Thursday Thoughts: O’s in Odd Playoff Position Limbo

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. Well, this sure has been an unpleasant week. The Orioles are sliding and there seems to be no end in sight. The losing streak may be over following last night’s win, but with the way the team plays against opponents that are .500 and above, and the upcoming schedule, things could get ugly.

For all the ugliness though, the O’s remain in the hunt in a mediocre American League. The AL Wild Card chase is the stuff of “who is going to step up and take it?” We may not know the answer to that until the final few weeks of the season. Everyone may want an answer as to whether or not the Birds are actually in it or actually out of it, but right now, they appear to be in some sort of weird purgatory.

Stay tuned.

2. We’ve talked a ton throughout the season about the Orioles’ lack of solutions this past offseason. They didn’t seem to fix the holes left by Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis. Players like Alejandro De Aza, Travis Snider, Nolan Reimold and David Lough simply didn’t fill the corner outfield roles like Dan Duquette might have dreamed they would. Steve Pearce sure hasn’t either, but at least he’s still on the roster.

Our very own Tyler Beard looked at this earlier this week, and pointed to the inconsistency of the roster this season. The fact is that the O’s went the cheap route this offseason, like they do just about 99% of the time. I’m no longer even including Ubaldo Jimenez’s deal in the “offseason splash” category because the contract the Orioles gave him isn’t at all astronomical in terms of what starting pitchers make these days.

The bottom line is that the Orioles tried, and failed, to do it their way last offseason. The question becomes, what do they do this offseason to fix it?

3. Matt Kremnitzer of Camden Depot is a great follow on Twitter over at @MattKremnitzer. He sent out this one on Tuesday that pretty much perfectly sums up how I’m starting to feel about the way the Orioles approach the offseason with Matt Wieters:

It's OK to say that you like Caleb Joseph or think he's better than Matt Wieters without calling Wieters a bust.

— Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer) August 25, 2015

There was a time earlier this season where I believed the O’s might try to get Wieters back next season on a one-year “make good” deal as he continued to recover from Tommy John surgery. I’m over it. I’d be shocked if Caleb Joseph isn’t the starter next season. The Orioles will be much better off taking aim at a reasonable backup catcher who can play maybe 30% of the time. Joseph can handle a regular role, as he proved when Wieters was out in 2014, and has continued to prove this season. But he also had the benefit of Nick Hundley playing a decent amount last season and has seen Wieters return this year.

Caleb is the guy, and he’ll be fine, but it’s also important not to kick Wieters as he finds the exit door. He’s no bust, and he shouldn’t be treated as such.

4. The Orioles are not losing because they don’t have enough “swagger.” They are losing for many reasons, but swagger is not one of them. Domenic Vadala of Birds Watcher dove into this topic at MASN Sports yesterday and took the opposite view that I have. To be fair, Vadala wasn’t going after the players or coaches on the team, but I don’t see the comparisons to the Royals. The Orioles won last year with no problem, and they had about as much measurable “swagger” while doing it as they have this season. Winning breeds confidence, and losing breeds the opposite of that. I don’t believe the O’s are playing scared or in fear of their opponents. I just don’t think they are as good.

5. I get excited more than some when the Orioles play on national television. As someone who lives out of state, it means I don’t have to pull out my iPad or go to the computer to pull up MLB.TV to watch the game. I can just flip on my television set instead, a simple convenience. That said, when I heard that the O’s would be on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” on September 13 against the Royals, I cringed a bit. Sure, it’s nice to see a national view of Camden Yards, but it comes with the cost of having to listen to the “SNB” broadcast team. I typically can’t watch that crew without the mute button fully engaged. Then comes word this week of Curt Schilling going off the rails with (another) offensive post on social media. He’s been taken off of this week’s “SNB” broadcast, as well as coverage of the Little League World Series. Perhaps if Schilling isn’t back in time to call O’s-Royals next month, it will make things a bit easier.

Though, John Kruk is still likely going to be chowing down on a Boog’s Barbecue sandwich while trying to talk, so I’ll likely pass.

6. I had no real issue with Manny Machado’s little tirade earlier this week following another tough loss. I saw many who thought it was unprofessional or uncalled for, but he didn’t do it in front of a camera or on the field. Sometimes it’s important to remember that these players are humans with emotions. They want to do the right thing and be successful and it means a lot to them. Machado clearly hit a boiling point on Sunday after a blunder that helped the Twins win the game. I don’t see it as unseemly of Machado, I think it’s nice to know that he cares enough to show passion and flip out when things aren’t going the right way.

7. Speaking of Machado, I heard some talk re-ignited this week about a possible move to shortstop in the future. This was obviously sparked by Sunday’s game where he was forced into his first career action at short when J.J. Hardy left the game. Hardy is the exact reason you likely won’t see Machado playing shortstop any time soon, at least not before 2018. He’s signed through the 2017 season and though he’s aging and injury-prone, the Orioles are paying him to play. Unless they are somehow able to trade Hardy (and I can’t think of a team that would take him), I don’t see the spot being cleared. Machado would obviously give the O’s more value at SS as it’s much harder to find a good one of those than it is a 3B. The positional value is simply greater. It’s just hard to envision a scenario where it plays out while Hardy is still a member of the team.

8. Finally this week, I see I’m not the only one who opined that Cal Ripken Jr. could soon be ready to take over an MLB team…from the dugout. Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal took aim at the subject, pointing out that former Reds shortstop Barry Larkin could also be in line for a job. Ripken celebrated his 55th birthday earlier this week and is starting to enter a phase of his life where managing is a very real possibility. I wrote about the subject earlier this week at MASN Sports, pointing out that it may be very strange if Ripken ends up in DC with the Nationals.

Though, haven’t things always seemed a bit awkward with Ripken and the O’s over the years anyway?