The teenager daughter is always telling me: Don't be so pessimistic about the Orioles, don't give up when they fall behind. This is her mantra. She's a kid, of course, enthralled with all the young, cool, talented guys on the Orioles roster. What does she know?

We know, as long-suffering Orioles fans, that our teams over the years have had many nice parts but not enough of them -- mediocre sums -- and nothing to show in the last decade but a long streak of losing seasons.

These days, there's a lot to admire about the O's -- they have the young guns, they have the legs, they have the D. They don't have all the pitching they need, but there's promise here and there.

So anyway, last night: Where were you when the Orioles made their biggest comeback in franchise history?

I got so bummed out by the fourth inning -- so sick of all this Red Sox Nation stuff (obnoxious people who latched on during this winning era, despite having no connection to Boston or New England), and losing to the Sox -- that we went shopping. The daughter needs batting gloves, and she's looking for a new (or used) left-handed softball glove. (If you have one you're thinking of putting on craig's list, call me first: 410-332-6166).

"Don't give up, dad," the daughter says. "You're too negative." At the time the Orioles were losing 6-1. By the time we got back from the sporting goods store and the supermarket, there was a rain delay. I was tempted to just go to bed. The game resumed and the Red Sox had extended their lead to 10-1. Which is when the comeback started, though I still didn't believe the Os would finish with a win. It ended up amazing -- the most amazing thing we've ever seen in sports around here in a long time -- and we stayed up to watch. How could we not? The young guns scored runs with timely hits, and the Orioles sent a closer to the mound in the 9th to do the job, and the game ended a few minutes before midnight. I think we'll remember this night for as long as we live.