Maybe if placed in this context, the phrase won’t make you want to put your fist through a wall. Or snap Kent Tekulve like a twig.
A 7-1 loss in Game 5 meant nothing, I kept telling myself. The Series is going back to Baltimore. The Orioles can clinch at home. Perfect!
Often forgotten is how the Orioles actually held a 1-0 lead in Game 5 before the Pirates scored twice in the sixth off Mike Flanagan, twice more in the seventh and three times in the eighth. Pittsburgh manager Chuck Tanner’s mother died that morning.
Quick quiz: Which Pirates pitcher was credited with the win in Game 7? Answer to follow.
I’m looking forward to seeing Nate McLouth play for the first time, just to see what all the fuss is about. And I’ll try to duck inside the visiting clubhouse and shake hands with “fresh hands,” Chris Gomez, who got the nickname with the Orioles because he went so long between at-bats, his hands were always fresh.
At Single-A Frederick, Timothy Bascom allowed two runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. Matt Wieters broke a 3-3 tie with a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Billy Rowell had an RBI double.
Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for Hayden Penn to come off the seven-day disabled list.
In an earlier entry, I wondered how the Orioles were going to slide Luis Hernandez into Norfolk’s lineup without taking too many at-bats away from Brandon Fahey. Believe it or not, Hernandez served as the designated hitter last night – batting ninth.
Quiz answer: Former Orioles reliever Grant Jackson.