Thursday, April 03, 2008

Thursday Morning Schadenfreude

A little snippet from the box score of last night's 9-6 Orioles win over the Tampa Bay Rays:

Game Information
Attendance - 10505
Game Time - 3:15
Temperature - 55
Umpires - Home - Alfonso Marquez, First Base - Andy Fletcher, Second Base - Mike Reilly, Third Base - Bob Davidson


The announced crowd of 10,505 was reportedly much higher than the actual number of fannies in the seats, and even worse, represents the single lowest attendance mark in Camden Yards history. With the O's in a much-publicized rebuilding mode (though frankly, who other than Tim Kurkjian will be able to tell the difference between the 2008 O's and their predecessors of the past 10 years?), I don't think it's much of a stretch to predict that 10,505 isn't the nadir. That's a mark that'll get broken several more times this season. You think anyone's coming to the mid-week O's/Royals tilt in early July with both teams 25 games under .500?

At the same time, 30 miles down I-95, the Washington Nationals just opened up a magnificent new ballpark. The Nats' ownership, executive team, and manager are building an organization from a fundamentally sound blueprint, blending patience, logic, and savvy into a widely-acknowledged franchise of the not-to-distant-future. The O's ownership, well, that's a story oft-told in these parts.

We want better for Orioles fans, but we want exactly what we're getting for the man in the big office upstairs in the Inner Harbor. Karma, she is a bitch.

31 comments:

  1. i'm not certain, but that very well could be a picture of whitney.

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  2. Oh yeah, the Nats are going 162-0. It will be a record of some kind.

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  3. Why were the O's so insistent on trading Bedard? He wasn't up for free agency at the end of this year, was he?

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  4. they're basically blowing up the franchise and starting again. bedard netted them a handful of decent prospects, including adam jones. having bedard wouldn't have helped the o's - they would have sucked incrementally less, but they still would've sucked.

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  5. It's ridiculous that Bedard, at age 29, was too old for the Orioles' long term plans, but he is. That deal could work out for them, and dumping Miggy Tejada was actually shrewd as well. It's gonna take a lot, though, to overcome the curse of that troll who owns them.

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  6. And give that guy in the picture some sideburns and it could well be me.

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  7. When rebuilding, isn't the idea to keep young talent on the roster? It's not like he's 35 years old.

    I understand dumping Tejada (for several reasons), but dumping the one stud player who can motivate fans doesn't make any sense.

    Of course, my "not making sense scale is ridiculously skewed because I'm a Knicks fan who has absorbed countless senseless moves in the last five years. You could've traded Bedard for Sal Fasano and it would barely register a blip.

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  8. 27 years old is considered to be the prime of a players physical condition. Bedard is 29, which isn't much past that...howeva, his value was at a high; and given the fact that he'd probably have a down year by being on a dreadful team and he'd be the big 3-0 next year would mean his value would only decrease by waiting.

    It was the right move for them - I hope it blows up in their fucking faces.

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  9. Anybody remember Marvin Stone? yeah, well, he collapsed and died during a game in Saudi Arabia yesterday...26.

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  10. The guy who invented the straw?

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  11. travis ford to lsu, huh? on the face of it, pretty logical - better conference, bigger budget, he's an sec guy. peel it back a bit, though, and you go from a decent-enough conference and a school where hoops rules to a place where you'll always be #3 behind football and spring football. what do you do, boys?

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  12. Which is better - living in Baton Rouge or Amherst? Both likely suck.

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  13. hmmm. john danks. interesting.

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  14. john danks. a lot less interesting.

    but johnny cueto. hmmm.

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  15. LSU seems to have unrealistic expectations for their basketball program based on where it sits on their list of priorities as well as what level of support the administation gives it financially. The John Brady firing would make me skeptical but its awfully tough to turn down what will be a much larger budget as well as a pretty fertile recruiting area. Nice move for Ford, he just needs to be successful and spin this into a better job within 3-5 years.

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  16. yeah, i guess i agree with that.

    anthony grant's situation didn't really clear up much, either. does he get a call from marquette, providence, or oklahoma state? does he wait one more year and see if another sec job comes open, or if sidney lowe is moved out at n.c. state?

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  17. There's better Creole and Cajun food in Baton Rouge, fewer racist Massholes and cheaper real estate.

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  18. johnny cueto, not so much.

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  19. You better rent a crane and flatbed to get Lowe out of Raleigh.

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  20. Unless somebody blows Grant's doors off with an offer, I'd stay put at VCU for another year and try and get a job somewhere in the south. That's where he has most of his recruiting ties and where he'd have the best chance to be successful. Marquette and Providence are necessarily great jobs (just look at where Marquette was prior to Crean) and Oklahoma St. doesn't seem like the kind of place that would embrace a coach as, um, classy as Grant.

    He's had a couple of good recruiting classes at VCU and, I believe, has some talent returning (Maynor's a jr. right?). I doubt his name becomes any less hot in coaching circles in a year's time.

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  21. once again, i agree with mark. that guy's smart.

    i wouldn't touch the ok state job with a 10-foot pole, not with the high-profile donor and his big cash lurking. way too much of a headache. it's hard enough to win in the big 12 without having to watch your back in stillwater.

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  22. I wouldn't be surprised to see Gillespie at OK State. He still hasn't signed his contract at UK because they are insisting on a morals clause (whihc might have something to do with Billy's known penchant for late night carousing and college coeds) and he's got all the natural recruiting ties in the Big 12/Southwest that you'd want out of a coach if you're at OK St.

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  23. leaving another job that's not classy enough for grant.

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  24. Kansas City opens the year with a three game sweep of the Tigers, allowing 5 total runs? Color me impressed.

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  25. teejay - go to the 'not your average jimmy' draft post and tell me why the youtube embed isn't working.

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  26. Kentucky won't be classy enough for Grant for another 100 years.

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  27. I fixed your post dummy...

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  28. Gotta love the Coffy-Foxy Brown-Black Caesar triple-header on IFC.

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  29. Black Ceasar!!!!




    starring Fred Williamson

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