Things feel a little blue in Birdland. But this is where we live.
Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! It was a disappointing weekend. Orioles fans have spent the entire off-season watching the starting pitching options dwindle. As each good pitcher either signed or was traded, we felt more nervous that the Orioles would miss out. Barring something unusual happening, it now seems they have done just that.
This has all got me thinking about the strange nature of being a sports fan. Fans of every team have complaints they could make about the front office and ownership. Unless you are a Dodgers fan, that is. Some owners want nothing more than to see their teams succeed on the field, others just want to maximize their profits. The skill and savvy of GMs vary throughout the league. Which sort your team is saddled with comes down to chance. And that’s before you get into the differences based on team market size.
Some fans have more to complain about than others, but in reality, it’s all arbitrary. Any person is free to be a fan of any team they like. Of course, it’s not that simple and we all know it. We are often born into fandom or indoctrinated through other circumstances that feel out of our control. And we care so much! Why do we care so much? The actions of rich people who don’t care about us and which don’t really matter in the long run can tear us apart.
The answer to why we care doesn’t matter in the end, though. Because we do. We love the team no matter what, even when it feels like the team doesn’t love us back. Even when we don’t understand their actions or inactions, as the case may be. We love them no matter who the owner is, no matter how many wins they tally in a season (remember 2018? woof).
And this team is good! It’s maybe the most talented team of my adult life. The owner says all the right things and I am keeping hope that he’ll do the right things. The front office, led by Mike Elias, created this talented team. It’s easy to be down after watching how the off-season has unfolded so far. But this is the team we’re stuck with, right? So we just have to hope things will turn out.
Links
Starter search continues for Orioles after Burnes finds new team – MASN Sports
I really don’t want to talk about Corbin Burnes right now. But that’s the only news out there right now.
Banner Baseball Show: With Corbin Burnes off to Arizona, can the Orioles replace their ace? – The Baltimore Banner
That’s the $210 million question.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have three Orioles birthday buddies. José Morales, who spent most of his 12-year career with the Montreal Expos, turns 80 today. He appeared in 38 games with the Orioles in 1981 and just three in 1982 before being traded to the Dodgers.
Also celebrating today are relief pitchers Archie Corbin (57) and Jim Hoey (42). Corbin posted a 2.30 ERA in 18 games for the 1996 team. He did that while walking 22 batters in 27.1 innings. And of course, Jim Hoey will always be best known for the player he helped bring to the Orioles. He was traded to the Twins in December 2010 for J.J. Hardy.
December 30th is not a big day in Orioles history. On this day in 2023, the Orioles signed both David Bañuelos and Michael Pérez. Both are catchers. Bañuelos spent some of 2024 as the taxi squad catcher and made his first and so far only appearance in the majors on April 16th. Pérez was included in the trade that sent Mike Baumann to the Mariners for Blake Hunt.
In 1986, the Orioles signed free agent Dave Van Gorder. No, you have not heard of him! Stop lying. Van Gorder was also a catcher. He played in seven games for the Birds in 1987.