This is a weekly column that dives into eight random thoughts about the Orioles/MLB. Why eight? It’s a nod to Cal Ripken Jr. of course. That, and doing 2,632 of these would be a little overboard. – A.S.
This week I decided to do something a little differently, and open things up for ideas on “Thoughts” from Twitter followers. I’m always open to suggestions throughout the week, so if ever you want a “Thought” devoted to a certain topic, let me know at @AStetka.
1. From @OriolesMemes: “What does Steve Pearce need to do to get back to last year’s success?”
To be honest, Steve Pearce probably has to find a time machine if he really wants to get himself back to last year’s success. That’s the long and short of it. Last season was a career year for the 32-year-old, and I don’t ever see him duplicating it. We’re talking about a guy who has carried a .249 average over the course of his career, and he hit .293 last year. He had never hit more than four homers in a season, and last year he bashed 21.
A lot of this is dictated by playing time, which Pearce earned a ton of last year. He’s being given that same opportunity this year, but it’s not because he’s earned it, only because the Orioles have needed him to play due to injury. I will say that I’ve been impressed with how Pearce has handled second base this season. It’s a position he’s never approached before this season, but the Orioles had a need with the absence of Jonathan Schoop and Pearce stepped in. He’s not a Gold Glover there, but he’s serviceable, which is more than enough.
If Pearce really wants to get back to his hot-hitting ways of last season, he really needs to simplify his approach. I’ve seen him attempt to pull the ball too much this season. There was a glimpse of what I’m talking about on Tuesday night when Pearce laced an RBI single into right-center.
When he goes with the pitch and approaches the ball like he did on this at-bat, Pearce can find much more success.
2. From @noahbeyer01: “How much will the return of Matt Wieters, off an injury for over a year, add to a struggling Orioles offense?”
I wrote about this at length on Monday over at MASNSports.com. The return of Wieters is one of the biggest mysteries of the season, and the long term. I don’t know what he can bring to the team that gives it a real boost, only because the catcher’s position hasn’t really been a big issue. Caleb Joseph has performed admirably this season from both a defensive and offensive standpoint.
In my mind, the return of Wieters is purely to see what value he provides going forward. Whether it’s for himself at the end of the season as a free agent or for the Orioles as trade bait in July remains to be seen. I don’t know what Wieters will provide offensively. He did hit a home run for Triple-A Norfolk last night to wrap up his rehab assignment. I still question why he’s coming up if the reported “plan” is to have him serve as the designated hitter at times.
Does this mean Steve Clevenger keeps a roster spot for now so that the team can operate with at least two catchers on days that Wieters does DH? There are a ton of questions that remain. I definitely hope Wieters can contribute offensively, especially as dismal as the bats have been over the last three weeks, but I’m not counting on it.
3. From @Gwozdilla: “Why has god forsaken us?”
This made me laugh a bit. Then it made me cry. Then it made me think. Then I realized that the Orioles aren’t being picked on. They are actually fortunate to be in the position they’re in at this point in the season. It’s really easy to do the “sky is falling” type of talk, but it’s also easy to recognize that the Orioles are just over two months into the season, in last place, and still only a few games out of first place.
The AL East is bad, folks. I don’t mean that there isn’t talent or that the teams are awful, it’s just a mediocre-looking division when it comes to records. The O’s have faced a ton of adversity in these short two-plus months. Injuries have stung the team, a lack of routine surrounding the civil unrest in Baltimore threw changes in their direction, and some of the fundamental issues with the roster have shown up.
Through all of that, the Orioles are going to be in it well into August, probably even September. It’s just a product of their surroundings. Perhaps we’ve all become expectant after three straight years of winning. We all desire more from a team that made a magical run to the ALCS last season, and don’t get me wrong, we should expect more. It doesn’t always happen that way. Sometimes teams have to take a step back before they take that next step forward. I am enjoying the fact that there’s reason to care again.
This isn’t 2008. It’s not 2009 or 2010 either. This definitely isn’t 2001. For people to actually expect this team to be good, and believe it CAN happen, is nice. The Orioles aren’t being picked on, and neither are the fans. There are many other teams that are in much worse shape.
4. From @TL8throum: “How much (do) the O’s miss Schoop?”
When Jonathan Schoop went down earlier in the season, it broke my heart. I really expected Schoop to elevate his game this season and develop into a more well-known commodity across baseball. It’s not that I think he’s an All-Star by any stretch, but he’s got a power stroke and plays a very solid defense.
With all of that said, I think the O’s have actually handled Schoop’s absence fairly well. They don’t have another prototypical second baseman on the roster, aside from Ryan Flaherty perhaps. Flaherty fits much better as a utility man who can play multiple positions, definitely not as an everyday starting second baseman. Even so, the O’s have made it work. Steve Pearce has filled in and from a defensive standpoint, done alright. At times we’ve seen Flaherty or even Rey Navarro when he was up with the club. With all of the Orioles’ offensive struggles over the last month, I can’t even imagine that Schoop would provide much of an improvement. He’d likely just be another guy attempting to get his hacks at the dish. He isn’t prone to massive hot streaks, so it’s not like he would be carrying the entire club through an offensive cave right now.
The thing that makes me more nervous than anything about Schoop is a report from MASN’s Roch Kubatko from earlier this week that there are concerns within the organization that he needs to “slow down his baseball activities” for fear of a setback. Roch went on to point out that one setback could cost Schoop the rest of the season, and part of the next one. That’s scary.
5. From @JackCovahey: “What moves do you think will be made involving the O’s, and when? Also, who do you think will get called up?”
I don’t think the Orioles are ready to make any panic moves, but there has to be some concern setting in.
Ballgame. Orioles tie their season high 5th straight loss. 3-1 to Astros. Are now 6-games under .500 for the first time since 2011.
— Brittany Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) June 4, 2015
The Orioles have a few problems with the current roster, and a lot of uncertainty about the immediate future of it. Obviously Wieters and Bud Norris are set to return soon. Kevin Gausman can’t be too far off. Beyond that, there isn’t a ton of help on the horizon from the injury front. Many have called for offensive help from the minors, but there isn’t even a whole lot that Norfolk’s roster can offer, especially with the O’s lack of flexibility. They have somewhat made their bed, so they have to lie in it. There’s a chance we see Chris Parmelee in the near future, but I don’t know where he plays or what his role would become.
It’s hard when an entire team just enters an offensive rut like the O’s have. There’s no one or two players actually hitting the ball well to carry the lineup. No one is performing right now. That won’t last for the remaining 110 games.
The biggest thing to look out for is the July 31 deadline. As the O’s continue to struggle, I’d expect the rumors surrounding names like Wieters, Chris Davis and Norris to grow louder. Perhaps Wei-Yin Chen’s name even gets thrown out there. Really anyone without a guaranteed contract for next season will likely be brought up in some kind of discussion. There are some players that Dan Duquette and crew will want to keep around next season and beyond, but everyone will have the “expendable” tag placed on them if things continue to go south.
Okay, let’s move on to non-Twitter topics…
6. Anyone want to move on to a slightly brighter topic? How about pitching? Surprisingly enough, the Orioles haven’t pitched all that bad recently. Outside of Chris Tillman, the starting rotation has been fairly solid. Mike Wright has seen his growing pains, but is still keeping the team in games for the most part. His run in the rotation could very well come to an end Sunday if Norris returns, but he provides the O’s with a solid option going forward. For all the woes of the team, pitching really hasn’t been a big bugaboo. It’s purely been offense, baserunning, defense and pretty much everything else. It seems that whenever the Orioles are hitting, they aren’t pitching.
I continue to be impressed by Ubaldo Jimenez. I’ve written about him a number of times in recent weeks, and I’ll continue to praise him as long as he pitches the way he has. Even Miguel Gonzalez has been gutting out impressive starts. Look, no one likes to get taken deep three times like Gonzalez did last night, but he offered up three solo shots and lasted 6.2 IP. That’s going to win you most games.
The O’s have depth for the rotation. That’s the one place they are blessed in.
7. Speaking of Tillman’s woes, I came across an interesting bit from Grantland’s Jonah Keri earlier this week that made too much sense. It essentially asked the question, “What’s wrong with Chris Tillman?” before providing the answer of, “he was never really that good.” That might sound harsh, but it’s kind of true when you glance at the advanced metrics. He was boosted by some great defense (which the Orioles are no longer playing) and happened to have good run support (which no one is currently getting).
There was a ton of talk about Tillman getting an extension before the season, but I’m glad it didn’t happen. I’m starting to think that we’ve already seen the “best” Tillman we will see. Again, that sounds harsh, but it could be true. It makes me regret the fact that the O’s have parted with some other young pieces like Jake Arrieta and Eduardo Rodriguez, both of whom are enjoying great success with their new clubs. Arrieta for example:
Hey, wonder what Jake Arrieta is up to? 9.3 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, 53% GB rate in 65 innings. He's good.
— Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer) June 3, 2015
Rodriguez especially hurts because he’s a lefty, something the O’s don’t have a lot of at all in the system. His journey is just beginning, but I’d say it’s off to a nice start:
Another phenom to watch? 22-year-old Eduardo Rodriquez has had an historic start to his big league career. pic.twitter.com/1iPsQN5NNB
— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) June 4, 2015
8. The All-Star Game is quickly approaching, and for the first time in a few years, there could only be one Oriole to root for. I don’t care how much he’s been struggling lately, Adam Jones is going to be on the roster. He’s currently fourth in the voting and will be selected by AL manager Ned Yost if he’s not picked by the players. He’s an All-Star, through and through.
Beyond that, I can’t make a convincing argument for another Bird. Manny Machado is fourth among third basemen, but remember there are three OF spots and just one at the hot corner, meaning Jones is right on the cusp. Machado isn’t leaping players like Mike Moustakas, Josh Donaldson and Pablo Sandoval. Caleb Joseph also appears among leaders, fifth at catcher. That’s not happening either. He’s not a known commodity.
That leaves the pitchers, and to be honest, the only two players that remotely come to mind are Ubaldo Jimenez and Zach Britton. Neither have flashy numbers, which is really what it takes to become an All-Star these days.
If Jones is the lone Orioles representative to head to Cincinnati, don’t be shocked. It’s starting to smell a lot like the mid-00’s around here.
