Wild Birds damage Antique Collection
By Jay Monahan
Nearly nine years ago, the Baltimore Orioles lost to an up-and-coming New York Yankees team in an American League Championship Series plagued by the "homerun that wasn’t."
While Birds fans would scorn the name Jeffrey Maier for years to come, the Orioles have plummeted since that ALCS. Unlike the Yankee team which showed promise with such rising stars as Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera, the Orioles roster for years to come was comprised of aging stars past their prime, like Cal Ripken, Brady Anderson, Jesse "Never-Say Retire" Orosco, and Bobby "Will-be-known-in-history-for-batting-behind-Barry-Bonds-once" Bonilla.
After this past weekend’s sweep of the Yankees, it seems that the tides have reversed. The Orioles are the ones with the youth and bright futures, whereas the Yankees are bound for years of misery and fourth-place finishes (unless the Devil Rays have something to say about that).
The Yankees seem to look more-and-more like those past Orioles teams.
Alex Rodriguez is not looking like the player that New York, and Boston, expected last year. The tormented third baseman is looking more and more like Albert Belle’s short-lived career at Camden Yards, where his below-par performance and poor relationships with fans never quite matched the expectations set with his record-breaking contract. Sounding familiar? I think so.
Aging players like Ruben Sierra, Jason Giambi, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, and Kevin Brown hobble the Yankee lineup. That along with a dilapidated minor league system, similar to the Orioles farm teams in the late '90s, makes the Yankees' future look dismal. Instead of learning from Angelos’ mistakes, George Steinbrenner has followed down the same path.
Meanwhile, the Orioles are playing in a way that hasn’t been seen in Maryland in eight years. After twelve games, Brian Roberts has shown he’s one of the top second basemen in the league with a .449 batting average and five homeruns. With other up-and-coming stars like Luis Matos, Melvin Mora, and Miguel Tejada, the possibility of a Yankee-like era isn’t as far-fetched as it may seem.
While the Yankees bowed their heads in disbelief, Baltimore has that eccentric attitude as seen in the Red Sox team of last year.
"Three years ago is like a blur," Roberts said. "I don't even remember. I remember not playing well. Really having no life and almost like feeling you were going to lose every time you went out there. We don't act that way anymore. We don't feel that way anymore."
While it may still be April, it’s still a good sign.
Sources: Information from the Washington Post
