2013 Orioles – Worry, Worry, Worry? … or Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

Oh what a wretched soul I am here on the cusp of a new season for the Baltimore Orioles! Yes friends, I’m struggling with a case of multiple personality disorder. And it might take six or seven months to successfully nullify this condition!

Let me introduce you to my brain. So how many personalities does it have? Well, at least three that I know of! One is the person writing this article, and I guess his name is Randy. Another guy inside is one who is very morose … I’ll call him Ray, and he walks around inside my head singing, “Worry… Worry, worry, worry, worry … Worry just will not seem to leave my mind alone.”  And then there is a third dude I’ll call Bobby. He’s always wearing sandals, white shorts, and a tropical floral shirt with a colorful parrot on it, and he reggae dances around in my brain happily singing, “In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double; Don’t worry, be happy!”

Mar 9, 2012; Fort Myers, FL, USA; A Baltimore Orioles batting helmet during the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Orioles at JetBlue Park. The Orioles defeated the Red Sox 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Ray says, “Worry, worry, worry … bulging disks are not normal. Randy – you’re twice as old as these boys and even you don’t have the insides of your spinal column leaking through the cracks! This can’t get better … not with diving for balls and running into walls. Don’t put a pretty face on this; it can’t end well… oh worry, worry … and I haven’t even started worrying yet about the old beat-up / beat-down guy in the infield.”

But Bobby sings out, “Don’t worry, be happy … da Reimold mon, he be back better den before! You see – those balls already be a-flyin’ over da Florida fences … and the dude that always be needin’ a shave – he gonna be jus’ fine mon. And if not, they always be some fine boys comin’ up … maybe even one dancin’ my tunes from Cuba – he gonna be a star mon! Just be happy!”

Ray says, “Oh worry, worry … there is such a small sample size with the pair of 9-win starters. Even if they come close to touching the magic of last year, the league will figure them out … as they will the second-season Taiwanese guy … oh worry. And you yourself Randy have had two of those knee surgeries that the top of the order guy has now had … so Randy, how’d that work out for you?… Just what I thought … worry can’t leave my mind since the day I was born.”

But Bobby says, “Yo dude, be happy mon! There are at least six or seven other bros just a holler away who can come in and do dat job … no problems mon. DD be all over dat story … don’t worry, be happy, as da Buck-mon say, ‘next mon up!’”

Ray keeps singing, “Worry, worry, worry …You can’t expect lightening to hit in the same place again this year. Oh trouble, troubles … bullpens are never consistent year to year. The planets have all moved since September. There’s a new lousy team in the league, and the wild cards will come from other divisions. Oh my, troubles everywhere you look!”

Bobby sings louder, “No problems, don’t worry … who dat be da champions of da world rhigt now? Uh-huh … dats rhigt – da boys dat be singin’ my kinda tune and dancing to my step – da Dominicans … you know dem – like dat brother Pedro who gonna be da mon dis year … so don’t worry, be happy!

So, a case can be made for either perspective. One can imagine a great season, as it is difficult to not imagine a strong and winning team if everyone is healthy and performing near their talent capacity. Yet, as we’ve seen, it is difficult to have that scenario develop. The Orioles are far from the only team with injury worries. The wire story headlines are daily filled with problems – like for the Yankees as one example. Just today they are saying that Derek Jeter might not be ready for opening day, and that is but the tip of the iceberg of their trials right now. But even with injuries, it is difficult to remember a time when the Birds organization was so deep at most every position.

So what do you think out there? Are you feeling more like Ray Lamontagne and his song “Troubles”?  Or are you bouncing along with Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”?