BIRDS’  ‘MIRACLE’ SEASON  CONTINUES;
NATIONALS WIN 1st 2013 GAME IN D.C.

It was as if the Orioles’ “miracle” season of 2012 hadn’t ended yet, as the Birds stunned the Tampa Bay Rays with a five-run seventh inning Tuesday to win their 2013 opening game by a score of 7-4 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The high-flying O’s wore down Tampa Bay’s Cy Young Award winner David Price, then battered shutdown reliever Jake McGee, as the Birds’ middle-of-the-order hitters — catcher Matt Wieters, center fielder Adam Jones and first baseman Chris Davis — drove in all seven runs and collectively went 6-for-12 with two homers, three doubles and three walks.

In Washington, the Nationals also achieved an auspicious beginning for the new season, defeating the Miami Marlins 2-0 on flawless Stephen Strasburg pitching and two Bryce Harper home runs, in each of his first two at-bats.

It was the beginning of Washington’s 80th baseball season, the ninth since the national pastime returned to the nation’s capital in 2005.

For the O’s it was the start of Season No. 60, since the Browns became the Birds in 1954.

After two games Wednesday and Thursday against Tampa Bay, the Orioles are scheduled to open the new season at home with an afternoon game Friday against the Minnesota Twins at Camden Yards.

Voice of Baltimore columnist David Maril, a former longtime sports editor of the Milford Daily News, in Massachusetts, and voter in Major League Baseball’s annual Cooperstown Hall of Fame balloting, weighs in on the optimism of the new baseball season with his second “Inside Pitch” column below.

Editor’s note:   Maril’s columns for VoB will not be limited to sports or baseball; it just happens that the O’s and Friday’s season opener are Baltimore’s big story of this week. (To read Dave’s inaugural column for VoB — on cheapskates! — click here.)
 

INSIDE PITCH — New baseball season allows for justifiable optimism

WILL O’S & NATS REPEAT NEAR-MIRACLES OF 2012?

Will hot dogs & beer at Camden Yards be affordable?
 
By David Maril
 
Baseball, the 2013 edition, is finally here. One of the rare times in our skeptical, cynical world that optimism is allowed to become the order of the day.

And, no matter how cool or windy the weather at Camden Yards might be when MLB returns to Baltimore this Friday, the first crack of the ball zooming off Adam Jones’ bat will signify that pleasant daytime temperatures lingering into balmy evenings are but a few home-stands away.

The beginning of the summer game, played in a rare but classic baseball-afternoon setting, means vacationtime is drawing closer and school is almost out.

Opening Day symbolizes anticipation and hope.

Will the Orioles repeat their near-miracle of 2012? Will the Nationals do the same?

Will a family of four be able to afford hot dogs and soft drinks at Camden Yards? Will guzzlers be able to afford a second beer?

In the early innings fans will cheer even when an Oriole hitter fouls a pitch into the stands. Routine defensive plays will bring the crowd to its feet. Every Baltimore home run will evoke a lengthy curtain call.

After wearing practice jerseys through spring training, the regular season home uniforms will look white enough to be used in laundry detergent commercials.

When the game begins, everything will seem perfectly in place. Instead of being half-empty, all the paper cups of partially consumed beer and soda will be considered to be half-filled.

GRANDSTANDING POLITICIANS MAY CAUSE BOOING

The only booing will occur if grandstanding politicians, who love to be seen in pre-game ceremonies at Opening Day, are introduced. This is no time to be reminded of government budget woes and political rhetoric. It’s a day begging for positive spins.

The hot dogs will taste great even though they are way more expensive than they should be. If stadium area parking lots are charging unreasonable amounts to park for the game it will be incentive to get fans to use public transportation. The Light Rail after all has a designated stop named “Camden Yards.”

Even the tiresome, repetitive music-jingles MASN uses to lead into commercial breaks will sound welcome and refreshing to the TV audience after a long winter without baseball.

The first time bullpen ace Jim Johnson notches a strikeout on a hard-dropping sinker, the anticipation of another 51-save season will begin.

Chris Davis’s first tape-measure home run will remind some veteran fans of a Boog Powell who hits right-handed.

Young pitchers, with plenty of stuff and raw potential, like Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta and Jim Johnson, will stir memories among older fans of the Orioles Kiddie Corp of the early 1960s: Jack Fisher, Steve Barber, Milt Pappas and Chuck Estrada. These young arms were early keys to the franchise’s establishment of the foundation for three decades of excellence and post-season contention.

Fans packed Oriole Park for first time in years in 2012, following a string of losing seasons.

Pitching coach Rick Adair will be compared with legendary Baltimore mound mentors like George Bamberger, Harry “The Cat” Brecheen and Ray Miller, if Jason Hammel, Miguel Gonzalez and Wei-Yin Chen continue to establish themselves as front-line starters.

Orioles GM Dan Duquette will enhance his reputation as a sage builder of deep rosters if the Oriole bullpen maintains its impressive effectiveness and depth.

With the exception of Jim Johnson, who had a career season out of the bullpen, the roster is filled with young to prime-aged players who have the potential to improve on what they achieved last year.

Manny Machado, just 21 years old, projects to be a rock-solid all-around third baseman, or wherever else he plays in the infield, for the next decade. J.J. Hardy has the efficiency of a Mark Belanger at shortstop but plenty of power at the plate.

Switch-hitting Matt Wieters, an established All-Star catcher at 26, is on a path to go down as the greatest catcher in Oriole history.

Despite tough luck with injuries this spring and last season, right-fielder Nick Markakis is heading into his prime years.

And as good as Adam Jones has become, it’s easy to forget he’s still only 27 years old.

You wonder how much starting the season with the Orioles will help outfielder Nate McLouth, who provided evidence last year he hadn’t lost the skills that made him an All-Star.

How well could outfielder Nolan Reimold hit if he stays healthy?

Is Ryan Flaherty on the verge of becoming one of the league’s most productive multi-position players?

JUSTIFICATION FOR UNCHECKED OPTIMISM

Opening Day is justification for unchecked optimism. And this season, thanks to 2012, there is history and plenty of solid evidence to support high hopes.

Sure, the AL East is tough. However, the Yankees are old, brittle and supposedly implementing a frugal budget policy for buying players.

The Red Sox continue to be dominated by egos and finger pointing. Toronto has been active in the off-season but expectations may be too high and the team has a manager with a mediocre track record. The Rays have superb pitching, keeping them in all their games, but always struggle for runs.

Most importantly, the Orioles have Buck Showalter. After years of suffering through ineffective managers like Lee Mazzilli, Ray Miller, Mike Hargrove, Sam Perlozzo and Dave Trembley, Baltimore has one of the top strategists in baseball. Showalter transformed the Orioles into a group of players who rediscovered in 2012 how the game is supposed to be played, mastering the ability to win close contests under pressure.

Yes, there’s room for plenty of optimism. We can all welcome six months of regular season baseball, played on a daily basis, to entertain us and serve as a healthy distraction from the problems of the world.

Who cares about the sequester? Or that all of us are paying for the mayor’s and governor’s tickets for themselves and their political friends at Camden Yards?

At least we’re not paying for their hot dogs and beer.

Or are we?
 
davidmaril@hermanmaril.com