Orioles Victory Card Number 50: They finally broke me

Baltimore Orioles Victory Number 50: 5-3 over the Seattle Mariners

2018 Topps Chrome 1983 Chance Sisco Autograph

I've been doing this for two seasons now. I've posted a total of 97 cards over that time, way less than I thought I would have to when I started this project. In between postings I've watched a lot of losses. A lot of losses. Not that was not to be expected, especially this season.

You have to gear yourself up when you know you're looking at a 100+ loss season, especially if you want to stay positive throughout most of those losses. Still, there is a breaking point. For me it was loss 103 - the 11-10 defeat at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.

It wasn't just that they had led 7-1 midway through the game or that they went into the ninth with a 9-5 lead. It was knowing that they were going to blow it once Billy McKinney walked to load the bases. Miguel Castro is still just 24 years-old and has the pitches needed to be an effective reliever at the major league level. Yet, there are nights when he can't find the strike zone.

Wednesday was one of those nights. It was painful watching him miss with slider after slider. Even after he struck out Bo Bichette, there was no relief in tension. The Orioles had arms in the bullpen (even if Hunter Harvey had been shut down for the year). It might have been Brandon Hyde seeing how his young right-hander would react to a stressful situation. Or, he just didn't manage it correctly.

Whatever it was, it was just a bit too much for me. Even the comeback attempt in the bottom of the inning rang hollow (yes there was a slight, split second of hope that DJ Stewart's drive to right was going to leave the yard).

I still ended up watching parts of games the last two nights, but my heart isn't really in it. I'm at the point where I'm watching other games to see who I want to root for in the playoffs (probably the Rays and Dodgers) and to see if St. Louis can hold on to the division so that I can cash another bet (my Pirates bet is already good to go).

Hockey season is right around the corner as well so my attention is starting to head in that direction (nice to see the Lightning finally show up for a pre-season game). With a little over a week to go, I have enough cards loaded up to finish out this season (maybe we'll end with an even 100), but I'm not sure if I want to do this again next season.