Good Luck Charm

Two days later, that last post seems...poorly timed. A 14-3 loss on Monday, as the home team ran straight into the Rangers' offensive buzzsaw - no huge surprise, at least with Matusz pitching [I don't get it, they send Tommy Hunter down to Norfolk but Matusz is still with the club?!? I sure hope Zach Britton is a fast healer]. And last night Arrieta pitched OK, but to one or two batters. Unfortunately, one of those guys is the 21st century version of Mickey Mantle. 18 total bases, that's kind of ridiculous. That's an awesome week for any player.

It's only May, but...

After tuning into the O's-Boston game in the seventh yesterday, watching for another 3 hours until Baltimore's victory in 17 tidy innings was assured, I'm starting to wonder - is it possible? - that this team [best record in baseball, for today at least!] is actually pretty damn good? The division is a mess - NYY have a lot of injuries, Boston simply isn't very good (Boston fans have to be worried that a Baltimore farm system castoff is getting so many outfield starts), and Baltimore has gone 5-1 against Toronto thus far. Who knows? The next week, with 4 against Texas and a weekend series against the Rays, should be illuminating.

Tenth in MLB in runs, second in HR behind New York, second in ERA behind the Nats (O's were 30th, out of 30 teams, in ERA in 2011), third in run differential behind the Cards and Rangers, fielding...um, never mind fielding. Anyway, I'm certainly enjoying it while it lasts.