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CALLING SIGNALS |
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 Here's Bucky's ill-timed book, but good reading just the same! |
of TheColumnists.com
Talk about bad luck.
I entered the sports book at the Harrah’s hotel in Las Vegas,
looked up and saw them: The Baltimore Orioles, worst damn team
in baseball.
This was the day before the season started. The betting board
listed all 30 major league teams--and their odds of winning the
World Series.
The Orioles stood at 250 to 1. Dead last.
If they sank any lower, they would’ve hit the minors.
Why bad luck for me? No, I didn’t bet. I just wrote about
them.
My book “The Orioles Fan’s Little Book of Wisdom”
(Taylor Trade, $7.95) is stepping to the plate. Plenty of pages
of Baltimore glory, from Brooks Robinson to Cal Ripken, but now
not much.
Oh, the O’s enjoyed Aubrey Huff’s hitting for the cycle--single,
double, triple, homer --on one June night last year. And they
play in one of the stellar stadiums, Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
But since 1983, no World Series titles. Since 1997, no playoffs.
For the last 10 years, only losing records.
Really one of the dregs of baseball society. One of? The odds
told the truth: Oh nO’s!
And on opening day they lost to the traditional lowlifes, the
Tampa Bay Rays. Now maybe not so low; they ditched the Devil
in their name.
The Orioles do sport something the Rays can’t: a wonderful
past. And that made for a fun book project.
They were the team that got rich on The Trade: Milt Pappas to
Cincy for Frank Robinson. Or Who for Mr. Triple Crown. After
F. Robbie was done leading the American League in batting average,
homers and RBIs, he powered the O’s to a stunning sweep
of the Dodgers in the 1966 World Series. Even Susan Sarandon
was impressed. In the 1988 movie “Bull Durham” she
said, “But bad trades are part of baseball. Now who can
forget Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas, for God's sake?”
They were the Best Damn Team in Baseball in 1970. Fresh off falling
to the Miracle Mets the year before, the O’s had one aim:
vengeance. They took it out on the American League, then the
Reds in the World Series. This Baltimore version was one of the
great clubs of all time.
They were the team of the Iron Man, Cal Ripken. He owns maybe the No. 1 sports record--playing in 2,632 straight games. Along the way, he was Most Valuable Player on 1983’s world champion O’s.
Alas, that’s all about as old as Earl
Weaver. The stormy skipper of the Oriole Way is pushing 80 and
growing tomatoes in Florida.
If you’re into predicting champions this baseball season,
forget the O's. The odds are stacked against them.
Here are my calls--recalling that I picked the Patriots to spank
the Giants in the Super Bowl:
The Dodgers win the pennant. Joe Torre’s in Los Angeles. So are hot young
hitters, especially James Loney. Plus, the mound is piled with
pitchers of value, even if one is named Brad Penny.
The Mets don’t win
the pennant. This is a depressing thought
for us fans of the Amazins. They do have perpetual Cy Younger
Johan Santana. They also have Pedro Martinez, who disappears
so often he should have a magic show.
The Yankees win the pennant. A new Joe’s in charge--Girardi, and he’s
managing a pinstriped lineup still jammed with sluggers. By the
time Robinson Cano is done winning the MVP, he’ll go by
Can Do.
The Red Sox don’t
win the pennant. So they’re the favorite
at Harrah’s sports book to win a second straight title.
I just don’t see it in the cards.
Kansas City returns to Royalty. These guys could be the Colorado Rockies of 2008. With Alex Gordon pulling a George Brett at third base, the Royals reach the playoffs for the first time since they won it all in 1985. That’s a longer postseason drought than Baltimore has suffered. Maybe the O’s aren’t so pathetic after all.
©2008 by Bucky Fox. The book cover
illustration is courtesy of Taylor Trade publications and the
author. This column first posted April 7, 2008.
You can visit Bucky Fox's
website at www.BuckyFox.com
You
can comment on this column online. Please address your message
to either "The Editors" or Bucky Fox. To send an email,
click here and don't forget to mention Bucky's name: talkback@thecolumnists.com
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