In the American League

I attended my second O's game of the month on Thursday against the Twins, just one day after the O's let the Rangers score 30 runs against them. I hadn't been to Oriole Park at Camden Yards since 2004 prior to the O's-Red Sox game a couple of weeks ago, and these two games have reminded me of the first two years I spent in DC, back in the day when I was pretty happy here in our nation's capital. What a great park they have in Baltimore. Too bad Peter Devilos has gutted the heart out of the team.

The announced attendance was 19K+. Actual attendance was about half of that, which is pretty sad for a Thursday night - it's even less than the Nats get. Then again, the Nats don't exactly have a proud winning tradition like the O's do, so the disgust is not keeping Nats fans away. My soul could hear the echos of greatness in the emptiness of the stadium, and though the O's don't take up much space in my heart, I was thoroughly depressed at the fanless void before my eyes.

When we arrived at the game just in time for the first pitch - thanks to the difficulty in navigating the jungle of traffic that made a 45 minute trip much longer - I looked down at the concourse floor and what was I standing on? The spot where Ken Griffey Jr. had once hit a mammoth home run. I wonder how they knew the exact spots where these balls hit? I mean, they didn't exactly have people standing around waiting for homers to be hit way out of centerfield so they could put little baseball plaques into the ground.

Not seeing many American League games, I can't remember if I've ever seen Torii Hunter play. I'm sure there was a Twins game in 2003 or 2004 when I went to more O's games, though I only remember the Yankees, Phillies, and Kansas City. No, I don't know why I remember seeing Kansas City! It was definitely my first glimpse of Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer, and Justin Morneau.

Matt Wieters was introduced during the game. Some people gave him a standing ovation. I'm not sure most people even knew who he was. It's like the only real hope O's fans have is in something happening to Devilos, as a good draft pick is not going to save the franchise from his wrathful incompetence. It's too bad baseball isn't a democracy and you can't vote owners out of office. Viva la revolution!

Here are a few more photos:

On surrogate teams

I was born a Reds fan in the winter of 1977 when the Big Red Machine were World Series champs. I would not experience the post-season as a living, breathing soul until 1990, and I had October joy only one more time in my life after that. It may have been a blessing, however; I can't imagine many young Yankees fans can truly appreciate the game of baseball, for they don't know what it's like to hope, to have that excitement that maybe this is the year, as they've come to expect winning.

My team's lack of participation in the glory of October all these years has forced me to adopt surrogate teams to root for when October comes around. Some of these teams I have personal reasons for liking, others I root for because of their rich histories. Here's a brief rundown of the teams I root for and the reasons, before I am labeled a "frontrunner." I'll start with the teams in this year's post-season.

SAN DIEGO PADRES - I was born outside of San Diego and saw my first Reds game as a one year old at Jack Murphy Stadium.

NEW YORK METS - Though not steeped in a century of tradition, I will root for this team over others because it is the team I will root for when I finally move to New York City. I also like how the blue and orange are a combo of the Giants and Dodgers colors to fill the void left by the greed of the owners who moved the teams to California. It was blasphemy. And who didn't like Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry before they wore solid orange in another place?

MINNESOTA TWINS - Kirby Puckett and small market winners - how could you not like them?

OAKLAND A's - Bash Brothers. The mesh A's cap I still have was stuck to my head until the Reds put an end to that. Dave Stewart, Dennis Eckersly - what more could you ask for?

DETROIT TIGERS - See this post.

BOSTON RED SOX - The anti-Yankees. Have you ever been to Fenway Park? Have you ever seen the whole city wearing Red Sox gear, even on their ties with their suits? One of my goals in life is to have season tickets to Fenway for a summer.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES - 1993 - Darren Daulton, John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra, Mitch Williams, Curt Schilling.

CLEVELAND INDIANS - Ohio comrades. All of those great years during the nineties were fun to watch with Thome, Manny, and Vizquel.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES - Spent my first two years in DC watching them. Cal Ripken. Brooks Robinson.

CHICAGO CUBS - Yeah, Reds fans hate them for some reason. They are in our division, I know, but it's only been 12 years, and there's never been any competition between them. Ryne Sandberg was one of my favorite players - I collected all of his baseball cards. Wrigley field is Heaven. Except for their crappy hotdogs.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS and WASHINGTON NATIONALS - I've lived in these places and root for these teams at all times, except when they are playing the Reds.

Do you have surrogate teams? Who are they? Why do you like them? (Non-New Yorker Yankees "fans" will be subjected to voodoo.)

Go Tigers!

Good bye, Kirby

We'll miss you.