The last few years I've started to develop a strange affection for the Orioles, the perfidy of Paul Bako aside. I don't really root for them, but their on my B-list of teams that I sort of randomly track throughout the season, checking Camden Chat pretty regularly. I can't fully explain why this is the case -- basically my mind just latches on to random things for a few years, then moves onto something else -- but I've been more and more interested in the mid-atlantic lately, I spent the summer of 2006 living in DC and well, something about the Orioles just seems curious to me.
Basically, in the last ten years they've ceded second fiddle status to the Red Sox, seen Camden Yards become basically a non-draw and lost DC to the Nationals. (Side-note: dropping the tattered remains of the Expos in DC, an organization starved by MLB and then ravaged by Omar Minaya, basically killed DC as a baseball town, a dubious proposition in the first place.)
The $55 million dollar man takes the mound against Steve Trachsel (0-0 4.05 ERA).
Discussion Question: Did anyone else notice with a bit of shock that A.J. Burnett and Meche are both signed to 5-year/$55 million deals? The Burnett contract was lambasted a year ago, so what does that make the Meche deal??