The Loss Column — Baltimore Sports Blog and Community

Baseball is a nasty mistress, and Mets fan is in a bad place.

Willie Randolph’s boys were up in the division by seven games just 18 days ago. They managed to squander both that lead and a shot at the Wild Card, and in doing so managed a collapse of epic proportions.

As much as the Orioles have damaged us this year, at least they didn’t pull a move like that.

It’s hardly a point of pride. At 69-93, the O’s have finished the 2007 season as the third-worst team in baseball, tied for that honor with Kansas City. Only the Pittsburgh Pirates (68-94) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (66-96) managed to do worse.

But the hammer is the hammer. The O’s are the same as the Mets. The same as the White Sox, Mariners, Braves, Astros, and Dodgers…in a sense. Which is to say, Ichiro and Mark Teixeira are going home early just the same way as Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts.

I think one thing is abundantly clear: the Orioles we see now don’t look a damn thing like the Orioles we’ll see come April. Miguel Tejada will probably be gone. Brian Roberts as well, if Drew’s inside info is correct. And if Andy MacPhail does what we all expect him to do then those will be only the two most visible and stirring of a host of moves designed to rebuild this team into a contender.

We’ll talk more football tomorrow. Right now I’m honestly just a little stunned that this is it. The Orioles have sucked again. Failed again. Let us down again.

And yet, I still love that bird and those colors.

We’re now five months away from spring training. The Loss Column will spend that time talking baseball playoffs, the World Series, Ravens, Terps, Wizards, Redskins, the Hot Stove season, and whatever else comes up. We’ll do it all with smarts and perspective.

Which is to say, don’t go nowhere.

(pic from this site)

We’ve got a positively massive slate of sports on tap for today. And I’ll be honest: I try to keep tabs on everything, but I can’t catch it all. The situation with the NL playoff race is, as Dan the Man noted, positively insane. The Mets rode onetime Oriole John Maine’s near-no-hitter to a victory yesterday and, ultimately, a tie with Philadelphia for first place in the east.

The Cubs and Diamondbacks have clinched, leaving San Diego to hope that they can somehow overcome whoever doesn’t win the East. Somewhere amidst that mess, the Rockies still have a shot.

Depending on what happens there may also be tiebreakers involved, but it’s all a bit much to process right now. Suffice to say that I’m rooting for a one-game playoff of some kind tomorrow.

Should they make it, my team this year will be the Padres.

As an aside, here’s what a tight playoff race feels like:

“I don’t care if it’s broke,” said Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who left the game after being struck on the left hand by a pitch from Maine (X-rays showed the hand was not broken). “I’m gonna play tomorrow. [Screw] everybody on the Mets. I’m going to kick their [butts].”

There is, of course, also football.

The Ravens are at Cleveland today (1 pm) for the first of at least two Jamal Lewis Bowls. The Steelers head out to Arizona for a match that will probably be closer than people think. The Bengals welcome the Patriots Monday night and, well, they’re probably going to lose.

The Skins, meanwhile, get the week off.

The Orioles have a chance to end their season on a high note by taking today’s rubber match from the Janqs.

On top of that there’s a pretty big NASCAR race in Kansas today, and we’ll probably be dealing with fallout from the World Grits Eating Championship for some time.

Choose wisely, then use the comments as your free-for-all forum to discuss the above and anything else on your mind.

Here’s a little something on which we can hang our black-and-orange hat: no matter what, the Orioles can do no worse than split their season series against the Janquis. They’re up 9-7 right now.

It’s not much, but it feels good.

I want to avoid getting too optimistic about next year, especially at this early stage, but I think some of our recent doom and gloom talk is a little premature. We’re all pretty much basing our low expectations on the fact that the free agent crop is thin this year. But I submit to you that there is one guy out there who would fit in just fine: Aaron Rowand.

I’ve mentioned him before, and the more I think about it the more I like it. He’s a gamer, he’s good for potentially 25-30 homers and will hit .280ish. He’s probably not as fast as Corey Patterson but he’s an upgrade in every other department.

Would he come here? Anyone will come here for the right price. If we offer him, say, three years/$40 million then I can guarantee he’ll make the drive down ninety-five.

Or am I missing something? Is this not the one available and legitimately talented player who most fits our needs?

Daniel Cabrera vs. Andy Pettite tonight. Dig…

First thing’s first, and that’s a memo to Janquis fans: those blue t-shirts with “Rodriguez 13″ and “Jeter 2″ on them make you look like jackasses. The Janqs don’t put player names on their jerseys, so all you’re really doing is going out of your way to advertise creepy man-love.

Moving on…

It’s really hard for me to believe that the final weekend of Orioles 2007 baseball is here. In a sense I feel as if it’s already happened, in another sense it feels like it still isn’t.

I won’t be making it out to any of the games this weekend, unfortunately, but all told I hit about 10-15 this year. Pretty much in line with my average.

I’ll have playoff/postseason thoughts over the weekend. In the meantime, use this space to keep wondering…the hot stove season is right around the corner.

Until then, it’s 4-2 Yanks in the bottom of the fourth.

We’ve never before had a steady round of comments like the ones that poured in on the Bonds post and the Free’dem Birdz Again, Hon post. Fantastic stuff, and I want to sincerely thank everyone who chimed in. Here’s hoping it only grows from there.

Drew puts the over/under for Orioles wins next year at 75. And I gotta say: if it’s real U.S. American dollars we’re talking about, I bet the under. But I don’t really care how many games they win, I just want them to be (as Wayward O said) loveable, fun to watch, and scandal-free. Surely that’s not too much to ask?

And just for fun I’m putting the over/under for O’s wins in 2009 at 81.

I know where I’m at on that one, too.

While we’re at it, the over/under on Ravens wins next year is eight, and on Redskins wins this year it’s nine. Sez me.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Guthrie returns to the mound tonight to take on a Blue Jays club led by Carlton Josh Banks. I really, really hope ‘ol Guth turns in a strong performance tonight. We need something to give us a reason, however small, for hope next year.

It’s time to take a deep breath after that 57 comment (and counting) Orioles thread and turn our focus outward for a change. Specifically, to some of the other sites on the webonet that have shown The Loss Column love over the past few months, or for whom we just have a particular fondness.

– Sports by Brooks is one of the best daily sources out there for news, links, analysis, etc. I read the site anyway, but as it happens Brooks has been very kind to us with links of his own. Support him.

– Babes Love Baseball gave us a shout-out not too long ago and I felt humbled. They’re babes, they love baseball, and they know what they’re talking about. What’s not to love?

– Uni Watch, of course. One of my favorites since pretty much the day it went up.

– What Would Tyler Hansbrough Do? linked us up, as well. It’s a Tar Heels blog and that’s kind of a problem, but I figure a mutual hatred of all things Duke can be the tie that binds.

And since there’s more to life than sports, and it’s my prerogative to link as I please, give these sites a look as well:

– The guys at Tomorrow’s Brightest Minds are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with. Those Slim Jim “Snapalope” commercials? That’s them. The site hasn’t been updated in awhile but don’t let that scare you off. I’m privileged to call these dudes friends.

– The Girl Skateboards Art Dump houses a collection of some of the most inspiring, creative individuals alive today. Bookmark it and be happy you did.

And finally, don’t forget to periodically stop by our fellow “Behind Enemy Lines” alliance sites.

Enjoy your Wednesday.

From the “you might have missed this, I almost did” department:

Fashion designer Marc Ecko took to the tubes at ESPN.com today for a live chat about his handling of Barry Bonds‘ tainted ball. As it turns out, Ecko is an interesting, thoughtful, and seemingly intelligent man who did not enter into this lightly or on a whim. He appears quite genuine in his quest to use this as a way to further the debate and dialogue about ethics and integrity in sports.

The full transcript is behind ESPN’s “Insider” firewall (nice job, dopes), so if you’re not a member of that service you won’t be able to read it. How-evah, I’ve excerpted two of the best passages for you because I think they deserve to be seen.

Chris (Boston): Out of the three choices you proposed, which one would you choose?

Marc Ecko: I voted, before people knew the site was live, for the asterisk. The reason is that it’s a lot bigger than 756. It has to do with the last 10 years in sports. It’s a system that fosters its athletes to cheat. I want to be able to look at my heros and look at them as heros for a reason and doing it on their own. My ability to imagine doing these things and the very notion that it might not be what it actually is, is bad for the sport. You don’t need that in the living room, when you’re watching the game. You don’t need to be having that discussion.

Then a few questions later…

Chris Starr San Francisco, CA: I understand you’re not a Barry Bonds fan and that’s fine, but wouldn’t the $752,467 have been spent as a donation to charity? Isn’t that a lot of money to waste on a baseball you have no intention of keeping?

Marc Ecko: Actually, as a private citizen who spends millions and millions on charity as it is and earns his money by working really hard, I think the way I spent the money is a good thing. This won’t get swept under the rug. As a social issue, this is real. In terms of speaking about our values and pro sports. I think it’s been good to get that debate out there. After 10 million votes, it’s about seven cents a vote. I wanted to do this, I wanted to mix it up. I earned it. That’s what life should be about. Good question. Fair question.

He also talks about the Hall of Fame and how they’re working with him to display the ball and tell the whole story behind it (assuming it doesn’t end up in space).

This is just about the best thing that could have happened to the ball. Maybe some good will ultimately come of it.

Week three, it seems, is one of those benchmark weeks in the NFL season. It’s where you get your first legitimate opportunity to assess who’s good, who’s bad, and who’s barely-hanging-on-but-could-be-dangerous.

Of course, some teams don’t fit in any of those categories, and the Baltimore Ravens are one of them.

Here we have a team with Super Bowl aspirations, almost universally picked to win their division and make a run. Their 2-1 record is a good start, but consecutive weeks of nearly collapsing to “inferior” teams gives everyone pause. Are they the team that has gone 2-1 or are they the team that tried desperately to go 0-3?

Or, maybe worst of all, are they just getting on in years and destined for 8-8 and a couple of years of rebuilding?

– Pittsburgh can’t be called anything but legit. They’ve dominated so far, winning three games by a combined score of 97-26. But “legit” is as far as you can go because they haven’t really been tested. This week’s road matchup against the Cardinals should go a long way to helping make early sense of the AFC North.

– The Browns — Baltimore’s next opponent — have played their way to a tough 1-2, and coach Romeo Crennel is wondering what he can do to fix his defense.

– The Bengals look like they might be pretenders, having gone 6-10 in their last 16 games.

– The Saints and Rams have played their way into must-win territory. Steven Jackson is hurt and ineffective and Deuce McAllister is out for the year.

– Things aren’t much better for the Chiefs, as Larry Johnson will happily tell you.

But don’t forget: despite what an overeager national press might want to tell you, it’s way too early to count anyone out or crown any favorites. Unless you’re talking about the Falcons or the Patriots.

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images, from nfl.com)