Things may be looking up a bit, Birdland. The sun finally cracked through the clouds for more than a few hours, and the O’s have won three of their past four. For the second straight night, they built a 7-1 lead over a team currently ahead of them in the AL East standings. It won’t be easy this weekend, but this is a different team against divisional foes.
To the links.
The Ringer’s Michael Baumann penned the article that would have made O’s fans swoon back in 2011 or so. He details the rise of both Manny Machado and Dylan Bundy, and man is it a fun read. Not as fun as watching Manny play every night for the last five years or Bundy pitch every fifth day this season has been, but close.
Does Manny Machado Have a Contact Problem?
Matt Kremnitzer of Camden Depot is the latest to try to figure out what the heck is wrong with Manny. Matt noticed that his lack of contact across the board could be part of the problem.
Expanding on the above point is Andrew Perpetua of FanGraphs, who says that when Manny DOES make contact, odd things are happening. Take heart, however, as he thinks we are just saying some extreme random variation, as opposed to anything that throws up red flags.
O’s & Pedro Alvarez Reach “Temporary Resolution”
El Toro had an opt out in his contract yesterday, but reached an agreement with the club to stay on for a bit. How long “a bit” is, nobody really knows, reports Dan Connolly of Baltimore Baseball.
Bird’s Eye View Episode 203: Things Look Pretty Bleach
Jake and Scott….er, Jake and Charlie Hoppes of Orioles Spastics fame recorded a bit late this week. If you stopped checking for a new BEV episode on Wednesday, get on over and listen to the new one now!
Have a great weekend, Birdland. Hopefully we’re talking about another series win on Monday.
