That was all pre-2010, when trips to Baltimore stopped coming with a three-day, two-night, three-win guarantee. The Red Sox are just 8-9 in Camden Yards over the last two years. More accurately, it was all pre-Buck Showalter, whose teams have not only played with more fire than previous Orioles editions, but who seemingly carries a strong desire to stick it to the Sox.
Showalter's comments in March gave some indication as to how he felt about his divisional rivals. Perhaps those comments were blown a bit out of proportion, or maybe he was just doing his job and trying to light a fire under his underdog team, something to let his players know they cannot be intimidated by the big dogs in the American League East.
Either way, that vibe continued amid a four-game Boston sweep at Fenway Park in July that featured some horrendous play by the Orioles but a clear intent to not let the Sox get away with it without some repercussions. There was the Kevin Gregg–David Ortiz incident, multiple ejections and the sight of Showalter doing his fast-walk in and out of the dugout all series long, taking every chance to speak to an umpire or pull a pitcher or just strategize with his infield atop the mound. Anything he could do to compete as hard as he can, even if the scoreboard was not in his favor.
Red Sox fans hated it. Showalter probably loved it. The seed for a rise up the standings has to be planted in moments like that, and in those with which the Orioles have been presented in the past week. They have taken four of six meetings with Boston and have an opportunity Wednesday night to play the ultimate spoiler.
While Baltimore may not have made the leap forward in the standings just yet, the players have competed for Showalter, who is 102-116 since taking over last August (compared to previous Orioles skippers, that's not half bad). And they've played their best when the games matter most, at least to their opponents. The O's are 14-12 this September against Boston, New York, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Detroit and Anaheim. Overall, they are five games above .500 under Showalter in games played in August and September over the last two years.
Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, as confident as they come, uttered this line Tuesday night when asked about entering the final day of the season tied: "I expect Tampa to win tomorrow and I expect us to win tomorrow."
That's a legit prediction for Papelbon. He has confidence in his team, and is fully prepared to go the distance for a chance at October glory. However, it's is a tad more muted than it might've been if it was made between 1999 and 2009, when the Sox were 67-28 in Camden Yards and almost always played teams that packed it in well before the pennant race heated up (Baltimore was 4-27 against Boston at home in September during that 11-year run of futility).
One big reason why tonight is not given for the Red Sox is Showalter. He knows his season ends with the final out. He'd love to do his part in ending someone else's.
