Orioles' fans have, dare I say it, .................Hope?

Hope - A wish or desire accompanied by confident expectation of its fulfillment.

When is the last time that the Oriole fanbase, which I am now calling the Oriole Republic because if idiot Red Sox fans can be a Nation then we can be a Republic dammit!, had hope? Especially in the Peter Angelos' era?

The answer is 1997, that's right the last time the Orioles had a winning record and coincidently the last time they made the playoffs as well. What's also at times forgotten about that year, the Orioles were only the 2nd team in Major League history to go Wire to Wire, that's right they were in 1st Place from Opening Day to the last day of the season. Since that magical year its been a long suffering decade of being "mired in mediocrity" as I've been known to say from time to time. The downfalls of this depressing decade are numerous:

• Baltimore was taken off the road jerseys
• Mike Mussina was allowed to go to the hated Yankees
• Davey Johnson was fired after the 97 season the day he was named Manager of the Year
• Pat Gillick and Jon Miller were fired
• Our beloved Oriole Park at Camden Yards is known as "Fenway" and "Yankee Stadium" South so road games for the Red Sox and Yankees seem eerily like road games for the O's

I could go on with this list but that would totally contradict the point of this blog. So even with all these travesties, I dare to dream and announce that the Orioles' Republic can rejoice in a renewed feeling of hope. Why you ask, I'll tell you:

The Baltimore Orioles signed 1st round pick Matt Wieters!

That's right, just by simply doing something they were supposed to do they have now given us a reason for hope. Signing arguably the best player in the draft, who fell to the 5th pick because of his agent being Scott Boras, is a step in the right direction. It finally shows that maybe, just maybe the front office is focused on competing in the American League East, something that signing a Jay Payton, Aubrey Huff, and Steve Traschel somehow failed to convey. (Yes that's sarcasm)

Now before you go lambasting me for drinking the Orange koolaid, I merely advocate this is the 1st step in the right direction. The front office still needs to extend the contracts of Erik Bedard, one half of The Lefty Canadian Contingent, and Brian Roberts. They still need to continue to rebuild the farm system and draft well in the coming years. They still need to put Baltimore back on the road jerseys. And I could keep going on with things that they still need to do to accomplish the goal of competing in the American League East, but as Conficius once said:

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Orioles Republic, the signing of Matt Wieters is that single step!