J.J. Hardy named AL Player of the Week and the Orioles are still horrible

J.J. Hardy, shortstop of our Baltimore Orioles, was named A.L. Player of the Week earlier today on the MLB Network.

The award was for the week ending August 14th during which Hardy hit .323 (10-for-31) with two doubles, four home runs, six runs scored and a leagueleading 10 RBI.  Hardy also led the league in total bases (24) and his four home runs were good for 2nd in the entire league.

All of Hardy’s solid numbers went to waste of course, as the Orioles went 2-5 over the past week.  Of the 5 losses the Orioles suffered last week 4 came by one run. It is nice to finally have a solid short stop but it is hard to watch this team outside of a few key players.  I can tune in and enjoy watching Markakis, Jones, Hardy, and Weiters.  Outside of that group most of the players just make me sick.

Being forced to watch Felix Pie attempt to play left field is cruel and unusual punishment if I have ever heard of it.  I’m tired of seeing Pie out there when we have the better option in Nolan Reimold available to play everyday.  At least Reimold has shown the ability to hit for a decent average and some pop when given consistent playing time.  His defense is not great but could it be any worse than Pie?  Watching Kevin Gregg come in with an 8-1 lead on Sunday only to give up 4 runs and have the bases loaded with the winning run up, made me absolutely sick.  This guy is as far from a lock down closer as you can get.  His numbers in Toronto showed that he put way too many men on base for him to be a consistent closer.  I don’t feel safe with him in there unless we’re up 3-4 runs, and apparently that may not be safe.  Watching Mark Reynolds come up with guys in scoring position and striking out is disgusting.  My friend and I were driving home from Ocean City Saturday night when the game was on with Mark Reynolds came up in the ninth and we both did not even get excited.  We knew he was going to strike out. He did strike out.

So while the Orioles continue to be the laughing stock of baseball, and put us through the torture of having to watch them every night, at least J.J. Hardy gets recognized for his solid play.  If only we had a team full of guys who want to win like the core I mentioned earlier we might be on to something.  I just have to wonder what the city of Baltimore ever did to deserve this many years of losing. Did Dave Johnson put a curse on the team that will only be removed after his death?  I’m not sure what it was that we did, but I’m gonna apologize for it in hopes that maybe in my lifetime I will get to see the Orioles be a contender.

Hey, at least it’s only 3 weeks until Ravens vs. Steelers.