The Orioles Season Is Over….. It’s Time for Football
Last time I wrote to you all, I expressed that I was preparing myself for heartache, as some of my favorite players were on the trading block. Since then, those concerns have become a nightmarish reality. Those same guys I mentioned, and more, have been sent to their new teams. And while I understand it to a degree, I hate it.
No more Cedric Mullins, who essentially was the only Black player on the major league level for the Orioles. No more O’Hearn. No more Morton. No more Urias. But the departure of Ramón Laureano is the biggest head scratcher. Just days before the trade deadline, it seemed as if the Orioles were interested in picking up his 2026 club option. Next thing you know, he’s in a package deal with O’Hearn and sent off to the Padres. To make matters worse, Grayson Rodriguez, who hasn’t pitched an inning this entire season, just opted to have surgery and miss out on the rest of the year.
Orioles general manager Mike Elias recently took some accountability by saying he was remorseful for how the 2025 season played out. “A lot had gone wrong,” he said. “We’re addressing that. And part of it is doing the right thing by the talent in the organization with the [trade] deadline.” With no due respect, sir, no fan wants to hear that. To this fanbase, it felt like the O’s were mere inches away from cementing themselves as a competitive team. And while health played a sizable role in the slow start, Elias never made serious upgrades in free agency to help this team get over the playoff hump. He fired manager Brandon Hyde way too late (I have always gone on record to say he was a great stop-gap hire, just not the right person to lead the team to their next championship), and interim manager Tony Mansolino is just about as smart and effective as me, watching the game from my couch. Fans have waited far too long to be relevant again, only to have the same feelings they’ve coped with for decades: disappointment and frustration. And so, the city is, once again, wrapped up in preseason football excitement when they should be watching baseball still. The Orioles continue to shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to their relationship with their fanbase. On to football…
Ravens Equal High Anxiety For Me
This current Ravens roster is one of the more talented we’ve seen thus far, if not ever! Both sides of the ball seem equally yoked, filled with stars and playmakers. Chuck Pagano, once a beloved figure in Baltimore, is back to help out defensive coordinator Zach Orr — who struggled mightily with creating turnovers in the playoffs — on the back end of the defense. And the vibes appear to be sky high. All things point to another great regular season. And yet, this is perhaps the least excited I have ever been.
During a typical season, the highs are especially high for the Ravens. The city feels alive when they’re defeating playoff-caliber opponents and celebrating their quarterbacks, MVPs, and All-Pros. But as soon as the playoffs come around, the mood changes, and the lows are very low. Lots of alcohol — and some blood pressure medication — was consumed when the team lost the AFC championship game to the Chiefs in 2024, essentially wrapping the game in a bow and then giving it away by not running the football. Equally painful was their loss to the Bills in the divisional round in 2025, where turnovers, in addition to a dropped 2-point conversion, sealed the deal. As fun as the regular season can be in the Lamar Jackson era, it can also be torture, especially considering how long we’ve been waiting for a Super Bowl win.
And since the Orioles consistently fall short in terms of giving us good games to watch, we end up attaching ourselves to the Ravens too soon, and with too much intensity. This city is craving a championship, meaning everything that happens, whether good or bad, is heightened astronomically. For me, the only thing that has increased is my anxiety over what could be another disappointing, hurtful season. For what it’s worth, I felt the exact same way going into the 2012 season. We all know what happened next. Let’s hope this is a sign.
Let’s Be Honest About NFL Preseason
Stop lying to yourselves by getting overly excited for the NFL preseason. It’s a waste of time, and doesn’t even try to quench your football thirst. Admit that you’re just happy because preseason means real football is on the way, and simply let the untruth go. The truth is, the preseason gives NFL nerds the chance to look at players who are trying to make the team. But overall, there’s no real entertainment value to it. Aside from the Commanders-Ravens preseason game a couple of years ago, in which Washington snapped the Ravens’ preseason win streak, it’s literally just…exhibition football. It means nothing. If you recall, the Colts were 0-5 in preseason, then went 14-2 with a divisional round appearance back in 2005. It’s a talent evaluator. Nothing more or less. And if that’s your thing, I get it. I watch it for the same reason. But to act as if it’s top-tier entertainment is astonishing. Maybe it’s time for us to touch grass, pour some time into our friendships, and get into a few end-of-summer hobbies. These preseason games are not lit, and you know it.