CHALK TALK NEWS
-
Apr 17, 2012 posted by Josh Angulo-Bartlett
O’s Magic + A New Natitude in the District
Oriole Magic:
Minus the KGregg effect, the trip to the New York of Canada was a successful one as the Birds were able to win a road series in a building that has a been a house of horrors the past couple seasons. Add that to the amazing comeback on the Southside on Monday night and Oriole Nation can puff their chests out after 10 games. That is because the team everyone picked to lose at least 100 games has a legitimate 6-4 record and leads the AL East for the time being. Standouts from the weekend include my personal hero CF Adam Jones (SIGN HIM), Nolan Reimold and Jesus in Cleats himself Matt Weiters. Reimold followed up his super productive weekend in Toronto Monday night with another 9th inning bomb (3rd-overall) and sports a eye-popping .353 average early in the season. @SimplyAJ10 (twitter handle) followed in his outfield partner’s footsteps with his 4th-bomb of the young season that tied the game and sent it into extra’s where Weiters took over. After hammering a towering 8th inning blast, Weiters smacked his first big league grand slam in the 10th that cemented the comeback and provided the Orioles with another opening series road win.
But even with this surprising start, most of the Oriole faithful are still in “battered wife mode”, which I totally understand since the team in the Charm City has had a losing record for 15 straight seasons. Add that to the fact they have finished in the cellar of the AL East for 6 straight years and I can see why most fans are taking a wait and see approach. But for me, that is just lazy and negative. Maybe it’s the cocktail half-full mentality, but I’ve been taking the stance since Spring Training of looking for positives on a team with no expectations and enjoying the ride in the process. Do I think this early season success will materialize into a full-blown playoff sweat come August? Probably not. But with an extra playoff spot added this season, it will at least give the die-hards a reason to go to the yard late in the season, if the team can stay competitive at the very least. One thing is for sure, the Orioles front office is surely answering their phones today with “Hello and thanks for calling the 1st place Orioles, how can I assist you with tickets?”
Nats Fever:
There’s a new “Natitude” going on about 40 miles south of Charm City. The artist formally known as the Expos are off to their best start in their short lived existence (7-3). Backed by one of the best pitching rotations 1 through 5 has Nats Nation sweating a playoff run. And it’s not just former Aztec Stephen Strasburg that is changing the culture in Nats Town (though he has been bzilly in his first two starts). It’s been an early mixture of new-comers like Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson combined with healthy fire-ballers like Jordan Zimmerman and Russ Detwler that will keep the Nats relavated all summer, even when the Skins and RG3 start spinning the pill in late July.