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We are 11 games into the Buck Showalter era, and the changes are obvious. This is no longer a team playing because they have to, they are a team playing because they WANT to.
(By the way, did you dig the Creamsicle uniforms last night as much as I did? Evoking memories of these guys…
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Back when these guys were kind of decent
is never a bad thing. Also, I love how the throwbacks were designed so that the players had to wear them only to the knee and we could see the socks an stirrups. Without going all UniWatch on you, I really do like the classic look better)
This team has become fun to watch, and with a fan base right out of “Good Morning Vietnam”
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"You're in more dire need of a win streak than any white man in history" - FYI: Don't GIS the original phrase w/SafeSearch off. It does NOT lead to pictures of Robin Williams
I haven’t updated RendonWatch 2010 in a while, so I thought I should mention that the Orioles are NOT in line to pick him right now as we are 1.5 games IN FRONT of Pittsburgh for the top pick. And that is okay. Especially since Rendon is injured AGAIN (same ankle that he hurt last year, and this time it is pretty bad). Also, the 2011 draft class looks to be rather deep, even if the majority of players around and after Rendon are pitchers, it is one of those drafts where some good players could be found in the 2nd half of the 1st day if a team is willing to pay over slot value (something the Orioles have been much more aggressive about doing since Andy MacPhail took over). The O’s have signed 35 out of their 49 draft picks (they lost their 2nd round pick when they signed Mike Gonzalez, not a great return on investment so far), and 6 of their top 9. The first pick (Manny Machado, SS, Brito HS in FL) still has not signed, and while the team has said from the beginning that they expected this to go down to the wire, they do expect him to sign. I am hopeful that they get him inked, even if he is still a few years away from the majors. I know if they DON’T get him signed they get a comp pick in the 2011 draft, which since the draft is deep (as just mentioned) wouldn’t be the worst outcome, but Machado ranks out as a solid ML SS or 3B, and we cold use him at either position (Josh Bell could probably transition to 1st, giving us another option other than Brandon Snyder or [shudder] Nolan Reimold).
The Orioles have the toughest end of season schedule in baseball (as of right now I believe the combined win percentage of their opponents is .581 or some ungodly number), so I do not have realistic expectation of this team continuing to win at an .819 clip. But I do have every intention of continuing to watch and enjoy this for as long as it lasts, and to actually be looking forward to next season and the moves that are made in the off-season. And THAT is something I would not have said a couple of months, or even a couple of weeks ago.
