Enormously satisfying season

[Barnaby Graves]

I wanted to write this in the middle of the game, while we're tied, so if we win later people won't think I wrote this just because I was in a good mood

Thorne and Palmer were going on about the news around the league. The Angels have caught the A's and the Royals have caught the Tigers. For the first time in a long time I think there is a power vacuum, culturally, in baseball. The Yankees and Red Sox are trash, there are a lack of distinct, big-offense stars, Jeter is retiring, a lot of big names are off their usual game and there's not a lot of names to take their place. Offense is down around the league. I feel like we are pulling back from a flashy, star-orientated game back into a game about team composition. There's Mike Trout and then there's 749 flawed players.

Just kind of a rant I guess, maybe it's also a change in the way I watch and appreciate the game.

The Orioles play a patently exciting brand of baseball. Impressive defense, big power, lots of tight ballgames. I was resigned to the fact there couldn't be another season like 2012. So far Davis has not closed a game but most of the 2012 mojo is back.

Looking forward to the stretch run, I think the races are going to be great.