House Protected Part II

Theres an unfortunate spring tradition in Baltimore. Sometime in late april or early may, the Red Sox come to Baltimore with many thousands of their fans in tow. The results are generally not pretty. Red Sox fans outnumber Orioles fans at Camden Yards for most games and, thanks to the result on the field, the cheers of the Red Sox faithful are 3x more audible than those of their Orioles counterparts.

But, not this year. For 2 glorious days this week, the Orioles and the orange and black patrons of Camden yards stood up and refused to be trodden under the cleats of the defending world champions.

I was there for every pitch.

May 14, 2008

2:30pm-- Late afternoon baseball games in Baltimore create a parking nightmare. After 20 minutes of driving around the greater-Camden Yards area in search of an open parking garage, serious trouble strikes. The temperature gauge on my 2002 Civic spikes and a few ominous puffs of smoke start to sneak out of the hood of the car. Thankfully, a minute later, we find an open parking garage, pull into a space, and shut off the engine. I'm faced with a dilemma: address an obvious vehicular problem now, or, let the engine cool off and deal with it after the game. I opt for the latter.

2:55pm-- I pay my obligatory visit to my grandmother who ushers in the first-base side lower deck. She'll be 83 years old later this summer and her deteriorating driving skills are an on-going family controversy. But, despite vehement protests from most of her children, she still works most Orioles home games. Today, she asks the usual question "Where are you sitting?" I gesture towards the nether-regions of the leftfield upperdeck and grandma responds, "Where would you like to sit?" She tells me to check back with her in a few innings if i'd like to upgrade my seats. I love my family.

3:05pm-- Time for the first pitch and the stadium isn't nearly as full as last night. We settle into seats in left field just in time to see Jacoby Ellsbury beat out a chopper to shortstop for a leadoff single. He promptly steals second and comes around to score on a sharp single to center from Dustin Pedroia. I wonder how Orioles Starter Daniel Cabrera will react to this quick strike by the Sox. He hasn't dealt with adversity against the Sox well in the past. Last year Cabrera buzzed Pedroia causing this bench clearing. Pedroia has since declared, "The guy is an idiot. I was upset they took him out of the game. He is good to hit. He's 9 and 15. The guy [is no good]." What will Cabrera do this time? He induces a David Ortiz double play grounder and then retires Manny Ramirez. 1-0 Boston. Jon Lester requires all of 7 pitches to get the Orioles out in the bottom of the inning.

Inning the Third-- We migrate down to the lower deck. Adam Jones ends Lester's perfect game with a leadoff bunt single. He's left stranded on 2nd base when Brian Roberts strikes out.

Inning the Fourth-- Its beginning to feel alot like a classic Orioles flat offensive effort the day after a big win. Such has been their modus operandi for most of my lifetime. With men on first and second and only 1 out, there is a sign of hope as Millar strokes a deep drive to left. Manny Ramirez dashes back towards the wall and, with everyone in the park expecting the red sox leftfielder to play the flyball into a 2-run double, Manny reaches up, snares the drive, runs into the wall, high-fives a Red Sox fan in the front row, turns and throws to the cutoff man who in turn fires to first to double up Aubrey Huff. From my vantage point, i thought that the ball was a double for sure. I was too busy glaring at Huff, who was almost halfway to third base when he saw Manny catch the ball, trying to scamper back to first base, that i didn't notice Manny's now infamous high-five with the Sox fan. Chance to put up a fight in the game seemingly gone.

Inning the Fifth-- The invading Red Sox fans are getting loud. With 1 out, Jason Varitek launches a fastball into the right-centerfield bleachers. Back to back singles with 2 out bring a coaching visit to the mound. Is this where Cabrera will implode? No. Dustin Pedroia grounds out. A Freddie Bynum double play grounder brings the bottom of the inning to a premature end. The Sox fans can sense a shutout win.

Inning the Sixth-- Things are not getting any better. After retiring Ramirez and Ortiz, Cabrera surrenders another solo homer as Mike Lowell lines a 3-2 pitch into the left field stands. Youkilis follows with a double. Is the implosion now upon us? Again No. Varitek taps out weakly to the orioles right-hander. 3-0 Red Sox. But, unlike what has happened so often in recent years, the Orioles apparently have decided not to roll over and die. According to Dave Trembly "there's still that dilemma out there - is this team going to snap or crack? They're not. These guys will stick together." Backup catcher Guillermo Quiroz singles. Brian Roberts doubles. Runners on 2nd and 3rd with no one out. Jay Payton breaks up the shutout with a groundout. Then Nick Markakis plates Brian Roberts with a single up the middle. Huff and Millar fan to end the inning. 3-2 Red Sox.

Inning the Seventh-- Daniel Cabrera will not be melting down today. A 1-2-3 inning and Camden Yards stands for the afternoon yawn. The crowd belts out "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" before sitting down to witness a Luke Scott popup and an Adam Jones strikeout. Freddie Bynum follows with a sharp grounder towards rightfield which Pedroia smothers on a dive but cannot control. Runner on first. 2 out. Guillermo Quiroz, suddenly running for the title of batting champ, singles to right. Brian Roberts works a walk to load the bases. Then something odd happens. The Red Sox acting manager Brad Mills pulled right handed Craig Hansen in favor of left-handed Hideki Okajima. The right-handed swinging Jay Payton is grateful. Okajima leaves an 0-1 pitch over the middle of the plate and Payton launches a frozen rope line drive into the left field seats. Grand Slam. Let me say that again. Grand Slam. Orioles lead 6-3. The Orioles fans in attendance stand and cheer. Everyone stays standing until Daniel Cabrera emerges from the dugout for a proxy curtain call. When Payton trots out of the dugout for the beginning of the eight inning, another ovation rings through the afternoon air.

Inning the Ninth-- Despite having thrown 1 2/3 innings last night, George Sherrill is summoned to pitch the 9th. Mike Lowell greats him with a sharp single. Kevin "The Greek God of Walks" Youkilis then hits a 1-0 pitch to second for a 4-6-3 double play. After a Jason Varitek single, Alex Cora flies out to hitting hero Jay Payton to end the game.

Roll the video again!

The natives finally got restless. Two spectacular performances in a row from both the team and the fans. The losing may or may not start happening in the weeks to come. But, for two days in May, the Orioles and their fans followed Peter Finch's admonition, "I want you to get up now, i want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell, 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"

Amen.