Baltimoreans are in a weird state of mind. We are currently in the midst of the holiday season, but sports fans are not exactly feeling 100 percent right now. It was great to spend the holidays with family and friends, but we all are hurting after the Baltimore Ravens were eliminated from playoff contention on Christmas Day. To make matters worse, it was those damn Pittsburgh Steelers that ended the season.
The Ravens do have one more game this week against the Cincinnati Bengals, but football season is basically over in Baltimore. The Maryland Terrapins finished with a loss to Boston College in the Quick Lane Bowl – a bowl I had never heard of until this year – to end their football season. Even fantasy football ended last week. We have no rooting interest any longer, unless you are checking the lines every Saturday and Sunday.
So, what has been the common message we have seen on the magical world that is social media?
This: It’s time to get ready for baseball season.
We are officially 45 days away from Baltimore Orioles pitchers and catchers reporting to Sarasota. For those of you too lazy to look up what that date might be, Feb. 13 is the day that Buck Showalter and the boys take the field for the first time. If you’ve tuned out the O’s talk since that dreadful October loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, it is time to come back to the perch.
It has not been the most exciting offseason for the Orioles, but rarely is that the case in late December. They have made a few minor moves here and there, but the only significant transaction of the winter has been the addition of Welington Castillo. That signals the end of Matt Wieters‘ tenure with the organization, a move many of us expected. Mark Trumbo‘s future is still unknown as the O’s are still searching for a corner outfielder.
There is still plenty to be done before the season starts. We could see one of the six starting pitchers moved. Brad Brach has been a hot commodity in trade discussions. There have been some rumblings that the club should consider moving Manny Machado and Zach Britton if they cannot reach long-term deals. A lot could change leading up to mid-February.
Until then, we are forced to wait out a miserable month of January without either one of our teams.
What do we love about Orioles baseball? Machado and Jonathan Schoop turning double plays and celebrating with crazy handshakes. The peanuts thrown after every home run. Britton’s sinker. Adam Jones‘ pie (when it’s allowed). Darren O’Day‘s corky delivery. The fantastic defense. We get all of this once again in 45 days.
We have come to expect the Ravens to be successful every season. Not making the playoffs for consecutive seasons has been a shock to the system. For years, they were the only winning franchise in the city. All that has changed as we expect the Orioles to win under Showalter and Dan Duquette.
It is going to be a long month and half without our Birds, and while football consumes us on Sundays, baseball is a daily grind that many of us live for. We sweat out every game and overreact every half inning. One minute, the Orioles are the greatest team in baseball. The next, we cannot stand them. But one thing we do know is that every weeknight at roughly 7 p.m., we are glued to our team.
Some say the dog days of summer are the worst. For this Baltimorean, the winter month without the Ravens or Orioles is more of a struggle.
