Patton on fans' expectations

It's leftovers for lunch. Dig in. As I was wrapping up my conversation yesterday with left-hander Troy Patton about the mood inside the clubhouse, the topic shifted to the reaction of fans who seemingly had given up on the 2013 season after the Orioles dropped six of their last eight games. The Orioles had lost only one more game than last season at the same point in the schedule, but the perception was so much different. One theory centered on how more teams are in contention this summer, making it harder for the Orioles to stay in it. Also, the bar has been raised after the organization's first playoff appearance in 15 years. Patton agreed with both arguments. And he had no complaints. "You'd rather have it that way," he said. "You'd rather have them expect us to do well because, low expectations is no way to play. It's not near as fun. "We play with the same expectations, probably greater expectations, than the fans have for us. But the reality is what Buck (Showalter) always says is, these are the best players in the world, so you lose games. Sometimes, they get the best of you. "It is strange how the expectations have heightened quite a bit, but we wouldn't have it any other way. It's a good thing that they are where they are, and hopefully next year will be the same way and they'll have the same high expectations of playoffs and a chance at the World Series. That's always the goal, so if you're expecting less than that, then it's kind of a wasted season. "I welcome the expectations, and if it doens't work out, it doesn't work out. But we're definitely going to try like hell to make it happen." So there.