Turnabout is Fair Play

As they said in the movie Coach Carter, "Not quite the storybook ending we hoped for."

Obviously this was not a fun loss. This is one of those losses that lingers for a few days. It is especially bad because it is the Red Sox; everyone wants to beat them, especially at home to win a series.

It is hard to place a lot of blame. You can't blame Dave Trembley for the ninth inning, as he was relying on the Orioles two best relievers to hold down a 4-run lead in the 9th. Jim Johnson can't be blamed, he gave up a home run on a good pitch to an All-Star hitter. George Sherrill may have been tired from the day before plus he did nearly get out of it.

It is even hard to blame the umpires. The last two home plate umpires were probably the worst strike zone callers ever for both the Orioles and the Red Sox. Tony "Rain Delay" Randazzo clearly wanted to go home quickly after the rain delay on Tuesday and on Wednesday Chris "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better" Guccione wanted to end it quickly with a constantly moving strike zone. Both teams got terrible calls their way.

Basically though, with regard this series the Orioles will just need to move on. There is still plenty of time in the season and they need to move on. They have the Angels for a four-game series, and the O's normally don't do well against them. But the starting pitching for them is struggling, so they do have chances.