We're 3-1; Oriole Fans Complain; Bedard Scratched; Rundown: The View of the Blogosphere..

The red hot Orioles won against last night as they beat the Mariners, 6-4. Luke Scott had a big night as he went 3 for 3 with 2 RBI, Melvin Mora had 3 hits, & Matt Albers got the win in relief after Adam Loewen left in the fifth inning.

The Mariners homers, both two run shots from Jose Vidro and Jose Lopez; however, Baltimore took the lead in the fifth thanks to a base loaded walk and added another run in the seventh thanks to an Adam Jones sacrifice fly.

George Sherill got his third save of the season; meanwhile, Miguel Batista took the loss for Seattle.

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Well, after going to York, Pa., this afternoon, a bunch of baseball fans & myself were talking about the occasion this afternoon, and then the talk turned to the Baltimore Orioles.

It was not good.

For the most part, a lot of people who I talked to followed the Orioles still, but had almost no interest in attending a game at Camden Yards these days. The reasons -- well, a lot of people are pissed at Peter Angelos (fairly, or unfairly) and also don't feel like making a trip down there for a losing team.

Can you blame them?

Scouring the internet, I was reading up on MASN Sports, and found this entry from the "Ultimate Sports Chick", ESPN 1300's own Anita Marks as she ponders what happened on Opening Day.

She says this:

An event... A happening... A day to take off work and enjoy America's favorite pastime... Baseball.

BUT...did you really enjoy it?

Did you enjoy the 6-2 loss... watching Jeremy struggle with his command... Mora commit an error that resulted in a run... Adam Jones going 0 for 3...???

Well...you may feel - this is a sign of what's to come this season - and you may be right...BUT!!!

Are you willing to ride out the rough times - so you don't have to call yourself a "BAND WAGONER" during the good times...?

That's really what it comes down to Baltimore.

The O's are rebuilding... They have young talent making their first start in the BIGS.

They have vets playing rolls to help keep this team united... but it may not be pretty this year or next... it might not be pretty for a while.

But are you willing to ride it out and support this team at their worst... BELIEVING - it will get better?

Are you willing to dance with the most unattractive girl on the dance floor...knowing she will eventually be the prom queen in a few years?

GROWING PAINS my friends!

Ask yourself...

I appreciate this post, as I attend games as a season ticket holder and enjoy a nice night at the ballpark watching the O's; however, I disagree with her part about bandwagon fans. Personally, I think Oriole fans still care by the activity seen on many websites, forums, and on the radio.

It's been a decade of losing, and honestly after all that I have seen, I would not blame fans for not wanting to put their emotional and financial investment into a product that's not viable. The Orioles may not be contenders for 2, 3, 4, 5 years; plus, there are few marquee players, some of players are unlikeable and make no effort to reach out fans, furthermore, some of the players are unknown to a lot of fans.

Now, if the Orioles were winning, all the problems above would not a big deal; however, they have not won for years and fans are just apathetic.

Maybe a nice winning streak would bump crowds up a bit; alas while Ms. Marks' enthusiasm is wonderful, fans will come back when a winning product comes back and there's more of a connection to the community.

***

WNST has had a lot of content up on their site pertaining the Orioles to kick off the season, & Vince Fiduccia has a post on their blog noting that the team should open up their TV and roadio broadcasts to fans after the games to criticize, praise, vent, or whatever. It's a good read, I agree with him and take a minute to check it out.

Rob Long questions Erik Bedard's heart and perhaps for good reason -- he's been scratched from his on start on Sunday. Again, I will state that I'm going to root for Bedard; however, for all his talents, you've got to wonder if he'll go into another gear if the Mariners are contenders in the AL West. One criticism of the lefty has been centered around his toughness and willingness to go deep into games, and this factor will be critical if Seattle wants to play in the post-season.

There's more on the situation with Bedard from the Washington Post. Amber Theoharis got a chance to chat with Erik Bedard.

Drew Forrester thinks the team is failing to reach to out the masses; Steve Melewski blogged live from the Orioles game tonight;

Tony Pente of Orioles Hangout has a rundown of what's going on the farm and also think we should start laying off Aubrey Huff; HRB of Dempsey's Army takes a look at some of the Oriole prospects; Ben of Oriole Central celebrates the O's 3-1 record; Camden Chat has a look at Brian Roberts' baserunning last night; the Wayward O has fun with a Yankee brochure; Orioles Insider has news on Matt Wieters; The Roar From 34 likes the view from the top of the AL, I'd like to see it last at least until the end of the week.