The Matt Wieters Era is here.
It officially begins Friday night against the Detroit Tigers when the can't-miss catching phenom goes 4-for-4 with a couple of moonshots into the bleachers, performs spectacularly behind the plate and wraps up a flawless post-game interview with MASN sideline superstar Amber Theoharis
Look, this guy is so good he'll probably even duck the shaving-cream pie they try to smush in his face when it's all over.
Think that's putting too much pressure on the kid?
Why should I be any different from everybody else?
Oh, the Orioles are trying to temper expectations, which is a good thing. Give him a little space, general manager Andy MacPhail and manager Dave Trembley say.
But fans don't want to hear about ratcheting down expectations.
No, the fan base - what's left of it - seems totally energized over Wieters' arrival. And that's why bringing him up from the minors was the perfect move for the team to make at this time.
"I think it's fantastic," Bill Stiffler of Bel Air said. "He's just a very important step in the rebuilding you're starting to see here."
Stiffler, a community college professor, was at Camden Yards with his son, Greg, who's also a community college professor. But both recognized that the idea of Wieters' being some kind of team savior - the sports talk shows have been hammering this theme for weeks - is ridiculous.
"There is a lot riding on him," Greg Stiffler said. "You don't want to be unfair to the guy. But he did have a lot of buzz [surrounding] him, even from the beginning."
After announced crowds of 10,130 and 13,713 at Camden Yards the past two days - it was so empty Tuesday night you would have thought they were playing club soccer - there was zero energy in the place.
But with Wieters' call-up, "there's definitely been a spike" in ticket sales, Orioles public relations director Monica Barlow said before the Orioles' 12-10 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday. "I think we'll see the biggest spike in the walk-up to Friday's game."
Friday is also Student Night ($6 tickets with a school ID) and the team's first fireworks night, which are always decent draws.
So expect a big turnout - I'm thinking at least 40,000 - when Wieters trots behind the plate before the national anthem.
And if his heart isn't pounding and his hands aren't a little sweaty, there's something definitely wrong with the guy.
