This is my weekly view of everything Orioles and baseball. It’s a wrap up of the last seven days and a look ahead for Baltimore’s baseball team. I’ll provide a unique perspective on the game from a different place, the west coast.
The Orioles have very quickly entered that crucial portion of the season where they can go one way or the other. The first direction is the one where they go on a huge run and compile a ton of wins while closing the gap in the AL East. The second way things could go is how most in Baltimore seem to expect it – down. The O’s completed a disappointing 3-3 week against the Astros and Mariners. That’s right, 3-3 against Houston and Seattle. I wanted to repeat it for you just so you grasp that. Not very playoff-caliber stuff right there. A season worth of work can’t be made or broken in one week, but if these past seven days were any indication of what we will see over the next month and a half, the O’s will be trending down quickly.
As I explained last week, the Orioles are in their “easiest” 17-game stretch of the year. Games against Houston, Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, Arizona and Colorado SHOULD mean a lot of wins. I went on the record as saying that the Birds would need to win at least 12 of those games to stay in the playoff race and grab at least 15 to stay in the division race. Well they’ve already lost three so the 15-win mark seems out of the question. To think that the O’s will win nine out of the next 11 and hit that 12-win mark is also asking a lot at this point. That’s where the trending down argument comes into play.
There’s still time of course. The Orioles are now a season-high 6.5 games out of the AL East race, but the addition of a second wild card spot leaves the O’s 1.5 games out of the postseason. The real problem is that teams like Cleveland, Texas and Kansas City are all playing great baseball right now. The Indians and Royals are both 9-1 in their last ten games while the Rangers are 6-4. The Rays continue to keep pace with the Red Sox in the division race as well, making it especially tough to even think about capturing the division. There’s still time, but it’s running out fast.
It’s especially tough when you look at what remains for each of the contending teams. Check out the remaining games against over-.500 teams for all the wild-card contenders:
Orioles: 32
Yankees: 26
Royals: 25
Indians: 22
Rangers: 16
That means a lot of tough sledding for the O’s, who must make their mark over the next two and a half weeks. Otherwise, the path to a second straight postseason berth could be blocked.
The Orioles head out west this week, which is exciting for me personally because the games will be on at a more reasonable hour. I’ll also get the chance to attend a few games in person. I’m heading out to San Diego for Wednesday afternoon’s game, and the Birds will be in Arizona next week for three games, all of which I will attend. This eight-game road trip couldn’t be more important for the team. The Padres, Giants and Diamondbacks are all very beatable teams. Anything less than six wins has to be looked at as a disappointment.
I wrote some of my thoughts about the O’s moves at the trade deadline last week for MASNSports.com which you can find here.
I really think the acquisition of Bud Norris helps this team. They can shove six or seven pitchers into that rotation, just like Buck Showalter did down the stretch last year. It will provide a good opportunity for him to play the hot hand and give a starter a rest at times. Adding a bat would’ve been nice, especially when you see what the team has lacked offensively over the last week, but the Orioles don’t have a top-five offense by mistake. These offensive lulls are to be expected over a 162-game season and I’m confident that part of the O’s attack will come back. It’s the pitching that is still a concern. The fact that the O’s added three pitchers without parting with a top prospect is a big plus. A bat could also still be added through waivers, something I think the team will explore.
For those who missed it over the weekend, Rangers pitcher Matt Garza went on a bit of a rant via Twitter, blasting Eric Sogard of the A’s. Garza also took out some of his fury on Sogard’s wife.
I don’t care how talented this guy is or how hot of a trade chip he was before the deadline, I’m glad he ended up in Texas and not Baltimore. This is just another example of an idiotic pro athlete taking to Twitter when he shouldn’t. Perhaps he should’ve spent some of that time learning how to field a bunt instead. The best part of the entire saga was the response Garza got from other Oakland players as well as A’s fans. The responses to him on Twitter were not only deserved, but also quite hilarious.
Finally, I also took some time last week to write about Buck Showalter’s comments on the Yankees, Alex Rodriguez and Matt Wieters.
Much of the fallout from all of the Biogenesis scandal will come to fruition today as suspensions are expected to be announced. This entire investigation has turned in the strangest way over the past few days, and not many people are talking about it. Major League Baseball has been painted as a tough cop who is stepping in and doing more good to clean up the game. My question is, what exactly do they have on these players? None of that information has been revealed. What puzzles me is that Rodriguez will reportedly be allowed to appeal his suspension and play. Just last week there was to be no appeal and Bud Selig was going to step in and make sure none of the players involved, especially A-Rod, could step foot on a diamond. Why has MLB gone to such measures to make sure there would be no appeals from any of the other players? What exactly do they have on them? And why have things suddenly changed with Rodriguez? It all makes you think a little bit. It makes you question Selig and his motives. It takes you back to 1998 when baseball seemingly turned a blind eye on what was going on in the game.
I’m done with even thinking about Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun or any of these other players who continue to lie, cheat and pollute the game with performance-enhancing drugs. As long as the Yankees have to pay A-Rod, I’ll get by just fine.
Orioles Player of the Week:
(P) Bud Norris: After being traded to Baltimore by the Astros, Bud Norris had the tough task of going out the next day and facing his old teammates. They may have just been the Astros, but that can’t be an easy thing to do mentally. Norris responded by going six innings and allowing just two solo homers and led his new team to a crucial victory over a bottom-dweller. It’s those types of performances the O’s will need to make a playoff push.
American League Player of the Week:
Kendrys Morales (SEA): The O’s sure got a look at this week’s AL Player of the Week. Kendrys Morales went 15-for-26 for a .577 average for the Mariners. His 15 hits led the AL and he only needed six games to do it. Morales was one of the players rumored to be on the move prior to last week’s trade deadline. He sure would’ve looked good in a Baltimore uniform last week.
National League Player of the Week:
Chris Johnson (ATL): The Braves continue to pull away in the NL East and it’s because of contributions from guys like Chris Johnson. The third baseman hit .433 last week and knocked in eight runs while helping Atlanta to a perfect 7-0 week. The Braves are on a ten-game winning streak overall and have increased their division lead to 12.5 games over the Nationals.
Be sure to tune in for my weekly appearance on The Coach’s Buzz on CBS Sports Radio 1300 tonight at 7:15 pm. You can also now view some more of my thoughts on the Orioles at MASNSports.com every Thursday where I will guest blog throughout the rest of the season.
That’s this week’s West Coast View. Go O’s!
