Say, what game were they playing?

To SOME baseball is the perfect game. Ha!
Not after Wednesday's slide into the far reaches of mediocrity when the Baltimore Orioles became the laughing stock of the diamond brigade.
Now, as I've said before, the hit-and-catch game has always rated No. 1 for its purity despite overtones of steroids use by certain so-called superstars in this new century.
However, perhaps, I still live in another era when the Splendid Splinter -- Ted Williams -- and Stan The Man Musial were the reigning kings of their domain and I really thought Abner Doubleday actually invented the game..
Of course, I've written before about the gentle names of major-league teams such as the Red Sox and White Sox, the Cubbies, the Blue Jays compared to the certainly more gruff names associated with the football Bears and the Lions.
But that's another scenario.
So what's your point, Corbett?
Oh, right, it's about the Orioles and their loss to the Texas Rangers the other night.
It wasn't a baseball score; it was a one-sided football massacre. Baltimore 3 compared to Texas 30. That's right 30-3.
For those who live and die with statistics, it had been some 110 years since a major-league team had scored 30 runs in a single game. And for all who want to know, I wasn't around on June 28, 1897 when the Chicago Colts (now the Cubs) routed Louisville 36-7 in a National League game.
It was quite an eye-opener for Baltimore manager Dave Trembley, who had just learned he would be managing the O's in 2008.
Now there was something amiss when Rangers' Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who started out with a batting average of .179, and over the course of nine innings ended up with a respectable .262 average by going 4-for-6.
And then there was David Murphy, who gathered in five of the Rangers' 29 hits.
Of course, it was quite a slamfest for Travis Metcalf, who had just been called up from Triple-A Oklahoma and he was quoted in an AP story as saying, "Thirty is a football score, not a baseball score. It was a great day."
Incidentally, the 30-3 "massacre" was followed up by Texas' 9-7 victory in the second half of the twin bill.
T.R. Sullivan for MLB.com quoted Texas manager Ron Washington as saying, "It was awesome."
Yes, indeed, it was totally awesome.
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SPEAKING OF BASEBALL: When the Ol' Columnist went searching for diamonds in the rough, I peered into the Best of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader and found some stories behind some team names such as:
Los Angeles Dodgers: Formed in Brooklyn in 1890. Now that town had hundreds of trolleys zigzagging through its streets and, of course, they first were known as the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers. They later moved to LA in 1958. Boo-hoo.
Cleveland Indians. From 1869 to 1912, the "Mistake By The Lake" tossed around such names as Forest Citys, the Naps and the Spiders. After Luis Francisco Sockalexis, the first American Indian to play in the Bigs, died in 1913, the team was renamed in his honour.
Oh, yes, how could I forget my favorite club, the Chicago Cubs. At one time they were known as the Colts and the Orphans, although unofficially. Then a sportswriter in 1902 tagged them the Cubs because it was short enough to fit into a headline. It stuck.
Then there were the New York Yankees, who once were known as Highlanders or Hightoppers. After World War I, the name was changed to the more patriotic Yankees.
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WORST LOSSES IN SPORTS HISTORY: David Schoenfield of ESPN wasn't shy about picking his top 100 losers. And, yes, he socked it to the Orioles, slotting them No. 8 on the list. However, I have only room for listing five of Schoenfield's duds before running out of space. Here are my faves: 1. Orioles. That's because of their 30-3 bashing; 2. 1940 NFL championship as Chicago Bears bopped the Redskins 73-0. And no, I didn't see the game; 3. Golfing's Tiger by 15 strokes in the 2000 U.S. Open; 4. Road Runner versus Wile E. Coyote; 5. Georgia Tech 222, Cumberland 0 in 1916. And, again, I wasn't around for that one, either.