The Baltimore Orioles find themselves in the midst of a four-game losing streak, a season-high for consecutive defeats. During those four games, the pitching staff has allowed 33 runs, including 30 during the last three games. Jim Johnson, the gold standard in all of baseball at closing games out since 2011, has blown his last two save opportunities after converting 35 straight chances dating back to last season. The question is, who is to blame?
Now, questioning Buck Showalter and how he handles his team is like questioning Ozzie Newsome and his front office decisions for the Baltimore Ravens. You just don’t do it. You trust that the captain running the ship knows how to find clear waters and you leave it up to him to get you through the rough seas intact. Having said that, Buck has left me scratching my head at times this season.
In the season-opening series against Tampa Bay, it was the infield shift in game two that allowed a mediocre bunt and a routine ground ball to go for base hits instead of ending the seventh inning, directly leading to three runs that should have never scored and ultimately leading to the Orioles defeat.
Ryan Flaherty, demoted this afternoon, was batting .133 with an OBP of .228 in 90 at-bats. To put his poor showing at the plate into perspective, his on-base+slugging percentage (OPS) is only 45 points higher than Chris Davis’ OBP. That is horrific. So what’s my point? My point is, that while the demotion was warranted, it was about three weeks overdue.
Leaving Flaherty at the major league level to fail time and time again did little for his confidence. While he is one of Buck’s guys, a “nugget” if you will, the fact of the matter is that the guy wasn’t getting the job done. Buck claimed that Flaherty remained in the lineup for his glove. Really? Because Alexi Casilla is a major league-tested second basemen with a solid glove who hits from both sides of the plate and can run.
While Casilla’s career average of .249 and OBP of .303 don’t exactly strike fear in opposing pitchers, they certainly dwarf Flaherty’s career marks of .185 and .246. I know, having to choose between the two is basically like asking somebody if they want to drink gasoline or motor oil, but to me the choice is obvious and perhaps Buck’s leash on Flaherty was too long.
That brings us to today’s debacle. The Orioles needed this win. Leading 6-4 in the ninth, Jim Johnson surrendered a one-out home run to Kelly Johnson-his second homer in as many days-and followed that up with back-to-back walks, a single and a double before exiting the game trailing 7-6. Before the inning was over, nine straight Rays had reached base and the Orioles trailed 10-6.
Today’s starter, Jair Jurrjens, lasted only 5 innings and was victimized by a misplayed flyball on the part of Nate McLouth. In my opinion Jurrjens was pitching well enough to continue beyond the fifth inning, having thrown just 75 pitches, if for no other reason than to save a bullpen that has thrown 29.2 innings in the last seven games. Buck, however, decided to pull the former Braves pitcher. Fortunately, that is not what cost the O’s the ballgame.
My issue with Buck in this game was his decision to stick with Johnson when he clearly didn’t have it. Johnson should have been yanked after issuing back-to-back walks, but Buck opted to stick with his All-Star closer. The result? Another blown save and a fourth straight loss.
Now let’s get something straight here. I am not qualified to do Buck’s job. He is getting paid a lot of money for a lot of years, and deservedly so. He is one of the best managers in all baseball and I am glad we have him here in Baltimore. The guy is masterful when it comes to his bullpen and he seems to push the right buttons far more often than not. Maybe that is why he is so under the microscope when he pushes the wrong ones. And he has been dealt a bad hand with 3/5 of his starting rotation either injured or relegated to the bullpen and his so-called “ace” unable to get out of his own way.
You can see the displeasure in Buck’s face mounting after each loss, and it’s not hard to understand why. The team has hit a rough patch, mainly in the starting rotation. But there is light at the end of the tunnel with Miguel Gonzalez set to return soon, Chris Tillman proving to be the staff ace, and Kevin Gausman tearing it up at Bowie. Even last year’s 93-win playoff team lost six in a row at one point. The waters WILL smooth out, the captain WILL right the ship, and the Orioles WILL be back in the win column. Until then, “In Buck We Trust,” even if he makes it hard.
