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Thursday Thoughts: Schoop, Urrutia, Davis, Clevenger, & More

Steve Clevenger of the Orioles runs out a ball during spring training.
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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.

1. I was shocked earlier this week when I wrote a little piece over at MASN Sports about Chris Davis and I got a ton of negative feedback. It wasn’t that the feedback was negative toward me or my writing, and it’s not that I can’t deal with people disagreeing, but I was surprised at how staunchly opposed most people were to my idea that there is no way that Davis will be back with the Orioles.

The O’s would be bucking a huge trend if they were to re-sign Davis. The same goes for Wei-Yin Chen or Matt Wieters. The blog post I wrote over at MASN got more comments on it than any other one I’ve written this season, and the feedback on Facebook was just as heavy. There are a ton of people in the “give Davis all the money” corner.

That’s simply not how it works.

2. News that Travis Snider is signing a minor league deal with the Pirates, the same team that traded him to the Orioles this past offseason, shouldn’t upset you any more than his departure from Baltimore already had. Snider is on the list of failed experiments by Dan Duquette in this offseason. It’s a long list. Hearing that Snider went right back to the team that traded him could create an extra bit of animosity toward the entire situation, but it’d be no different than if he had signed with any other team. The fact is that the Orioles gave up two players in order to get Snider. Those players weren’t highly thought of and may not ever become viable Major League players, but they still had to give something up in order to get a guy that was cast aside for nothing. It’s a familiar story this season, and it’s a frustrating one.

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3. Jonathan Schoop’s return to the active roster has been a huge boost for the Orioles. The team is perhaps seeing the benefit of not rushing the second baseman back from his April knee injury. I was very skeptical of Schoop’s return, but it is paying dividends right now. It’s far from a large enough sample size, but if Schoop can continue to develop the way he has over the past few seasons, we could be looking at something special.

Schoop likely won’t ever be considered an elite player like his BFF Manny Machado, but he could be a lot worse. He’s a reliable defensive player who can provide some pop with the bat. The other big factor is that he’s fairly cheap and still young. There’s room for him to continue to grow.

4. Henry Urrutia is a player that has intrigued me for quite some time. Since he made his debut in 2013, playing 24 games, I’ve always wondered if he had what it takes to stick on a big league roster. Injuries sidelined him most of last season, but now that he’s been called back up to the Orioles, I’m curious to see what they have in the Cuban. Defense was a major issue in Buck Showalter’s eyes, and baserunning also needed work.

Now Urrutia is getting a chance to prove his worth. With Nolan Reimold not hitting and Dariel Alvarez still down in AAA, this could be Urrutia’s best opportunity to make an impression and earn himself some more playing time.

5. I wonder more and more each day if Steve Clevenger has the chance to be a backup catcher next season, if (when) Matt Wieters leaves town. The O’s will need someone to spell Caleb Joseph, who has been very good in a part time role. The team will likely have to get Joseph off the field about 30-35% of the time to see him maintain success. He’s flourished in a part-time role, but could see it expand greatly next year.

Clevenger obviously has the inside track to take the role of backup, but he has to actually jump out and take it. It really makes you appreciate the job Nick Hundley did for this team last year when Wieters was down. Hundley wasn’t great by any stretch, but provided the team a solid backup when Joseph needed a blow. I think Clevenger has the chance to grab the job in 2016, but the O’s will definitely bring in competition for him.

6. I hate harping on the schedule, but the Orioles are presented with a great chance to make the playoffs, if they take care of their business. Aside from six remaining games against the Red Sox, every one of the O’s remaining games is against a team that is technically still in arms reach of a playoff spot. The Twins come up this weekend and the Nationals are down the road, and both of those teams are stretches at this point, but they are still there.

The Birds just got through with the Braves, A’s and Mariners portion of the schedule, and now’s where it gets real. Over the last three seasons, the O’s have had a very good record down the stretch in the years they made the playoffs. They have to do the same exact thing once again if they want another trip. Luckily that second wild card spot looms for them if they can reach out and take it.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards press box view.

7. The folks over at Baltimore Business Journal posted an article this week that discussed renovations that are in the works for Camden Yards. I’m a staunch supporter of tradition, especially when it comes to the “stadium that changed baseball.” That’s where I grew up. It’s part of who I am and what many Orioles fans identify with. That said, I like what I hear with some of the potential changes. I think OPACY has grown beautifully over time as a venue. It still holds up as one of the best stadiums in the game, despite being one of the oldest (which is hard to believe, but go check the stats). I originally hated the idea of a centerfield bar, but now I think it’s a great spot. I didn’t like the idea of signage on the warehouse, but now it kind of fits. Oriole Park has grown into a beautiful gem, and it’s going to continue evolving. Fans just need to evolve with it.

8. Hailey Dawson took me, and the rest of the country, by storm this week. The 5-year-old threw out the first pitch at Monday’s game, with the help of her Orioles-themed robotic hand. Dawson was born with Poland syndrome, which causes people to be born with missing or abnormal muscles on the side of their chest wall. Because of this, Hailey was born with a deformity in her right hand. The good folks at UNLV created a 3-D printed hand, and now this young girl gets to live her dream by playing baseball.

No matter how bad the O’s may be going, or how tough times may seem in “real life,” these are the things people look to for hope in this world. These are the moments that those commercials MLB has been running all year are made for. You know the ones, they feature the word “THIS” throughout. THIS is what it’s all about. Seeing the dream realized for a young girl, who got to meet her hero in Manny Machado, and then throw a ceremonial first pitch to him with her badass new hand.

Hailey wins the week in my eyes.

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