Opening Day in Baltimore

The sun is shining in Baltimore this morning. The rain from the storms that rolled through last night still stains the concrete and combined with the overwhelming sounds of birds chirping it gives the city an almost tropical feel. It will be warm today, partly cloudy and baseball will return to Baltimore. Spring is a time of renewal and the Orioles seem to be taking to that trend. After three excellent games of baseball against the Rays the Orioles open Camden Yards this season with a 3-0 record for the first time since 1997 when they started 4-0. The starting pitching was great; the bullpen was solid; the offense was timely and the defense - well the defense was just stellar. Today is not the day for hardcore analysis. Today is not the day predictions and projections. Today is not the day for sabermetircs. Today is about the purity of baseball, the grandeur of the experience. it is about fathers and sons, groups of friends, freshly mowed grass and the silliness of fireworks in the daytime.This is about the unbridled hope and enthusiasm that comes with every new season that some way somehow this will be out year. The year of the Bird, "Why Not?", the year that this collection of men finally wake up and decide to send shockwaves through the American League. The year that ESPN finally has to pay attention to us, the year that make Michael Wilbon apologize for the on-air PTI tirade against us. There is no way to truly predict the future in this game, there are too many variables and the humanity of the game lends itself to a certain amount of chaos, but we do know this - the Orioles are playing today and downtown Baltimore will be packed. >>> Read More