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Orioles: I’m Running Out of Superlatives (+ New MASN Column)

By neal s, on September 19, 2012, 10:28 pm

For awhile there I thought it was somewhat unfortunate that the Orioles finally turned a corner in the same year that I found myself needing to cut back on the posting schedule here at The Loss Column. It didn’t seem right, you know? About now, though, it almost feels not just right, but perfect.

There’s a part of me that sees this site as kind of a proud parent. We were some of the only ones there during very tough times. We saw this through and it’s at a point where I feel like there’s not a whole lot we can say. We’ve earned the right to sit back and smile.

After all, how many times and how many different ways can I say “this is amazing”? How many different words for “wow” are there?

This morning while walking my dog I pulled out my phone to check the score. At first glance, with still-tired eyes, I read that 18 as a 10. “Nice win,” I thought, as I had fallen asleep somewhere around the seventh inning when the black-and-orange still trailed by two. It wasn’t until a little later that I came to understand that they had, in fact, played not one but two games worth of baseball last night. And won. Again. This team does not stop coming.

Yeah, it’s amazing. And wonderful and fantastic and kind of ridiculous and potentially historic. I no longer question them and I certainly don’t doubt them. They are, at this moment, everything that is right about baseball and a true point of pride for not only those of us who are diehard fans but for Baltimore as a city and a region.

We’re witnessing something here that I don’t think any of us will truly understand or appreciate until it’s been over for awhile. I just hope we remember to soak as much of it up as possible, because we’re going to be talking about it for a long time to come.

***

On a separate but related note, my latest post at MASN went live today. Here’s the first part of it:

It’s funny how time moves. Even funnier how “normal” moves with it.

Think of the last daunting task you undertook. Depending on your age, it might be applying for college or graduating college. It might be looking for a job. It might be buying a house or having a kid. It might be sending that kid off to school. It might be taking the plunge into retirement.

Whatever it is, it probably felt huge when you first started planning. It may have even felt one or two ticks short of impossible. You probably ran through a hundred sets of variables as you thought about what to do and how. You might have even freaked out a little bit or found yourself embroiled in an argument.

Big Things work like that. They present themselves as equal parts opportunity and task. In the early stages, the task portion carries most of the water. The opportunity keeps you sharp if you’re smart, but the task rarely fails to loom large.

When the gears start to turn, however, Big Things have a way of starting to feel kind of normal. They shift from “what has to be done” to “what is being done,” and in that shift, Big Things become what they actually are: a series of small things.

Please read the whole thing and let me know what you think.

Finally, I’ll post something about the Ravens soon enough. This is still a Baltimore Sports Blog, but with the limited bandwidth I’ve got for writing here, I’ll be honest: Joe Flacco and company just aren’t the big story right now.

September 19th, 2012 | Category: Baseball, by Neal, Orioles | Comments are closed

29 comments to Orioles: I’m Running Out of Superlatives (+ New MASN Column)