Reality: The Orioles are 64-48 overall and 22-9 since June 30. They’re 34-23 on the road. They lead the Blue Jays by 5.0 games in the AL East.
Perception: You would never guess the O’s would continue to be winning if I told you that Nelson Cruz, Steve Pearce, Chris Davis, and Adam Jones are all hitting under .203 since the All-Star break.
But Delmon Young is hitting .414, David Lough is hitting .385, and Caleb Joseph is hitting .300 since the break. Those three players have combined for four home runs and 11 RBI.
Not only are the most unexpected players doing it offensively for the Birds, but the pitching has been outstanding. Darren O’Day has a 0.96 ERA in 9.0 innings of work since the All Star break. Wei Yin Chen has three wins with a 1.77 ERA in 20 innings. Six Oriole pitchers have an ERA under 2.00 and nine have an ERA of 3.00 or lower in the second half.
Buck Showalter continues to push all the right buttons and the Orioles continue to find ways to win.
Reality: During the toughest stretch of their schedule, the Orioles continue to win more than they lose.
Perception: If a measure of a team is their performance vs. contenders, then the Orioles measure up well. In 24 straight games against playoff contenders, the O’s have won 16.
The Birds have the 3rd best record in all of baseball…even better than Detroit, who the experts have already given a spot in the ALCS to. The Orioles also have the biggest division lead in baseball.
The O’s have a 5.0 game lead on the Blue Jays, and a 6.0 game lead on the Yankees. The last time the Orioles and Blue Jays finished ahead of the Yankees and Red Sox was 1992. This could be 1st year since Wild Card began in 1995 that neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees make the playoffs. However, the Yankees are only 1.0 game back of Toronto for the 2nd Wild Card spot.
Reality: Caleb Joseph is having the best offensive stretch of his career since the All Star Break.
Perception: Caleb Joseph is solidifying himself as a true starting catcher.
Since Matt Wieters went down with a season ending injury, I’ve said Caleb Joseph was the “next man up,” and that no trade or call up was needed. Joseph’s defense is super, throwing out a higher percentage of base runners than any other catcher in baseball. I thought all along that CJ’s offense would come, and that is proving to be true.
Joseph is the Orioles catcher of the future, which happens to include the present. He is hitting .300 with three home runs and five R since the All Star Break.
O's catchers have done surprisingly well as hitters in Wieters absence: .403 slugging % from the position ranks 4th in AL & 9th in MLB.
— Mark Viviano (@MarkWJZ) August 5, 2014
Joseph will never have the power that Wieters has, but with his defense and a decent bat, Joseph is setting himself up nicely to be the Orioles starting catcher, should Wieters leave after the 2015 season.
