MIRACLE IN BALTIMORE?

Buck Showalter (New O's manager)
Earl Weaver (Long ago greatest O's manager)

As I pack for my next five days in Portland for the Veterans for Peace confab, I thought I'd give you all an update on my wayward Baltimore Orioles baseball team.

Right after mid-season the Orioles (O's) fired their second manger this season and hired Buck Showalter who was referred to by sports writers as "the best available manager" in major league baseball. At that time the O's had the worst record in all of the major leagues.

Since Buck took over the O's are 12-8 and playing like we've not seen them for years. Pitchers are pitching, fielders are fielding, and batters are actually hitting the ball. It's like a miracle.

But there is something even bigger that has happened. The O's greatest manager ever was the feisty Earl Weaver who led the team from 1968-1986. During this time the O's won six Eastern Division titles, four American League pennants, and a World Series championship. He was loved in Baltimore.

Since he left it has largely been downhill with the O's having losing seasons the last dozen years.

But enter Buck Showalter. Buck twice won the manager of the year award and soon after arriving in Baltimore just weeks ago people felt they were having a vision. It was like seeing the image of Jesus in a grilled cheese sandwich or upon the foggy window of a bakery on a cold morning.

When people saw Buck in the O's uniform on the field they thought they were seeing Earl Weaver again....and they saw the O's playing in ways that reminded them of better days.

Slowly the fans are daring to return to Camden Yards to see the O's play. When the O's get ahead early in the game fans are holding their breath knowing full well that the pattern has been that the other shoe almost always drops and the O's find a way to lose the game.

But something is happening in Baltimore. The magic of Earl seems to be returning. The O's are winning more than they are losing.

Could Buck be the new Earl of Baltimore?