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O's working through tough losses
Needless to say, the Orioles were eager to get out of Toronto last night, and it wasn't because the players were sick of doing the math it takes to convert American dollars to Canadian dollars. The buses leaving the Rogers Centre's loading docks filled up pretty shortly after the game. Everybody wanted out---quick.
The only thing tougher than being swept by the worst team in the AL East is losing all three games by just one run. Those types of loses can kill a team's morale. It's hard not to fall into the "why try?" mode after that. Players have told me that losing when you truly put forth the effort hurts much worse than getting blown out. These last three hurt.
As George Sherrill said after the loss, "We'll find out what we're about in Boston." Today's game against the Red Sox really is going to be a gut check for the Orioles. I honestly think they'll come to Fenway ready to play. This team is so different from Orioles teams I've covered in the past. They don't mope.
Speaking of George Sherrill, he and Jim Johnson both deserve credit for always doing my postgame interviews, even after very tough nights. Not all players do that, but Sherrill always steps up to the microphone in good and bad times. That says something about the character of a player.
Along those same lines, on Tuesday night when Dennis Sarfate had a bad outing, he didn't do press afterward. Wednesday afternoon, he made a point to find me outside the clubhouse and apologize for not being available. He said he wasn't thinking and just left as soon as the game was done. Those types of moves will earn him a lot of respect in the media, and it only added to my high opinion of Sarfate as a person.
Hey Amber!
Me again. Now I'll respond to yours. Watching all three of those Toronto games was tough. We actually lead in the beginning of each game as well, I believe. As a fan, I'm with the players on the fact that watching a 1-run loss is much worse than watching a blowout.
I don't know, though. It's hard to hang your head at these. Yeah, they hurt, but I think about their 5 straight losses and their scoring average in those games, which is 6.4 runs/game. With that average, you woudn’t expect that a team would be 0-5, not to mention that 10 and 8 were scored in two of them (Texas and Toronto, respectively). Yes, they are still losses, but certainly not for lack of trying. The effort is definitely there. Seeing these players still dive after speedy ground balls is very encouraging. They mentioned that Melvin Mora was a soccer goalie at one time. Thank goodness for that. Watching his defense still gets me out of my seat. Then at the other corner is Kevin Millar. Now don’t get me wrong; Kevin is a great player. I just don’t hold my breath at defense like Mora’s coming from him as well. Funny thing, they are the same age.
Speaking of ages, I heard something funny on the last Toronto game and the Red Sox game last night. Have you ever noticed that when the trivia question comes up, the longer ago something happened, the easier it is for the announcers to remember? If it happened more recently they have no idea. Like in Toronto, the question was, “Who were the last two World Series MVPs?”, and Jim and Rick couldn’t think of them. Then last night, there was one particular play that happened, and Jim Hunter asked Palmer when the last time that happened, and Palmer easily said “oh, one time in 1986” Wow. Even though Palmer's instance wasn't a trivia question, we may be able to get him with more recent stuff too.
As for Boston, the O’s did very well last night. And I do agree with Sherrill that this is it for the O’s. We have to start catching up in the division and like yesterday. We can’t rely on Tampa Bay to stay on that losing streak too much longer or the Red Sox to START losing. The Yankees, I think they're within reach. But it has to start now with the division games.
Cara,
Please allow me to respond as a fellow fan. I’m with you on why a player should worry about scoring points with the media. I try to look at it from both sides. On one hand, you have those members of the media that have no compassion at all and have no shame in shoving a microphone in a player’s face after a tough loss and ask, “How does it feel to lose the game like that?” in which, you wouldn’t blame them for responding with, “how would it feel for me to shove that microphone up your…” and you know the rest. And there’s that sound bite that will be played on SportsCenter for years to come. Do I feel the media should have a little more respect for a player than that? Absolutely.
But then there are those in the media that actually do have a human side and respect a player that needs to take a little more time after a tough loss to collect him/herself, even if means they'll get nothing until the next day. Let’s take Amber for example. Personally, I think Amber is a GREAT reporter (of course, I’ll won’t overkill on the compliments, since I know you are reading this Amber!), but let’s say that she was the type of reporter that didn’t like the fact that Sarfate made himself unavailable, whether he apologized or not the following day. And then let’s say she was the type that understood as soon as she realized that Sarfate was not available as to why he wouldn’t be. Which reporter would you have more respect for?
My point is, I do think it’s important for each side (player and reporter) to show respect and compassion for the other. Do they have to? No. But in my opinion, a player does have to realize that each reporter has a job to do, and that is to interview them before and after games, win or lose, just like a reporter has to realize that a player is not in their best state after a tough loss, and if something like this happens, it’s nothing personal. I see Amber as being that kind of reporter. Some reporters would dwell on the fact that Sarfate didn’t show up, but she acknowledged that he came to apologize for not doing so. I have even more respect for Amber after reading that than I did before.
“Earning points with the media” could possibly mean that now that Sarfate has done this, if it were to happen again, a reporter like Amber would give him the space he needed, knowing that he would come back the next day and talk to her. To a player, I can imagine that that is the best medicine for them after a tough day on the field. That in turn, would cause interviews with players like Sarfate to come a little easier. Does he have to be that way? No. But if Sarfate blows off a reporter that doesn’t have that human side to them, that means the next time he loses, that reporter will have no compassion and hunt him down anyway. That is, if they can’t catch him walking off the field.
Again, the respect has to go both ways. Please tell me if that makes sense.
Why should a player worry if he's earning points with the media?