The Loss Column — Baltimore Sports Blog and Community

I wouldn’t call myself overly optimistic by any means, but as the Orioles finish out their ninth straight losing season, I’d like to point out that Baltimore does have at least one edge over New York. Suuuuure, New Yorkers have their pick of which ballclub to root for in October and yes, they have the luxury of hating someone like A-Rod, while those of us further south are left with the likes of Russ Ortiz and Rodrigo Lopez.

But one thing we do have that New Yorkers don’t (yet, at least), is a freaking beautiful ballpark.

At 21 I am at somewhat of a disadvantage. I can say that I have been to a baseball game at the old Memorial Stadium, but I can’t boast that I remember what it was like to hear the passionate fans roar for the home team. I can even say that I’ve been to a Canadian Football League game there, but even at a really young age, it registered to me that that was mildly depressing. Go…Stallions?

So, unlike the older Baltimoreans, for a long time Camden Yards was all I knew. After all, I was only 7 when the Orioles started playing there. I took it for granted that that is what major league stadiums looked like, having never been to any other teams’ parks.
Then I started school in New York. When the Orioles came to face the Yankees, I took my first trip up to the Bronx (wearing orange, of course) to be that one stupid person to cheer for the opposing team with no qualms about doing it amongst a vicious sea of navy and gray. Aside from a few stares, it wasn’t that bad. Only one guy yelled at me on my way out, and he happened to be homeless. He yelled, “Go the f— back home to Baltimore!”

Hey, at least I have a home. A home that includes a nicer ballpark, mind you.

I get that Yankee Stadium is filled with history and some of the greatest players have played there/are playing there. Maybe I don’t have the proper respect for that, but quite frankly, I can’t help but feel that that park is a piece of crap.

Since I am not willing to pay more than $30 for tickets, I have only had the worst seats at Yankee Stadium. The upper deck makes you feel as if the stadium might crumble in on itself at any minute and although Yankee Stadium is smaller than Camden Yards, the bleachers make it feel like the game is actually being played over the river in the next borough. And let’s face it, a Nathan’s hotdog is good, but it’s definitely not as good as Boog’s.

But it wasn’t even Yankee Stadium that made me realize how perfect Camden Yards is. On Monday I made my first trip to Shea Stadium to work on a playoff preview for the Mets. The first thing my editor said to me was, “It’s not as beautiful as Camden Yards.” The understatement of the century.

Shea is old and dirty. Watching from the press box is like watching a movie in widescreen. You know, with a black strip at the top and bottom. That might not sound so bad, but it is. From the press box right behind home plate you can’t even see the sky.
Even the players have to deal with crappy conditions. Yes, their clubhouse is outfitted with flat screen TVs and leather couches, just as the Orioles’ clubhouse is, but their lockers are right on top of each other. They don’t have the luxury that Jay Gibbons has — an extra locker to put up a poster of his favorite player, Brian Roberts.

Speaking of Jay Gibbons, it’s time for a tangent. I’m very sorry he hit his own wife with a foul ball but his outburst of anger intrigues me. They can make the net higher behind home plate but no matter how high they make it, foul balls will go over and the fact of the matter is, probably half of the people in the stands aren’t paying attention. So maybe the solution should be to stick her in the left field upper reserves.

Maybe it’s just that I am still annoyed over this quote from the orioles.com coverage of the WNST rally: “I’m really confused,” said Gibbons, summing up the day’s events. “If we come back here next year and we’re in first place, are those fans not coming to the game? Or are they coming? Are they our fans or not? I just know I’m a fan of a lot of things. As a sports fan, I root on my team no matter what. I’m at the game [and] I’m watching on TV whether they’re in first place or last. I’m a Raider fan. Put it that way — I’ve been there for a long time. I understand people being upset, but there’s different ways of doing things. I’m confused who they’re upset at — is it us or is it the owner? I don’t know.”

Wow. It must be rough to have a brain the size of Jay Gibbons’. The words “Free the Birds” didn’t make it clear enough who fans are angry at?

Anyway back to the parks, the point is, thank goodness Orioles’ fans can be thankful for Camden Yards. Yankee Stadium has its history and Shea has its charm (I suppose) but few ballparks are as sexy as Camden Yards. Of course, with the Yankees and the Mets heading to the postseason, every game is selling out while Camden tragically remains empty.

And Peter Angelos says the only solution is to raise ticket prices. Huh.

Honestly, who does Robinson Cano think he is? He’s second in the league in batting — he didn’t need that hit. C’est la vie…

Here’s the thing: usually nobody remembers a one-hitter. I think it’s time to change that. Daniel Cabrera was masterful tonight. He shrugged off his youth, his inconsistency, the pressure of pitching in New York, and the fact that he’s on one of the worst teams in baseball to turn in an eye-opening performance the likes of which we rarely see. When he easily could have mailed it in, he didn’t.

There’s a part of me buried somewhere deep amid the pain the Orioles have caused that wants to see this as a turning point. I want to think that next year, when Daniel Cabrera makes his first All-Star squad and the team is ten games over .500 at the break, we can look back at this night and marvel at how fortunes can turn on a dime.

For now, anyway, I’m going to enjoy it.

INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS SIMMS’ SPLEEN AND BEN ROETHLISBERGER’S APPENDIX

TLC: So what was your main motivation for leaving?
Spleen: I mean, I can’t speak for both of us but we just thought we had futures elsewhere
Appendix: I wasn’t happy where I was and after 20+ years I thought I needed a change. Life is about seeing different perspectives and exploring the world that’s out there. It wasn’t a snap decision. It took a lot of soul searching but I think I’ve made the right decision for my self and my family.
TLC: Do you think your departure has conjured any ill will?
Spleen: I, for one, know it’s probably best for the both of us. I…
Appendix: Well…oh, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt.
Spleen: No, go ahead.
Appendix: The way I see it, we had our time together and I’d like to think that I will be missed. I will cherish the time we’ve had together, but I can’t worry about that now. I’m looking forward. I have a number of projects lined up and I really can’t waste time looking in my rear view mirror.
TLC: What are some of your plans?
Appendix: I’m looking to get in on the ground floor with my music. Everyone who knows me knows that that has always been my first love. Clive Davis has been really supportive since I left and he’s referred me to some people who will get me back on my feet and hopefully pointed in a new direction.
TLC:And you, Spleen?
Spleen: Hahaha, well, I’m gonna take sometime and just decompress, y’know? I’ve got a villa in Martinique and me and Consuela are going down there and just plan our next move from there. We’ve signed up for topiary lessons down there and we’re gonna see where that takes us.
TLC: She’s been very supportive of you during this time?
Spleen: Without her in my corner I really don’t think this transition would have been as clean as it was. She’s a special lady and I really do owe her a lot. When I did my time at Betty Ford, she was one of the few who stuck by me and didn’t pull up stakes. I didn’t have the money anymore, I didn’t have the fame, but she stuck with me because she believed in me. And I believe in her and always will.
TLC: Appendix, the rumors about your personal life….the tabloids have already made their decision. Do you care to comment?
Appendix: I don’t undertand why my personal life is of such interest to the public. People don’t have enough problems with their own lives that they have to worry about mine? Am I that fascinating that my private life is of such an interest to the public?
TLC: You don’t think you owe it to your fans to be upfront with them?
Appendix: All I owe to the fans is to continue to work to be the best I can be. And I’ve done that. Anyting else is of no consquence to anyone but me.
TLC: Any regrets?
Appendix: Can I take this one? Hahaha, ok. Yes. I have plenty of regrets. But I leave them where they lie, I don’t carry them with me. Could I have done things differently and prevented the crash? Maybe. Could I have gone for treatment once the recommended dosage of Ambien wasn’t enough? Sure. But I put my faith in my friends and my family and my God and I pray that I learn from my mistakes and they make me better.
TLC: Spleen?
Speen: None. Regrets are like, well, spleens, really. You have ‘em, but you don’t really need ‘em .
Appendix: Can I add one thing?
TLC: Sure
Appendix: Appendixrock.com, we got shirts, stickers, beer cozies, free download samples of songs and make sure to check us out at the Fireside Bowl, 10/14.. Think Phil Spector and Todd Rundgren chicken-fighting Fats Domino and Eartha Kitt in a kiddie pool of battery acid.
TLC: Thank you both.

With the last week of regular season baseball upon us, the American League playoff picture looks something like this:

The Yankees (94-62) have clinched the East, while the Twins (93-63) and Tigers (94-62) have both clinched spots — the first time in history that the Wild Card berth will come out of the Central. The Athletics (90-66) will win the West barring a serious meltdown. Who faces who, and where, remains very much up in the air.

It’s shaping up to be an exciting postseason, and one that has fairly profound off-field implications for the current state of the Orioles.

We know that the O’s need to make four or five key changes (at least) to even think about competing next year. The most obvious way to do this is to bring in free agents, which means increasing payroll. That’s one way to go, and it certainly can work — nobody wants Soriano in orange and black more than me. But there’s more to it than that.

Here are the top five American League payrolls to start the season (taken from onestopbaseball.com and rounded to the nearest clean number):

1. Yankees — $195 million
2. Red Sox — $120 million
3. Angels — $103 million
4. White Sox — $103 million
5. Mariners — $88 million

By contrast, here are the AL playoff team payrolls:

1. Yankees — $195 million
2. Tigers — $83 million
3. Twins — $63 million
4. Athletics — $62 million

The Orioles sit in 7th place in the AL (15th place overall) at $73 million. What does this tell us?

Foremost, it tells us that there is no direct way to correlate payroll to wins. The Athletics play in a forgotten stadium to some of the worst attendance in the league and finish above .500 every year. The Twins have their ups and downs but generally stay in the top half of the league. The Tigers were terrible for years, but they took their lumps, put a plan in place, and have earned a spot among the elite.

I’m not even addressing the National League, where the Marlins — who have to blow their team up every few years — have won 2 titles since 1997 and currently sit at 76-80 with a payroll of only $15 million.

Peter Angelos, in his recent interview with PressBox, repeatedly brought up money as a way to explain his team’s lack of competitive results. There is some merit to this argument given that the Orioles play in the AL East with the Yankees and Red Sox, but it’s excuse making of the worst kind.

Success in any endeavor correlates directly with two things: will and vision. Angelos might have the former, but nine long years have proven that he lacks the latter. The Orioles could compete, and restore fan interest, in the $75-85 million range. It’s been done. They could also cross $100 million and still suck.

I want them to spend money this offseason, and I want them to get the left fielder and first baseman they need. If they do, they might be good. But it won’t change the fact that they suffer from a basic dysfunction that pervades everything they do. That, more than anything, is why they’ve been so bad. Unfortunately, it’s also why they’re likely to stay bad.

I don’t wish any ill will on the guy, but I can’t resist:

It’s old news by now, but I still can’t wrap my head around how the Carolina Panthers kicked Chris Simms’ ass so thoroughly that he had to have his spleen removed. Jon Gruden should be ashamed of himself. I thought Oakland sucked — and they do — but they have an excuse (its name is Al Davis). Teams like this should be forced to drop down a division and join NFL Europe until they get their minds right.

The AFC North balance of power hasn’t shifted yet, but it’s close. Everything Pittsburgh did right on their way to the Super Bowl is going wrong now. They’re playing some butt ugly football. Of course, the Ravens and Bengals don’t look much better.

Mark Brunell looked good, but that might not be what the Redskins need. Sooner or later Jason Campbell will have to play.

The Bears, my friends, are for real.

Another thing that’s real is the Madden Curse. You’re an idiot if you drafted Alexander first overall in a fantasy league, because you should have known something like this would happen. And as for the players, why in the hell do they continue to agree to this?

Finally, serious props are due to the Saints and the people of New Orleans for making tonight’s game happen. Like a lot of other people, I never thought for a moment there’d be football in the Superdome after Katrina. We must never, ever forget this, but it’s great to see they’re back.

You might have missed it, but the Orioles’ 8-5 loss to the Twins today was the most meaningful game they’ve played all year.

How’s that, you ask? Because the loss officially eliminated the Red Sox from playoff contention.

Since the Orioles can’t actually manage to defeat the Red Sox anymore (2-13 this year alone), they did the next best thing by losing to a team that could. Yes, it’s come to that.

As a side note, this should effectively kill any talk of David Ortiz for MVP. When a great hitter who can’t play the field for shit fails to lead his team to the playoffs the only thing he brings “value” to is his own stats. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s certainly not worthy of an award.

Daniel Krall returns this week with another fine illustration, this time in collaboration with Okan Arabacioglu. Click to see it at full size, then on to the post…

1. Rattling the Cage
The Free the Birds rally finally happened on Thursday, and it was one of the best sports events I’ve ever attended. And remember, I was at the last baseball game at Memorial Stadium. This wasn’t on that level, but the feeling wasn’t all that different.

Sponsor station WNST has a full wrapup, while The Loss Column’s own coverage (including pics and video) can be found by scrolling down a few posts.

2. 3-0?
Could be. The Ravens so far are doing what good teams do — dominating the teams they should dominate. There’s no reason for that to change this week in Cleveland, but we won’t really know how good they are until San Diego in week 4. If they manage to go 4-0 I gotta figure they belong in the deep playoff discussion.

3. Sorian-O
There’s one thing the Orioles can do this offseason to partially restore our faith that they have some idea what they’re doing: sign Alfonso Soriano.

If they Yankees offer him $80 million, offer him $90 million. If the Red Sox go $110 million, go $125 million. Whatever it takes.

I’m not holding my breath.

4. Ryan Howard, People’s Champion
My deep and abiding hatred of all things Philly gets suspended in the case of Ryan Howard. By this time next week, he might be the first post-Steroid player to crack Maris’ record. I’ll have plenty to say about it if/when it happens, but the short version is this: I’m glad it’s happening now because it gives us a chance to have the debate while it’s still fresh in everyone’s mind.

5. I Know it’s Hard to Believe, but it’s True
Somehow, NHL training camps are open. I don’t know what this means but it feels like news. We’ll keep our eye on things.