I’m sitting here writing on a day when I had planned to go over to Harbor Park for a playoff game. I still am stunned that our Tides didn’t take the wildcard spot last Monday. This was not a team that should have been left behind for the first time since 2005. I think it was one of the better teams during the 2005 – 2013 stretch. The absence of the Tides in the IL Playoffs just makes no logical sense.

All of this gloom and doom has led me to an early onset of “The Great Depression”. It happens every year at some point in the fall, but rarely this early. Part of my baseball life has come to an end. My overwhelming sadness at the Tides’ premature departure from this season is tempered somewhat by the excellent baseball being played right now by my Reds in their quest for playoff glory. That’s a topic for another blog, though.

After the early end to the season, a few Tides players did receive good news from the parent club. The Orioles did call up Schoop, Urrutia, and Stinson on Tuesday. We certainly congratulate them on this opportunity.

I plan to continue writing blog entries during this off-season as player news develops, or maybe in the unlikely event that I have a profound thought about something. I’ll also try to post relevant news about former Tides who are playing in the MLB this fall. Please check in here for ongoing developments as Norfolk winds down after the 2013 season and begins to build the 2014 Tides team. This site will also continue to show the current Twitter feed for @NorfolkTides during the off-season.

Good luck to your major league teams this fall! Stick with ricochetralphy.com during this off-season for all of the news I can dig up on our local IL franchise. – RR