The West Coast View: July 8th

Here we are a week before the All-Star break, and I can’t tell you with any confidence whether or not the Orioles will finish the year in first place or in fifth place in the AL East. Doesn’t it feel great to have no idea?

While things look a whole lot brighter after Sunday’s comeback win over the Yankees in the Bronx, not everything is sparkling in Birdland. After a 2-4 week, some glaring holes were discovered in the Orioles armor. These aren’t holes that no one could see coming. The Orioles have had stellar offense all season, but when that offense falls into a rut, the rest of the team gets dragged along. The bullpen (specifically Jim Johnson) hasn’t quite been up to par, but who would expect them to live up to the gaudy numbers they put up last season?

Let’s not take away from how big Sunday’s victory was. It was important mostly from a mental standpoint. Some may take away that it lifted the Orioles from third place into second, instead of falling to fourth. That’s not really what you need to focus on. We are still in July. Still too early to worry about who is where, as long as you keep good pace and continue to stack wins. The mental aspect of this win is enormous. After dropping a series to the light-hitting White Sox, a sweep in the Bronx would have been really disheartening.

Let’s go back and remember, the White Sox are not good. They boast some of the worst offensive numbers we’ve seen in recent memory. They can pitch, however. That’s how they beat the O’s. You’ve heard it said a number of times, good pitching will always beat good hitting. Chicago proved that last week. The Yankees did the same thing over the weekend until Adam Jones got to the greatest closer of all-time.

I have no issue with what the O’s are putting out there from a starting pitching standpoint. Even after another outing from Jason Hammel that showed he can’t get deep into games, Oriole starters are still showing they can keep the team in the game. The acquisition of Scott Feldman makes a deep collection of starters even stronger heading into the dog days. Feldman, Hammel, Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, Zach Britton, Kevin Gausman and this week’s anticipated return of Wei-Yin Chen make for a group that can get this team to October. The question is whether or not the bullpen will hold up.

We’ve griped all year that starters were going to wear out the bullpen by not going deep enough into games. No one in their right mind expected the relievers to put up the same type of performance as last season, but the lack of consistency out of the back end has to be pointed out. Jim Johnson leads all of baseball with 30 saves, and looked like “the old Jim Johnson” on Sunday with a clean save against the Yankees. But Johnson also leads everyone in the game with seven BLOWN saves, just like we saw Friday night in NYC.

To me when it comes to Jim Johnson, it’s simple.

You can tell within the first 4-5 pitches of any one of his outings whether or not he “has it”.

If Johnson can throw a first-pitch strike, and then avoid falling down in the count to the first batter he faces, he typically cruises through a save chance. If you see a leadoff walk, or watch him fall down 3-1 and give up a hit, there’s going to be a lot of antacid digested in Baltimore.

This can be said about a lot of pitchers going into an inning, but especially with Johnson. His mindset is completely thrown off when he can’t get the first batter on his heels and retired. That’s not something you want to see in a closer. When it comes to the best in the game like Mariano Rivera or Atlanta’s Craig Kimbrel, you want consistency. You don’t want to have to wait and see whether or not the guy will “have it” after one batter.

There’s no simple solution for Jim Johnson’s woes. You can throw Tommy Hunter or Darren O’Day into the role, but that leaves a few key setup-style guys missing from their position. I’ve even heard it suggested that Kevin Gausman get a shot at closing. I can’t stand that idea either, and I don’t think it’s something the Orioles have in mind. For now, Buck Showalter will likely continue to run Jim Johnson out there when the opportunity arises. The best solution to avoid seeing Johnson in the ninth inning, would be for the offense to give the bullpen more than a three-run lead.

It’s a real shame that Nick Markakis didn’t make the cut for the All-Star Game, but having four Orioles represented is a great feat for the team. Chris Davis, J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones and Manny Machado are all very deserving guys who will represent Baltimore wonderfully. Markakis has never made an All-Star team, and will have to wait at least another year to do so. If you try to tell me Matt Wieters or Jim Johnson deserved a spot on the team, I’ll kindly ask you to find a website with their statistics on it and gain a little perspective.

All in all, the All-Star teams in both leagues are pretty fair. There are a few glaring omissions (such as Oakland’s Josh Donaldson), but you can’t take everyone to the dance. Some guys are stuck in a bad position. The other advantage that guys like Marco Scutaro of the Giants and Justin Verlander of the Tigers have is that their own managers are leading the teams. In my opinion, that’s the only reason those two made the cut.

The fan vote is of no interest to me, nor should it be to anyone else. It’s obvious to everyone that Yasiel Puig will win the National League’s last spot. That is one thing Bruce Bochy did correctly. Leave that controversy up to the fans to decide. In the American League, it’s a bunch of who cares what happens. If voting for one of five setup men really excites you, then you have other issues that I’m not capable of helping you with.

What will really be interesting to see is who participates in the Home Run Derby. Luckily we will find out who gets the invites this evening. We all know that Orioles slugger Chris Davis leads everyone with 33 homers, but will Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano select him for the four-man squad? I think he should. Cano should pick Davis, along with Miguel Cabrera and Jose Bautista. In the National League, Mets third baseman David Wright should take Domonic Brown, Carlos Gonzalez and Paul Goldschmidt to battle with him. Those eight guys would provide everyone with a great show at Citi Field.

Orioles Player of the Week

Nick Markakis (OF): The Greek with the golden stick didn’t make the All-Star team, but he is definitely worthy of this week’s PoW award. Markakis hit .455 this past week, leading the team with ten base hits in six games. He went 3-for-4 in Sunday’s win over the Yankees, which included a single up the middle in the ninth prior to Adam Jones’ game-winning homer. Markakis might not get enough of the national recognition to make it to the All-Star Game, but he’s beloved in Baltimore and continues his consistency at the dish.

American League Player of the Week

TB – David Price (P): The return of Tampa Bay’s ace is a scary thought for O’s fans. Price came off the disabled list this past week and went 2-0 while allowing one run in 16 innings. He gave up 11 base hits and walked no one in that span, striking out 15 in the process. The Rays are right in the thick of things, and stayed that way without Price anchoring the staff. Now that he’s back, look out for these guys.

National League Player of the Week

CIN – Homer Bailey (P): Who would I be if I didn’t give a tip of the cap to a no-hitter? Especially to a pitcher named Homer. Homer Bailey blanked the suddenly hapless Giants last week, walking one batter and striking out nine on the way to his second no-hitter. Bailey became the first pitcher since Nolan Ryan in 1974 and 1975 to throw no-hitters in back-to-back seasons, as he also tossed one last September 28th against the Pirates. Well done, Homer.

That’s this week’s West Coast View. Go O’s!

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