Hello, Mr. Reimold and More Importantly, HELLO MR. WIETERS!!!

Wow, this week is so exciting as an Orioles fan.  So, yeah we all know about how the team was down by 5 in the middle of the game, then came back in the 8th and then blew it in the 11th, and then Nolan Reimold hit a 3-run shot to win it, and got pied in his post-game interview.  Yeah, all of that’s fine and dandy.  But some other things are much, much, much cooler happening this week. Here’s a list, ranked by how excited I am about each event.

1. MATT WIETERS HAS ARRIVED!!!!! Dos Equis should sign him up for their ad, scratch that old Mexican guy who gets all the attractive ladies.
2. #1 causes #2, and that is that we don’t have to suffer through Chad Moeller and Gregg Zaun anymore.  For what it’s worth, I think they did fine for the circumstances that they faced, with Wieters knocking on the door, and the fans being so impatient.
3. The system’s top two hitting prospects are in the majors now.  Wieters and Reimold are exciting enough, but when you add them to Jones and Markakis, and even Brandon Snyder, who should be up some time this year, things look exciting.
4. David Hernandez has also arrived.  Great stuff, great composure, should be a solid starter.
5. Jason Berken has arrived.  He’s one of these guys who doesn’t overpower or come at you with incredible stuff, but knows how to pitch, and knows how to win.  Just the guy that the O’s need in their rotation.

Believe it or not, that was the first O’s sweep since July of last year against the Astros, and their first against an AL team since the second series of last season, against Seattle.  Another intriguing fact, the team had been 0-24 when trailing in the 7th inning this season.  Now it looks much more encouraging at 1-24!!!! (insert sarcasm laugh).  So, this Friday, a sellout is expected, so definitely get your tickets now.  I’ll be there, I think Michael will be there, and here comes exciting thing #6

6. Hopefully, Friday’s game will sell out.  This will be the first sellout that wasn’t a Yankees or Red Sox game in a long time, a  very, very, very long time.  And it’s just for one guy.

I just really hope that the sellout (or close to sellout crowd), the giant expectations and his monstrous path in the minors won’t be too much for Matt Wieters to overcome and succeed in the MLB.  I’ve read Moneyball, the book about the Oakland A’s and how they won without money.  It specifically addresses GM Billy Beane and profiles his struggles from having the biggest expectations of any prospect ever in the draft.  He ended up retiring when he was 30, and becoming an advance scout for the team.  I think that we can be this excited for Wieters for a couple weeks, but we need to accept him when he’s struggling as much as when he’s hitting the cover off of the ball, because he means too much to this team to flounder for the big club.

So, come Friday, unless he lives up to the hype totally 100% and is Rookie of the Year, and makes an MVP run, you won’t hear me ripping on him or calling him the greatest player ever.  I’m going to go through the struggles with Wieters, like I did with Jones and Daniel Cabrera and even Erik Bedard and his inconsistencies.  I am pretty pumped though.