I don't know if I will ever live this one down

[Fiver]

I knew that at some point, both the extra innings stat, and the one run game stat - not to mention the not allowing a walk off win stat, and the never losing after leading past 7 innings stat - would come back to bite us in the playoffs. It just had to, those stats were mentioned thousands of times, and eventually, something had to give. So the bad news is, it happened against the Yankees. But the GOOD news is, it all happened in ONE game. So now whatever reverse mojo was working, is done with. I hope.

On another note; in a weird way I feel like it would be a relief if/when they get eliminated. Not saying I WANT them too, just saying that at least I will get my life back if it happens!!! This has really been a stressful run because I want them to keep it going so badly. If it ends, whenever that is, I will at least take solace in the fact that the stress is relieved for a while - trying to look on the bright side here.

[SteveA]

I refuse to let tonight's crushing blow be the defining moment of the 2012 season. Even if we don't advance much farther, this season will still be the most unexpected and magical sports season I've ever witnessed as a fan.

Exactly... when I think of 1989, I think of a ton of different things. Great defense. Devo's home run. The pitching of Ballard and Milacki and Johnson and Harnisch. Beating Clemens on Opening Day. Do I also think about the ball that got past Jamie Quirk in the eliminating loss in Toronto? Sure. But that pitch doesn't DEFINE the season for me. All the great memories of that year defines 1989 for me.

And this team has accomplished even more than the 1989 team did. Last night is not going to define the season for me. 23 years from now I will remember the Chris Davis game in Boston, Taylor Teagarden's winning the games in extra innings, Miguel Gonzalez coming up from the minors and being lights out, unexpected September contributions from Saunders and others, the September wins over the Yankees, the Ranger game, and many, many more things from this season. I will never forget last night, but I don't think it will ever define the season for me, even if we lose tonight.

Maybe I'm wrong, because in some ways Jeffrey Maier DOES define 1996 for me, and the ALCS with Cleveland does in a lot of ways define 1997 for me. I remember other things from those seasons, but not as vividly as some of the things I remember from 1989. I think in memory this year is going to be more like 1989 and less like 96-97.

[Gofannon]

Exactly... when I think of 1989, I think of a ton of different things. Great defense. Devo's home run. The pitching of Ballard and Milacki and Johnson and Harnisch. Beating Clemens on Opening Day. Do I also think about the ball that got past Jamie Quirk in the eliminating loss in Toronto? Sure. But that pitch doesn't DEFINE the season for me. All the great memories of that year defines 1989 for me.

And this team has accomplished even more than the 1989 team did. Last night is not going to define the season for me. 23 years from now I will remember the Chris Davis game in Boston, Taylor Teagarden's winning the games in extra innings, Miguel Gonzalez coming up from the minors and being lights out, unexpected September contributions from Saunders and others, the September wins over the Yankees, the Ranger game, and many, many more things from this season. I will never forget last night, but I don't think it will ever define the season for me, even if we lose tonight.

Maybe I'm wrong, because in some ways Jeffrey Maier DOES define 1996 for me, and the ALCS with Cleveland does in a lot of ways define 1997 for me. I remember other things from those seasons, but not as vividly as some of the things I remember from 1989. I think in memory this year is going to be more like 1989 and less like 96-97.

This is a great post. To go back a little more, to me 1979 is defined by the DeCinces home run and the start of Orioles Magic more than Stargell's home run and the We Are Family mess.

[PeteU]

Exactly... when I think of 1989, I think of a ton of different things. Great defense. Devo's home run. The pitching of Ballard and Milacki and Johnson and Harnisch. Beating Clemens on Opening Day. Do I also think about the ball that got past Jamie Quirk in the eliminating loss in Toronto? Sure. But that pitch doesn't DEFINE the season for me. All the great memories of that year defines 1989 for me.

And this team has accomplished even more than the 1989 team did. Last night is not going to define the season for me. 23 years from now I will remember the Chris Davis game in Boston, Taylor Teagarden's winning the games in extra innings, Miguel Gonzalez coming up from the minors and being lights out, unexpected September contributions from Saunders and others, the September wins over the Yankees, the Ranger game, and many, many more things from this season. I will never forget last night, but I don't think it will ever define the season for me, even if we lose tonight.

Maybe I'm wrong, because in some ways Jeffrey Maier DOES define 1996 for me, and the ALCS with Cleveland does in a lot of ways define 1997 for me. I remember other things from those seasons, but not as vividly as some of the things I remember from 1989. I think in memory this year is going to be more like 1989 and less like 96-97.

Exactly......when the Orioles first seemed to be "for real" this year, the team that everyone started to draw comparisons with was that 1989 team. 1989 may have been a close loss in the division race in the end, but it was a major moral victory after losing over 100 games the year before, including the first 21 of the season. For many people on here, myself included, 1989 was for all intents and purposes a championship team of sorts. Even if we lose the ALDS/ALCS/World Series this year, after the first few days of heartbreak we will look back most fondly on this 2012 Orioles team.

[Orioles0615]

I went to bed after the bottom of the 9th, i had a bad feeling after that it wasn't going to end well.

[OFFNY]

I don't Know if I will ever Live this One Down

Undefeated when leading after 7 innings.

16 straight extra inning wins.

No walk off losses all year.

30-9 in one run games.

And we lose to the friggin' Yankees in the playoffs.

I need to go throw up now.

One more win and this game will be remembered as nothing more than a footnote, Frank.

[Aristotelian]

"Exactly......when the Orioles first seemed to be "for real" this year, the team that everyone started to draw comparisons with was that 1989 team. 1989 may have been a close loss in the division race in the end, but it was a major moral victory after losing over 100 games the year before, including the first 21 of the season. For many people on here, myself included, 1989 was for all intents and purposes a championship team of sorts. Even if we lose the ALDS/ALCS/World Series this year, after the first few days of heartbreak we will look back most fondly on this 2012 Orioles team."

I so totally agree with this. Of all the O's teams, the '89 team was the most fun to root for. '83 and '97 were better teams, but '89 is my favorite. They just played with so much heart after some very difficult seasons. This team has the same dynamic, but they were coming off a worse bad period and may actually make the ALCS. Orioles Magic is back regardless of what happens in Game 5.

[Frobby]

One more win and this game will be remembered as nothing more than a footnote, Frank.

True enough. After tonight's win, yesterday's loss doesn't seem half as tragic because we didn't let it drag us down. Even if we lose on Friday, the Wednesday game won't seem like it necessarily cost the series. Maybe if we had won that game, the Yankees would have found a way to win today and we'd be in game 5 anyway. And if we do win on Friday, Wednesday's game just makes the series win all the sweeter.

[OFFNY]

I Don't Know if I will Ever Live this One Down

Undefeated when leading after 7 innings.

16 straight extra inning wins.

No walk off losses all year.

30-9 in one run games.

And we lose to the friggin' Yankees in the playoffs.

I need to go throw up now.

One more win and this game will be remembered as nothing more than a footnote, Frank.

True enough. After tonight's win, yesterday's loss doesn't seem half as tragic because we didn't let it drag us down. Even if we lose on Friday, the Wednesday game won't seem like it necessarily cost the series. Maybe if we had won that game, the Yankees would have found a way to win today and we'd be in game 5 anyway. And if we do win on Friday, Wednesday's game just makes the series win all the sweeter.

Good thread, and nice dialogue. I think that I feel almost exactly as you do right about now.

Most importantly, the players responded as I suspected that they would by coming right back and winning Game Four, and not having any of the proverbial "carryover" from the previous game's crushing loss. They had been doing that all season long after disheartening losses, and Game Four of the A.L.D.S. was no exception.

I do take some comfort in knowing that our loss to the Yankees in this series had nothing to do with a letdown from that game.

[Frobby]

Good thread, and nice dialogue. I think that I feel almost exactly as you do right about now.

Most importantly, the players responded as I suspected that they would by coming right back and winning Game Four, and not having any of the proverbial "carryover" from the previous game's crushing loss. They had been doing that all season long after disheartening losses, and Game Four of the A.L.D.S. was no exception.

I do take some comfort in knowing that our loss to the Yankees in this series had nothing to do with a letdown from that game.

Game 3 is always going to bug me. If JJ comes in and gets three outs, or if we somehow pull it out in extra innings as we did so many times in 2012, maybe we never would have had to face Sabathia in Game 5. But let's face it, blowing a 1-run lead in the 9th isn't exactly an uncommon occurence. It happens to most closers about 25% of the time that they are in that situation, according to a little study I did in 2011. I just wish it hadn't happened that time, while playing that team. But I have seen much worse things happen in these playoffs a couple of times already.