And There Wasn't Even A Curve

Steve Henson gave out his mid-season grades this week. The Orioles were given a B- (the only team to receive that particular grade, and the 13th "ranked" team) with the following comment:

"Such a shame the Orioles are in a division with those powerhouse Rays, and, oh by the way, the Red Sox and Yankees as well. This has quietly become an excellent team six days a week. Inexplicably, the Orioles have lost 12 in a row on Sundays, having won on Sunday only on April 6, dragging them into fourth place."

He doesn't say much about the actual team, but the point about their 1-13 Sunday record is fair. The team is 42-27 every other day of the week (a .609 winning percentage) - if the team played at that same level on Sundays then they would be 51-32 and only a half-game behind the Rays for the AL East lead and the best record in baseball. In an effort to break the streak (okay, to put more butts in the seats) the O's are running a promotion this Sunday against the Rangers where if the team wins then all those with tickets to the game will get free tickets (in the same area) to a later game. That's pretty cool - it's the kind of thing a team whose been losing for ten years should do to get back their fan base.