Fifteen wins and thirty-two losses. When Andy MacPhail took over as president of baseball operations for the Orioles in 2007, I don’t think I could have envisioned we would be enduring such a terrible beginning to the 2010 season. Honestly, I think we can interpret MacPhail’s taped address to Orioles fans as evidence that he wasn’t expecting it, either.
I don’t want to suggest, however, that surprise is my main response to the team’s performance this season. Honestly, it’s not even anger. With each base-running mistake, each untimely injury, each stadium half-filled with Sawx fans, I feel myself inching closer and closer towards a resignation to failure. While this season in isolation isn’t much different than most of the last 12, this one is especially painful because I expected the Orioles to finally turn the corner and start playing competitive baseball. But now I’ve begun to wonder, was that a reasonable expectation? Is it logical to believe that the Orioles would be competitive only the third full-year into MacPhail’s tenure? How long should should a rebuilding process take?
