Time to extract the LOL from Orioles

At some point last night, after the rain came down inside the SkyDome, and the Orioles put the screws to the Triple-A Blue Jays, Matthew Kory from Baseball Prospectus and Over the Monster tweeted the following:

Time to extract the LOL from Orioles.
— Matthew Kory (@mattymatty2000) September 5, 2012

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It reminded me of a very appropriate graphic from a Getting Blanked post early in the year, when the OriLOLes were lulzing it up by getting kicked out of South Korea and firing their entire scouting staff. The graphic, created by Matt English, was perfect for the laugh-a-minute Marylanders.

That was before the season started.

Going into tonight`s game, the Baltimore Orioles were tied for first in the AL East. Sure, they gave up three runs on an error by Adam Jones tonight, and fell one game behind the Yankees. Yeah, their run differential is -21, they carry a below average wRC+ (93), and their team has committed the most errors in the American League. Good lord, though, they are 16 games above .500, they are winning close games, and they stand to make the playoffs for the first time since 1997 - 15 years ago. So I think Matthew Kory is right.

It`s time to extract the LOL from the Orioles:

Photoshop is fun

...and then next season, when they fall back to earth, we can go right back to making fun of them. I promise, we`ll jam the LOL right back in there and everything will be back to normal.

Dreamin'...

When the Blue Jays have week-long west coast road trips, I fall asleep late in the game, usually around the 7th or 8th inning. This usually leads to baseball related dreams and panic at 3 in the morning, when I can't quite read the already-too-small box score on my too-small-for-late-night-score-reading 13" TV (I have entered, but obviously haven't won yet).

I noticed something on the latest road trip; when I fall asleep, nothing changes. I realize that my sleeping habits have no influence on the outcome of a game, much like an announcer commenting on a pitcher's no-hit bid is not going to start a rally by the opposing team, but one can dream, no? If my sleep cycle did affect the outcome, I could have turned in a lot earlier after the repeat performance of the Harden/Cecil show (in fact, I could have just said "I watched this game last Tuesday, didn't I?" and continued to watch Invader Zim on Nick). I should have gone to bed before the bullpen threw up all over the Jays' slim lead on Monday night, but no, I had to stay up to watch Jon Rauch give himself appendicitis. Once I did fall asleep, I tossed and turned all night with the words "small sample size" running through my head. Strange.

I also had two Blue Jay specific dreams this week, both of which will never come true. One was that the Jays would continue to win, while the Yankees and Red Sox split the rest of their games. That happened on Thursday night, just a day before the aforementioned Cecil v. Harden revisit. Thanks a lot A's.

The second dream was more about the division in which the Jays play - the AL East. I dreamt that instead of outright realignment, the Red Sox and Yankees would be forced to rotate divisions on an annual basis. That dream will never be realized, because as much as I hate those teams, they put butts in seats at the Skydome. It would be about as successful as putting the Detroit Red Wings in the Eastern Conference of the NHL. (That last sentence should be read: "It would be successful, but GMs from other teams will fight it tooth and nail because it would mean less money at their gate.")

So tonight is another late(ish) night game, the last one of the season, and I await the baseball sandman (Not Mariano Rivera - that would be creepy) to see what other wacky stuff I can come up with. That poses an interesting question. Does the baseball sandman use dirt from the warning track? If so, I think he needs to pay a visit to the Skydome to show the Jays' front office what it looks like.