Reality: Jeremy Guthrie didn’t get the response he expected when he wore a shirt that read “The O’s Ain’t Royal” t-shirt to the Game 3 post-game press conference.
Perception: Guthrie thought he was being playfully funny. That’s why he apologized on twitter later.
Samuel Njoku from CBS Baltimore tweeted:
Remember that time when Terrell Suggs wore that shirt with Tomlin almost tripping Jacoby Jones? No? … nobody?
I love Njoku’s perspective 99% of the time, but I don’t agree with this one. Suggs shirt was playful, and even the Steelers thought it was funny. It was a shirt about a specific situation that was handled poorly by the Steelers head coach. Guthrie’s shirt was a jab at his former team.
Jon Shepherd from Baseball Prospectus tweeted:
Orioles fans upset with Guthrie and Dyson probably should remember the joy they felt with Robert Andino.
What is Shepherd speaking of? Here is what MLB.com had to say September 29, 2011, when the Orioles upset the Red Sox and eliminated Boston from postseason play:
“End of season like this, [to] make Boston go home sad, crying, I’ll take it all day,” said second baseman Robert Andino, whose two-out ninth-inning RBI was followed a minute later by Tampa Bay’s walk-off win over the Yankees, effectively ended a reeling Red Sox’s hopes of reaching the postseason.
Yup, I felt plenty of joy when the O’s sent the Sox home. Maybe his comments were similar to Guthrie’s shirt, but the shirt was more personal to Orioles fans. If it was any other player on the Royals, O’s fans would not have been so bent out of shape. But Orioles fans love Guthrie. He was a hard working player who gave his heart to Charm City while he played here. He left the Orioles and many O’s fans continued to follow him and cheer for him. There was just something about Guthrie that O’s fans were still attached to. So for him to come out with that shirt, Orioles fans felt like they were stabbed in the back by a player that they cared about.
Reality: Jarrod Dyson continues to run his mouth… but winning allows that, sort of.
Perception: A player that all Orioles fans can agree to not care about is Dyson. I guess I don’t understand why the Royals continue to let him talk. Word is that the Orioles were pretty upset about Dyson’s comments, and that Royals management wasn’t very happy either. But he continued to smack talk after Game 3.
What I don’t understand is why is Dyson the one talking? I can’t stand Mike Moustakas, but his play has been unbelievable and he has earned the right to the chatter he’s been doing on the field. Dyson hasn’t done squat. He is a bench warmer who comes in to pinch run… and oh yea, he’s been thrown out trying to steal twice in this series.
However, if the Orioles want to shut him up, they are going to have to let their talking happen on the field, and so far that hasn’t happened.
Reality: Buck Showalter should win Manager of the Year, but I still have questions about why he has done certain things in the ALCS.
Perception: Hands down, Buck has done more with less than any manager in baseball. If he doesn’t win the AL Manager of the Year award then the votes need to be changed. How he has worked the roster and the pitching staff has been nothing less than stellar.
But I do have some questions about how he has managed some of the ALCS. Maybe it’s all “hindsight is 20/20”, but there are some things that left me scratching my head.
Nick Hundley is struggling at the plate and is not as good of a defensive catcher as Caleb Joseph. In Game 2, Joseph not only threw out a base runner, he had two hits and a sacrifice fly. So why is Buck starting Hundley in Game 3? And why is he allowing Hundley to bat in the 8th inning when the O’s are down by a run?
Delmon Young has been the best hitter off the bench in baseball all season long. So why is he not getting an opportunity to do what he has done so well? In Game 3, Young could have pinch hit for any of the batters at the bottom of the order who came to the plate, yet never made an appearance.
Those are just two issues that I had with Buck in Game 3. Who knows, making those changes may not have changed the outcome, but you can’t stay status quo… it’s not working.
Reality: In the 8th inning of Game 3, I tweeted:
Where is your fire #Orioles? Why are you just going thru the motions? Show me you want it! Show me passion! Show me you care!
Perception: I got called out by a few folks who thought I was being too harsh on the O’s and that they do care, maybe too much. That’s fine… I know the Orioles care, but I’m an emotional guy. I carry my emotions on my sleeve, and if I’m ticked, you’ll see it.
Besides Steve Pearce, the Orioles look like deer in headlights. There is no emotion at all on their faces. There show no frustration or anger. Even in what they say to the media after the game, it seems almost nonchalant.
I can’t stand the arrogance the Royals players seem to show on the field, but at least I see the fire in them. I’m missing that as I watch the Orioles.
It’s do or die time. It’s win or go home. This team for 162 games this season was the second best team in baseball and was a much better team than the Royals. I wish they could find whatever it is that they lost and show everyone that they deserve to be in the ALCS. Let’s not get swept.
