybe three hours already … and still, the baseball gods shower you with more. Ten innings, 11, 12 … in the case of the Baltimore Orioles, don’t be surprised if you get to 18 innings before it’s all done (and the right fielder ends up pitching).

That the Orioles have a crazy major league record in consecutive wins in extra-inning games (16 in a row at last count, the most consecutive wins by a team in extras since 1949) makes it a bit sweeter, I know.

But still.  “Free Baseball.”  Yay!

My last blog post was way too long. Consider the last 200 words “Free Blog”. Even though the whole thing was free, the last 200 words was even more free … a little bonus gift to those of you who kindly slogged through the first 500 words.

So, I want some “Free Baseball” on this blog, too. So, here are some things floating around on the Internet that are free and perhaps even baseball related.

Just a few bonus innings this time.  Enjoy!

10th Inning ~ Shoeless Joe Jackson, 2012 Edition

Only A Game is a terrific NPR sports show. A few weeks back they did a story on ballplayer Joe Jackson, a many-times great nephew of Shoeless Joe Jackson. Jackson, the Shoeless one, is arguably the greatest ballplayer to ever swing a bat in Chicago. He, sadly, lost his legend when he got mixed up in the 1919 Black Sox scandal. This is one of those quirky, sweet baseball stories, that reminds you how important the rich lore and history of baseball is to the love of the game.  Click here to listen.

11th Inning ~ Charlie Mars

Charlie Mars is a Mississippi singer/songwriter. We saw him in concert last week and he was very, very good. His tie to baseball? Well, I was following the Oriole game on my phone at the show. OK, a tenuous tie at best. But, the Orioles won and I really like Charlie Mars, and his new song is currently free on Amazon. So there you go. Click here for the song.

12th Inning ~ Oakland A’s Do The Bernie Lean

I love teams that truly embrace and encourage their crazy fans. Those are the fans who love their team unconditionally, and will do whatever is necessary to cheer them on. This year, the Oakland A’s celebrate those fans who dance the “Bernie Lean” at games. The Bernie Lean is, if you don’t already know, the zombie-like, arm-flailing dance born from the “Weekend At Bernies” movie from 1989. Bernie was dead in the movie, by the way, which greatly influenced how he got around in the film. Here’s the video from Oakland … it’s crazy, stupid. But, the A’s get in on the joke, and I like that in a team. Click here to watch (Bernie Leaning, optional).

Tending The Baseball Garden

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I think one of the most perfect things about baseball is the way it mirrors the seasons.

Hope springs eternal in the springtime! The time for digging up the old flower bed, tending some returning plants, putting a few new seeds in the ground.  A little water, a little sunlight, a little weeding, a little hope.

The energy is fresh and it’s so wonderful to be outside working up the soil. What emerges? Fresh arugula or a young Mike Trout in the outfield, depending on which garden you’re tending.

Then comes summer … the fruits of one’s labors. If the ground was good, if the water was plentiful, if you worked hard … oh, what an amazing garden you can have. In garden terms, the tomatoes are bountiful and delicious. In baseball terms, this means you’re winning.  (A mangy, unfriendly groundhog eats your tomatoes? Your starting pitcher goes on the DL. Kinda, sorta the same thing.)

But, 162 games is a long, long, long growing season.

And, so now here we are in the fall. So tired. So tired of weeding. So tired of tending. So tired of zucchini. Everything is getting old and leggy and limp.  And, we’re trying to coax just one more week – just one more win – out of that tired tomato plant with the worn out shoulder-vine.

Oh sure, you toss in a few lettuce seeds in late August to see what might sprout up and carry you through the last weeks of the growing season.  (Manny Machado, Dylan Bundy? Hear that? You’re the fall lettuce of the Orioles.)

Mostly, though, you’re just trying to squeak out the last bit of life from a worn-out garden. You’re sort of getting tired of watching the garden, but you still want to savor every last minute you have left with it.

You keep cutting back the basil because where will you be in December when it’s only a distant memory?  You’ll be wishing for that basil plant, that’s where. So you cheer on that basil plant, and you clip those seed heads and you remind it that it’s only one game back of the Yankees.

I’m still working on how the World Series fits into the garden. To be honest, as an Orioles’ fan, it’s been years since I’ve had to think about how one extends a season into October.

But, how about this …

Maybe the World Series is a giant pumpkin that’s been hiding in the weeds, only to “pop” out all orange and huge and brilliant when the knee-high weeds finally die back on their own. It’s the culmination of a long, long season … and a lot of hard work by a pumpkin that started out as a hopeful seed just a few months ago.

Yeh, ok, that’ll do. If a giant pumpkin pops out of my dying garden in the next couple weeks, that would be the equivalent of the Orioles going to the World Series. It would also be a little strange because we didn’t plant pumpkins. (But, that doesn’t mean I give up hope for the Orioles.)

And then, next thing you know, it will be cold and dark and the garden will grow quiet.

As winter comes, you swear that was the last time you’ll spend every free moment in the garden. You swear that you’ll never put in such a big garden again. You swear that it’s too much work and you’re done with gardening. Forever.

But, then after a little well-deserved little rest, the seed catalogs start showing up in the mail. And, then on one very dreary, snowy day, when you’re missing the basil, just like I told you would happen, you pick up a catalog and start dreaming of your spring garden … and then you wonder how the boys did in the off-season, and you start counting the days until pitchers and catchers report.

But, it’s not quite winter yet. So, for today … with just 10 games left, I’m cutting back the basil and cheering for the Orioles and the jalapeño peppers, both of which seem to be particularly hot and sassy this year.

And, hoping for a pumpkin.

Want to carve your own Oriole Pumpkin?  Click here for the stencil.

This blurry photo is from 2011. To give the Baltimore Orioles’ bird something to do in October, I attempted to carve my very first pumpkin. If the Orioles go to the post-season this year, I will carve a much finer Oriole pumpkin. Oscar the cat, by the way, is 20. He was 5 when the Orioles last made it into the post-season.

Riff-Raff

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There’s this saying they have in North Dakota: “Thirty below keeps the riff-raff out.”  I’m sure you may have your own variations out where you are.

For the record, I did my North Dakota time. You may now consider me proof that 30-below temperatures will cause some – call me riff-raff, whatever – to flee.

So, I’m reading the new Rolling Stone (and I highly recommend the interview with Bob Dylan which is delightful and reminds you what happens when a crazy genius like Bob Dylan becomes a crazy, irascible, crabby, unfiltered old man … and I mean that in most reverent way possible).

Anyway, there is also an article about how football became America’s number one sport … and how it has completely dominated television with its constant adrenaline-rush, mad-action, carefully scripted production.

And, in a throwaway to make their point, they call televised baseball “lugubrious and soporific.”  Lugubrious and soporific? Oh my! How erudite and loquacious of you, Rolling Stone.

Sure, if you don’t know how to fill the space within the game, then you won’t enjoy the easeful, sweetly slow pace of baseball. And, with so much noise in the world today, if you don’t know what in the world to do with the blank, quiet, waiting moments, then you’ll probably be, at best, bored … at worst, sound asleep.

But, those spaces of inaction are very much part of baseball. Having the time to watch things unfold – to get into the pitcher’s eyes and his careful windup, to get into the batter’s head – can make baseball riveting.

I’m pretty sure it was the Seattle Mariners who many years ago experimented with editing games for television. Snipping out all the quiet, slow spots. They were left with an hour or so of the “action.” I don’t know how many games this lasted, but needless to say … it didn’t last long.

On the other hand, my Yankee-fan Editor/Husband (hi honey!) reminds me of this:

There were some spring-training games that were telecast with a minimal broadcaster presence. I think they had several players and coaches miked up, but no one really in the broadcast booth. And, it was spring training, so it was a game of not much importance, but there was SO MUCH going on. There was the outfielder singing to himself.  And, the first-base coach talking to the base-runner and the first baseman. And, the catcher talking to the umpire and the batter.  And the manager … and the coach. There were ALL of these little centers of activity and interest and tension, while it might seem like “nothing” was happening!

Watching baseball on television isn’t easy, because it asks you to fall into a simple, slow rhythm yourself. Sometimes, you have to sing to yourself. And, for a world that’s super-charged with energy, for a television that offers continuous wall-to-wall action, that isn’t easy.

But, maybe that’s just baseball’s way of keeping the riff-raff out.

(I’ll sing the praises of the best baseball broadcasters – and there are some great ones out there – another time.)

And, by the way, I really do love Bob Dylan. I even have his brand new one, Tempest. It’s crazy sweet.  (And, as I write this, just a $5 download from Amazon … just click here).

Oh, I suppose some would say that the title track – a 14-minute, 45-verse recounting of the sinking of the Titanic, that weirdly entwines both historical fact and fictional characters from the movie – is, well, lugubrious and soporific. But, maybe Bob just wants to keep the riff-raff out, too.

Lotsa Luck

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Many years ago, I had a neighbor who was an elderly widow. One morning she went outside and discovered that someone — we never found out who – had deposited a healthy, little puppy in her front yard. It was clearly not an accident. We decided that someone knew how lonely our neighbor was and decided she needed a companion. She named her puppy Lucky. And, yeh, he was a pretty lucky pup. He was lucky our neighbor was up to a task she didn’t ask for. She kept good care of her pup, although a bit of housetraining would have been a nice touch.

So, let’s talk about luck.

Because the notion of luck often rankles me.

Has anyone ever told you that your success or the fruits of your efforts were lucky? Someone once told me, quite kindly, that I was very lucky that my massage therapy practice was doing well during such tough economic times.

Luck? That’s it? I’m just lucky? OK, maybe. But, maybe, just maybe — and I’m going out on a limb here — but maybe, my clients have found some value in my work. Maybe I’m good at my job. I know they didn’t mean anything rude by it. And, yes, I do believe that random things happen that influence one’s success or failure. Right time, right place. That can lead to a bit of good luck. But, to suggest that someone’s good fortune is pure luck … well, that’s just unfair.

And, you know what? Maybe, just maybe, the Baltimore Orioles are more than lucky, too.  Maybe, they’re a good baseball team.

I am so tired of the so-called baseball experts who have decided that since the Orioles’ success this year doesn’t fit into their neat little mold of what makes a team good … that the statistics show that the Orioles should be no better than average … that there’s no way they could possibly be in a pennant race in September … then, surely, the only answer is that they have been lucky.

This has gone on all season. The chatter started already in April. They couldn’t explain why the Orioles were winning. That’s because there’s no easy way to chart intangibles – like team dynamics, players improving over previous seasons, or the zen-like influence of a manager like the Orioles’ Buck Showalter. And, without the intangibles, yeh, sure, the Orioles sort of looked beatable on paper. So, without bothering to think through the intangibles, a lot of sports talkers – ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and, just yesterday, National Public Radio among them – decided the Orioles had to be simply lucky.

I say, they’re wrong. Baseball statisticians haven’t found a way to quantify intangibles. But, that doesn’t mean those intangibles don’t exist.

If luck drove sports, then wouldn’t every team hover around .500? A little good luck. A little bad luck.

Or, how about this — maybe everything is luck. If the Orioles win a game, are they lucky? Sure. They’re lucky it didn’t rain and stop the game. They’re lucky that their winning pitcher didn’t fall down the dugout steps and dislocate his shoulder before the game. They’re lucky that the losing team scored fewer runs.

Every team has their good luck. And, their bad luck.

But, luck doesn’t exist in a vacuum. What those “experts” call luck, I call a good mixture of talent, heart, skills, and smarts. The Intangibles (which, by the way, would be a terrific title for an action movie).

In the case of the Orioles game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night, I guess you could say the O’s are lucky that their superstar rookie is Manny Machado and not Bryce Harper.

And, here’s just one reason why. Enjoy one of the most beautiful, exciting, and head’s up defensive plays of the year, courtesy of a 20-year-old rookie. Did he just get lucky? You decide.

Click here to watch.

Oh, and the Orioles won again today. (yippee!) Wrapping up a three-game sweep of the surging Tampa Bay Rays. So, I guess all that luck of theirs hasn’t run out yet.