Apr 8th 2008 4:14PM by Eamonn Brennan
Any short list of the worst franchises in Major League Baseball has to include the Baltimore Orioles, the team that, through a near-legendary streak of organizational mismanagement, has miraculously turned Cal Ripken, Jr. and Camden Yards into this year’s hopeless operation. It’s been a sad decade or so for the Orioles, but hey, at least Peter Angelos has gotten rich! That’s always a plus. For Peter Angelos.

Anyway, the Orioles have literally no chance of competing for anything this year, hot start be damned. Though that won’t stop them from hanging their onions out early this year:
“If the players think they’re getting short-changed, that’s just more incentive,” manager Dave Trembley said. “I don’t give a hoot what Sports Illustrated or Fox or Ken [Rosenthal] has to say about us. I think it’s good our guys think they’re a little better than other people think.”

“I think we were 30th out of 30 in the preseason power rankings,” [Kevin] Millar said. ” … I’m sure you all jumped on the Detroit Tigers early. The game of baseball is fun. You all have favorites, but when the light comes on, you play the game on the field.”
I totally agree with Kevin. Thing is, when the Orioles play the game on the field, they’re usually — not over four or five games, mind you, but over a long season — not as good as most of the other teams in baseball. As much as I’d like for the Orioles to be good, and am enjoying their sexy start as much as the next guy, let’s all be real, shall we?