This is a weekly wrap up of the goings on in with the Orioles and all throughout Major League Baseball. Each week I’ll dive into a few news items and include what teams are hot and cold. I’ll also give you the Orioles player of the week, as well as one from the American and National League.
It’s another week down and another successful week for the Baltimore Orioles. There’s no other way to put it. Things looked like they could take a turn for the worse after dropping two out of three to Seattle early in the week, but the Birds bounced back by swiping three out of four in Anaheim to complete a 7-4 west coast road trip. While 7-4 may not sound great, it is when you consider what this team went through to get there. The AL West was the best division in baseball last season when all was said and done. After the week the O’s had, it’s nice to be just a game and a half back of the Red Sox.
One of the most positive things we may have seen this week is the start Freddy Garcia turned in on Saturday. The 36-year-old veteran no-hit the Angels into the seventh and though he didn’t get the win, proved to me that he can stabilize the back end of this rotation. We’ve seen Jake Arrieta, Zach Britton and Josh Stinson. They didn’t take very well. Garcia at the very least earned himself another start, which is likely to come against former Oriole Jeremy Guthrie later this week when the Royals are in town.
Another sensational thing that caught my eye about these Orioles this week is Manny Machado. Yes, I’ve been watching him all along, but Machado REALLY impressed me this week. He saw an 11-game hitting streak end on Friday night, but followed it up by homering both Saturday and Sunday to start another one. Machado’s now hitting .309 with five homers and 21 RBI this year. He’s tied for second in homers on the team along with J.J. Hardy. I love the power Machado is showing and the strides he’s made since Buck Showalter threw him into the two-spot in the order. It’s a real shame that he’s not eligible for the Rookie of the Year Award this season, because I think he could win it going away.
Speaking of home runs, everyone can apparently exhale that collective deep breath they were holding since Friday night when Chris Davis went down with what looked like a bad knee injury. Davis played yesterday and was even 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the win. I started to have nightmares about Steve Pearce playing first base every day for the next few weeks. That’s no knock on Pearce, but I’m much happier to see “Hulk” manning the bag over there.
Let’s talk about the O’s outfield briefly.
It’s an outfield that I think is one of the best in baseball, especially defensively. Adam Jones has seen his fair share of woes this season, but I tend to think a lot of that is in his head and will get worked out sooner rather than later. This comes up because I saw a fan suggest that Chris Dickerson get more starts in right field and that Nick Markakis be slid to the designated hitter spot. This really perplexed me.
The suggestion was that Dickerson’s defensive metrics were much stronger than Markakis’ and that his average over the course of a full season would save runs. I’ll preface this with saying I am NOT a big SABRmetrics guy. I’m from the “old-school” mentality if you will. Who else thinks sticking Chris Dickerson in right field over Nick Markakis would benefit the team in the long term? I personally think it’s a crazy idea, but I’m just one man.
I’m really not sure why we’ve had so much second guessing from Orioles fans a little over a month into the season. I guess that comes with a winning season. There is no reason to doubt that Buck Showalter is doing the right thing and pushing the right buttons with this team. You can have expectations, but you have to remain realistic about what you want to see from your team. It’s a day-by-day sport, so take it that way. It’s much more fun than flying off the handle, trust me.
Looking ahead to the Orioles schedule this week, a few home games are finally in order. The Royals come to town for a three-game set at The Yard and as mentioned, our old friend Jeremy Guthrie is scheduled to pitch on Thursday. It will be great to get a look at J-Guts, who tossed his first-career complete-game shutout last week. Guthrie is having a stellar season for the Royals, pitching to a 4-0 record with a 2.40 ERA in six starts. The O’s will have to head back out of town over the weekend for a three-game series with the Twins in Minnesota. I’m interested to see if the Birds can bounce back from losing two-of-three to Minnesota earlier in the year.
Orioles Player of the Week
P- Freddy Garcia: It may be an unpopular move, but I’m giving my tip of the cap for the Orioles this week to Freddy Garcia. Why, you ask? Garcia’s outing against the Angels on Saturday was impressive, sure, but the numbers (6.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 SO, 1 BB) don’t look all that stellar. Garcia took a no-hitter into the seventh against a potent lineup. It may be too early to say so, but he could be the saving grace for the back end of the O’s rotation. That alone makes him this week’s winner.
American League Player of the Week
P- Justin Verlander (DET): If you saw Justin Verlander dominate the hapless Astros on Sunday and carry a no-hitter into the seventh, you will have no arguments with this choice. Verlander actually grabbed two wins over the past week, beating the Twins on Tuesday. He finished tossing 14 innings and allowing one run on seven hits with 17 strikeouts and just four walks.
National League Player of the Week
3B- Nolan Arenado (COL): This young hotshot just got called up to the big leagues by Colorado last week and proved he is going to stick. Arenado clubbed three homers in six games, including a grand slam in Saturday’s win over the Rays. He finished the week hitting .357 with eight RBI and is the third baseman of the future for the Rockies. If anyone plays fantasy, go pick this kid up now.
