It could be worse

The Orioles are 17-46 through 63 games. The 1988 team was 16-47. Now there's a race you can follow. That '88 team was the worst in franchise history, losing 107 games after that horrific 0-21 start. Loss No. 47 was a 1-0 heartbreaker in Detroit, where Mike Boddicker went seven strong innings and had only aggravation - and another defeat - to show for it. At least he didn't stray from the theme of the season. That team won it's next game, so the Orioles will need to do the same tonight to stay ahead. Bill Scherrer was a left-handed reliever for the '88 team. Well, for four games, anyway. As he told me yesterday, he never got to wear the white uniform. Scherrer declined an assignment to Triple-A and elected to become a free agent on May 2, the day that the 1-23 Orioles returned home and played before a packed house at Memorial Stadium (I sat in the stands that night.) He joined them on the road and left them after checking into a downtown hotel and receiving a phone call from general manager Roland Hemond - one that he anticipated after picking up the local newspaper and reading how he was expected to be optioned. Scherrer was the pitcher of record for loss No. 20, in Minnesota, so he has that going for him. I'm sure he'd rather talk about his three World Series rings, with Detroit in 1984 as a player, Florida in 1997 as a scout and the Chicago White Sox in 2005 as a scout and special assistant to GM Kenny Williams. For what it's worth, Scherrer offers a more positive report on this year's team than the '88 club. "I think this team is better," he said. "That's probably why so many people here are disappointed. They have some established players and some good young players." Scherrer pointed to right and center field, and to home plate. He mentioned Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman and Jake Arrieta. While discussing the '88 team, he brought up the names of veterans who were on the way down. You don't think tonight's game in San Francisco means anything? The Orioles are in a heated race. Unfortunately, it's against themselves.