Broken.
The Orioles are 36-52 at the close of the first half of the season. They crawl…no crawl is too good a word. They are wheeled into the all-star break by a disinterested orderly with a 3-14 record over their last couple of weeks. A few weeks ago the Orioles were at 33-38, not good but at least they were in sight of respectability.
Now, I would mame for eight games under .500.
The Orioles have also just been annihilated over the last couple of series. No offense, pathetic clutch ABs and the threadbare, patchwork starting rotation has been torched again and again.
Despite the Orioles showing flashes of pride and fight in Boston (I still wonder what would have happened if Gregg had landed that punch on Ortiz’ big face) the team has looked beaten and out of their league. The entire starting nine has seem to go into a slump at the same time, costly and annoying errors have littered the field and runners have been stranded like their waiting for a bus that never comes on a lonely Baltimore street.
It is bad out there kids.
Yet somehow, even though this is a seven-game improvement over last year, it seems so much worse. All that promise, all that hope, all the excitement that was built up over the offseason is gone a puff of disappointment. Its only going to get worse. The Orioles will open the second half of the season against the contending Cleveland Indians and then the Red Sox come into town – and their fans.
Their fans that were noticeably absent when the Sox were in last place earlier this year. But now that they are playing like the 180+million dollar juggernaught they are supposed to be you know that Camden Yards will be over run by idiot nation.
I really don’t know what the Orioles can do? Outside of punting this season, and most likely the next few, by blowing the team up there is little that can be done except simply play better.
Pitching coach Adair is not long for this world. I don’t think this implosion is his fault but when things get this bad this quickly heads usually roll. I would look for AAA pitching coach Mike Griffin to be with the big club by the end of July.
Disappointment. Frustration. Anger. Depression. Indifference. Regret. The words that sum up the first half for the Birds.
One more.
Lose.
