Russell Street Report Street Talk O’s Woes Could be Ravens’ Gain

NEWS FLASH: THE ORIOLES ARE BAD.

I wouldn’t go as far as saying they are ‘historically bad’ because it’s still early and most of us experienced 1988, and then 1998-2011, but it’s safe to say this version of the Yard Birds, currently at 6-16, is without question one of the worst we’ve seen in quite some time. As a fan base, we went into the ’18 season thinking “okay… the rotation isn’t great. But hey! The bats and bullpen should be enough to keep us in games!”

Two weeks later, we’re collectively laughing at a bullpen that’s produced more hits in 2018 than Taylor Swift, and sans Manny Machado swinging the hot stick, a collective group of batting averages that have my 7-8 Orioles little league team asking me if they can be traded away out of embarrassment.

Speaking of Manny Machado, how awful does it feel to see your best player, a once-in-a-generation talent, absolutely crushing it as he works towards that big deal in 2019… that won’t be coming from the team that drafted him?

Indeed, it seems we’ve entered the Dark Days once again in Baltimore baseball (head on over to Eutaw Street Report for plenty more on that)… but perhaps there’s a silver lining here.

Not for the Orioles. For the Ravens.

Back on Orioles Opening Day, I discussed my internal struggle regarding whether Baltimore is still a baseball town, or if a full-180 has turned us into a football city. If you were to look at the Ravens 2017 season, coupled with the start of the Orioles 2018 season? I’d say it’s neither – just a sports-depressed town (but not as bad as DC, who is quite obviously cursed).

BUT! Perhaps this is the time for the Ravens to swoop in (nice play on words), and steal the hearts of the city while their bird brethren are looking like the Cleveland Browns of baseball, all while putting the proverbial butts back in the proverbial seats (and the real asses in the real seats, too).

The first step in regaining the hearts of the casual Baltimore sports fan is already under way, as the team has made a valiant effort to retool the wide receivers room, with what I consider to be ‘hands’ guys. Michael Crabtree can’t exactly separate, but he can make the contested catches that we so thoroughly enjoyed from the days of Anquan Boldin and Steve Smith Sr., John Brown has injury issues, but his potential is through the roof, and newly minted Raven, Willie Snead, is a year removed from a 900+ yard season. All have the ability to make the tough catches that the Ravens lacked last year, and should the group stay healthy and focused, this could be a substantially better trio than the 2017 Maclin-Wallace-Perriman/Camp/Moore debacle.

Progress is being made, but fans are without a doubt still skeptical.

Enter, NFL Draft.

The Ravens currently hold the 16th overall pick in the first round, and six picks overall. The time to make a splash is now. This isn’t saying they need to draft only skill position players, or even draft a skill guy at 16 (I think that would be a mistake/reach); this is simply saying that the Ravens can’t go status quo, and doing the same three things they tend to do every draft:

-focus on defense

-no wide receivers until the 5th round or later

-draft Bama players (I just don’t want to hear the lazy narrative anymore)

If the Ravens can manage to pull in a great draft class with some skill players that intrigue fans? They’ll continue to draw folks back into their fandom, and get Ravens water cooler chatter kicking off in April, as opposed to August/September. You know, just like it did back before the current Orioles resurgence – the one that seems to have ended.

Now imagine if the Ravens start the season with a solid roster and actually start winning games. Winning divisional games, games versus playoff-caliber teams, and start a hot streak just as the Orioles’ (likely) miserable season comes to an abrupt halt.

Suddenly, the city of Baltimore is starting to paint the town in purple once again, celebrating Purple Friday on a weekly basis, and if all goes well? Having actual fantasy players to discuss in starting lineups.

CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE?

As for the Orioles, the writing is on the wall for a lost season that’s likely to only get worse over time (losing Manny is going to sting). The Ravens need to take the opportunity presented to them and draw fan interest at every turn while they can, before the Orioles return to prominence.

Look, we all love it when BOTH local teams are kicking butts and taking names. Heck, this is still one of our most downloaded FB cover photos:

That aside though, the bottom line is that most sports fans have a limited budget for their obsession – for game tickets, for swag, for time spent in front of the TV watching games without having to worry about being served divorce papers. The portion of that budget spent on purple has dwindled in recent years. Now that it looks like the Orioles are in for a few more years of cellar-dwelling, the time is NOW for the Ravens to pounce and get that pendulum swinging back to their side of Russell Street.

Here’s hoping they take advantage.