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Gausman Good, Ubaldo Bad, Machado Ugly as O’s Lose 2/3 to A’s

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If you decided to take a trip to the beach or attend a few graduation parties this weekend instead of paying attention to the Orioles’ series against the Oakland Athletics, you missed a lot. You missed so much in fact, that I felt it necessary to sum it all up for you below. Luckily, I have the ability to wrap everything up with a bow and give it to you in three easy to read parts – the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY.

 

The GOOD

There was really only one good thing that stemmed from a weekend series with the American League’s best team. The O’s were able to grab a victory in Saturday’s game because of one man – Kevin Gausman. The young fireballer stepped into the rotation in place of the injured Miguel Gonzalez and proved to everyone why he’s so highly-regarded. Gausman struck out six and pitched seven innings while allowing just four hits and one run to pick up his first career victory as a starter (he won three games last season as a relief pitcher).

Gausman was brilliant, even after allowing a third-inning home run to A’s outfielder Coco Crisp, who always seems to terrorize the Orioles. What was especially impressive was the sixth-inning jam he escaped. With runners at second and third and one out in a three-run game, Gausman struck out Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss to end the inning. He clocked 99-MPH on a fastball to fan Moss. The season-ending Achilles injury to Johan Santana leaves the O’s looking for new options and depth in their starting rotation, but perhaps Gausman’s start on Saturday showed something of a preview for the future. If Gausman can solidify himself in the rotation, maybe he will provide a bit more stability for a group that so desperately needs it. He’s already been awarded another start this Thursday against the AL East-leading Blue Jays. Nothing like being thrown to the fire – Gausman’s first start of the year came against the AL Central’s best team, the Tigers, which will mean his first three appearances of the season come against the top three teams in the AL.

 

The BAD

If losing two out of three wasn’t bad enough, Sunday’s nightmare 11-1 loss put the exclamation point on things. The real bad from Sunday’s defeat was starter Ubaldo Jimenez, who continues to prove that the O’s made a huge mistake by handing him a four-year, $50-million deal this offseason. Walks were Jimenez’s biggest problem in the loss, issuing five of them in just 2.1 innings. Obviously, putting the offense behind the eight-ball by allowing six runs didn’t help either. Jimenez has been given what is quite possibly the worst free agent contract in Baltimore baseball history.

Let that sink in.

The one that I have found slightly comparable is Albert Belle, who at least produced a bit offensively. Jimenez definitely has time to turn things around over the next three-plus seasons, but I would honestly be shocked if such a thing happened. Jimenez is not the type of pitcher with a track record to live up to the money he has already been guaranteed. It’s a shame for a club that is searching so desperately for pitching to have to deal with the sandbag of a contract that Jimenez will weigh them down with. It opens up a great debate as to why Peter Angelos has always refused to open his wallet for free agent pitching. Does this mean he never will again, or did they just go out and pick a rotten apple off the tree? Whatever the case, Jimenez is going to have to be worlds better if the Birds want to have any dreams of competing the rest of the way.

 

The UGLY

The one player I never thought I’d have to mention in such a context, ugly, is Manny Machado. It’s not only because he’s a handsome young man who has a bright baseball future ahead of him, but because he seems to exude professionalism and class wherever he goes. That all went right out the window this weekend against the A’s. It started Friday when he took offense to a “tag” from Oakland third baseman Josh Donaldson. This “tag” was nothing more than that, a tag. Machado may have taken offense because of some sensitivity to his recent knee injury, but that’s no excuse for his reaction, which prompted benches to clear.

Wei-Yin Chen doesn’t get let off the hook here either. Chen decided (or was directed) to retaliate for the “tag” by throwing inside and eventually hitting Donaldson with a pitch later in the game. Baseball’s unwritten rules strike again, and in the worst of ways. There’s no need for all of this nonsense. It makes the word ugly actually seem tame.

If you were really living under a rock this weekend when it comes to the O’s, you know that Friday’s circus spilled into Sunday, when A’s reliever Fernando Abad decided to throw inside at Machado, twice. This came after Machado had hit catcher Derek Norris in the head twice with backswings.

 

It’s also comical to point out that all of this fittingly happened on Little League Day at Camden Yards. That seems about right. Machado’s decision to fling a bat down the third base line, claiming that it slipped from his hands, is the epitome of ugly. It’s so ugly that it should cost him a few games by way of suspension from Major League Baseball. Buck Showalter, Wayne Kirby and the rest of the Orioles bench cleared in defense of Machado, but there’s really no defending what he did. It was inexcusable and has no place in the game. Fans of Baltimore sports know very well that reputation is a funny thing. Machado is testing his now.

There was even more ugly that went a bit unnoticed at Oriole Park this weekend, but it’s getting a mention here. Jim Johnson’s return to town went very poorly from a statistical standpoint. He entered Saturday’s game and allowed David Lough (of all people) to take him deep on a two-run homer. As many know, Johnson’s season hasn’t gone well for Oakland in any way shape or form. The way he was treated by a fan base that once adored seeing the bullpen door swing open for him was even worse.

For some reason Johnson was greeted with a chorus of boos when entering Saturday’s contest. It was something that didn’t really surprise me, but disappointed me anyway. Johnson posted back-to-back 50-save seasons in Baltimore and was shipped out because the team refused to pick up his contract option and pay him. Johnson was always a class act in Baltimore, and even went out of his way to attend a memorial service that was held on Saturday morning for former Orioles PR director Monica Barlow, who tragically passed away of cancer earlier this year.

Doesn’t quite seem like the type of guy that should receive the treatment he did on Saturday. There were hard times, and he’s wearing a different colored uniform now, but it would’ve been nice to see a little more class shown from the sell-out crowd. I guess that was just too much to ask.

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