If you haven't done so already, read Rick Dempsey's latest MASN blog posting, "Who, What, When, and Where We Are." It's the perfect antidote to the pessimism and frustration of another disappointing August in Baltimore.
The excerpts below don't do justice to the full piece, which reveals Dempsey's love for the city, the team, and its fans as well as his belief that the Orioles can win in the A.L. East.
Who we are is very important. We are the Orioles.If I were better with PhotoShop I would create an image of Rick Dempsey as William Wallace from Braveheart.
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What we are right now is a power in the making.
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When will we win again? - When they themselves start to believe it.
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Where are we right now? - Better than our record indicates.
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It's a state of mind--I BELIEVE.
Just change some of Wallace's words from the movie, and you can imagine Dempsey saying them to his young team:
[More after the jump.]
"Aye, fight and you may lose. Run to the North, and you'll win... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the wins, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell the Evil Empires that they may take our free agents, but they'll never take... OUR TITLE!"Or this to, say, Matt Wieters:
"Now tell me, what does that mean to be noble? Your skills give you claim to the captain of our team, but men don't follow captains, they follow courage. Now our players know you. Noble, and common, they respect you. And if you would just lead them to the post-season, they'd follow you. And so would I."Dempsey writes as if he's giving an impassioned clubhouse speech, and based on the comments in response to the post some fans wouldn't mind that being the case.
To his absolute credit, Dempsey offers a response to each comment and makes it clear that he's not jockeying for the manager's position. However, he wouldn't turn it down if given the opportunity.
Most interesting is his response to commenter Burto.
Burto said:Rick,
Great blog! This is exactly why I've said countless times over the years that you need to manage this team. There's no question in my mind about this. You love the Orioles, bleed orange and black, and you call it like it is. I just have a feeling that you as manager could get one helluva lot more out of this talent then what is happening currently. Just my opinion.
Also, my buddy and I met you on Opening Day of this year and tried to get a picture with you, but I had no clue how to use my buddy's camera phone. Not sure if you remember that, but we stopped you 3 times trying to make it work. You were a real gentlemen even to two guys fumbling with technology. I'll always appreciate that.
Thanks Rick!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Burto:
What you believe --I believe. But I'm not the one to make that decision. meanwhile I just want to see the O's win regardless.
The film got its start when Rick Dempsey sat down for a chat with lifelong Orioles fan and improbably handsome That Thing You Do! star Jonathan Schaech*, who then wrote this script with Richard Chizmar and Josh Wolf. Schaech described the story to Variety as "'Catch Me if You Can' meets 'Bad News Bears' with a touch of 'Bad Santa.'" Now that's a description to get us on board.