The Rivalry That Does Not Exist: O's vs. Nationals Play Kick Off the Annual Battle of the Beltway: The Bird & Screech Face Off...

Well, the non-existent rivalry between the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles kicks off tonight at the Yard. What can we say -- right now, no one cares that the team formerly known as the Expos are playing the recently-down-on-their luck Orioles. The reason is simple -- aside from the few people 40 and over who were around to see the Senators and the Orioles face off (and the Senators were bad), there's no real history between the two franchises. Lest we not forget the role of Peter Angelos in this whole affair. Once you look at the record of Washington this season and the talent they've got, plus the Orioles' reputation -- it's east to see why no one wants to hype this up. We need an incident or better yet, the two teams winning to create any interest. Until that happens, the team that's in my backyard which I see often (the Nationals) are playing the team I rooted for as a youngster and to this very day (the Orioles).