The Death of Sports Joy in the DMV
By: Jeff McDonough
It is said that the majority of people die within 50 miles
of where they were born. I don’t think I can verify the statistical validity of that claim,
but the takeaway is resounding. Where we’re born and where we grow up has a
huge determination on the rest of our lives. Even for those of us who actually
do leave their birthplace, we carry our hometown with us wherever we end up. A
big tie-in with our hometown attachments is often a devotion to the local
sports teams — and you’ve come to the Sports Addict, what other angle did you
expect?
When the local teams lose, a cloud of despair is cast
citywide. Also, sometimes they riot. When the local teams win, the whole area is abuzz. Just look at Kansas
City. The Royals won their first World Series in 30 years on Sunday and on
Tuesday they held their championship parade. The turnout was an estimated 800,000 people, which is even more astounding when you consider
the city’s population is only 470,000. The pride of fans is never more on
display than after a championship victory. Also, sometimes they riot. Here in the DMV — for those of you that don’t know, that is an
acronym representing the Mid-Atlantic region of DC, Maryland and Virginia —
times have been rough lately. Like really, really rough. We are currently mired in a six-month stretch of misery that
no sporting fanbase should have to endure. It all started back on the dark night of
May 13, but I’ll get to that later. I am going to postulate that every single
major local team is some combination of bad, embarrassing, disappointing and/or
heartbreaking chokers.
An Ode to Andy MacPhail, the GM Who Brought the Orioles Back to Prominence
By: Jeff McDonough
This moment in the 2015 Baltimore Orioles season could be remembered
as the low point from which they rebounded, or as the beginning of the end from
which they never recovered. Time will only tell — though I’m leaning toward the
latter at the moment. On Wednesday, the O’s fell victim to a no-hitter for the first time in
seven years at the hands of the Mariners’ Hisashi Iwakuma — the second
Asian-born pitcher ever to throw a no-hitter after Japan’s Hideo Nomo, who also
no-hit the Orioles back in 2001. This closed a turbulent West Coast road trip,
where the team lost two games in extra innings — both due to a shallow bullpen
that forced ineffectual relievers to remain in the game after they had walked the
bases loaded.
With seven players set to hit free agency this offseason — including red-hot
slugger Chris Davis, three-time All-Star Matt Wieters and dominant reliever
Darren O’Day — this current era of success in Baltimore could possibly be
coming to a close. Meanwhile, 90 miles up I-95, the Philadelphia Phillies —
currently the worst team in baseball — are beginning a new era with recently-hired
Team President Andy MacPhail in charge. He, of course, served in the same role
in Baltimore for four years before Dan Duquette took over after the 2011
season. MacPhail was also the man behind the Kirby Puckett-Era Twins teams that
won two World Series, serving as general manager from 1985 to 1994. He left
Minnesota that year to become President and CEO of the Cubs and presided over
the Sammy Sosa-Era in Chicago. While his dozen years there did not result in a
championship like his previous post, he did usher in arguably the most
successful era of Cubs baseball of the last 70 years — including the 2003 team
that found itself five outs from the World Series before exploding into a million pieces.
MacPhail’s four and a half seasons in Baltimore were viewed as pretty
unremarkable — both when they ended and while they were going on. Why wouldn’t
they be? They were a “rebuilding” team that failed to win even 70 games for
five consecutive years. It was the previous regime that had shown at least some
promise — after the big signings of Miguel Tejada and Javy López — in the 2005
season, where the O’s were in first place as late as June 23 with four
All-Stars before falling off a cliff after the break. And it is this new regime
headed by Duquette that has seen the birds end their 14-year playoff drought
with three straight winning seasons — and on pace for a fourth. The high water mark came last year after sweeping the Tigers in the ALDS, when the Orioles found themselves in the final four as Vegas favorites to win the World Series. Duquette was named MLB Executive of the Year, so you'd think this column would be all about his accomplishments, right? Well, there’s
reason to dwell on MacPhail’s time in B-more, as I’d argue he, not Dan
Duquette, is the person most responsible for this current era of Oriole
prominence.
