Don’t ever doubt Buck Showalter

I learned a very important lesson during the Orioles’ thrilling 8-5 comeback victory over the Red Sox on Wednesday night. It was really a lesson that I already knew, but had simply forgotten — Don’t ever doubt what Buck Showalter is doing.

Every pitching change, every substitution, and every play he calls – don’t ever have any doubt that Buck is doing the right thing. The whole “Don’t Doubt Buck” mantra can be compared to “Don’t Run Ever” on Matt Wieters if you like.

It’s just something you shouldn’t do.

Anyone who happens to follow me on Twitter (@AStetka) would have seen during the game that I was doing a lot of doubting.

I wasn’t sure why Tommy Hunter was in the game after allowing a tiebreaking homer in the sixth to Daniel Nava. Then he proceeded to give up a second blast to Jarrod Saltalamacchia, which sent me into a tailspin of tweets about my doubt.

I wasn’t sure why Ryan Flaherty was still in the game after his first few at-bats. The second baseman was 0-for-3 with three HORRIBLE looking strikeouts prior to his clutch single in the ninth. That hit by the way, was his first of the season after going 0-for-17 prior.

I wasn’t sure why Nolan Reimold was allowed to keep dragging down the designated hitter’s spot, which has probably been the weakest link thus far in the Orioles season. Players hitting in the DH spot this season are a putrid 1-for-26 on the year thus far. But then, Reimold drew a key walk in the ninth to keep the rally going.

Truthfully, and this one might be the most shocking, I wasn’t sure why Manny Machado was still hitting in the second spot going into last night. It was a move I not only suggested, but promoted during spring training. I figured, why not throw the kid up there and see what he can do? It’s not something many even expected prior to Opening Day and some were quite surprised to see Showalter’s first lineup featuring the third baseman in the two-hole.

Though less than a week into the season, with Machado stuck in a 1-for-18 slump, I had my doubts about why he was still hitting second and hadn’t been moved down in favor of Nick Markakis or J.J. Hardy. There’s that word again: Doubt.

Machado — or “Baby Face Assassin” as Adam Jones dubbed him after the game on Twitter — ripped a three-run homer in the ninth in the biggest of spots, giving the Orioles the lead and eventually the game. My doubt was gone. It went right out the window with the rest of my credibility.

I’m really just writing this piece as a warning to the rest of you. You can’t fall into the trap that I fell into. You can’t doubt Buck Showalter or this team.

The win was great, but what was almost even better was seeing a slightly less empty Fenway Park and the reaction to the comeback. The Boston fans were really original with their chants of “Noooo-Lannnnn! Nooooo-Lannnn!” when Nolan Reimold was at the dish. They were even more hilarious singing The Village People’s “Macho Man” while Machado was batting. He went “Macho” alright. He showed all of Fenway Park and Major League Baseball just how macho he can be.

The sellout streak at Fenway Park might have ended last night, but the enormous amount of idiotic, bandwagon Boston baseball fans that fill that stadium on a nightly basis may never come to an end. The Curse of the Andino and whatever you want to call Chris Davis beating them with his pitching arm last season lived on in last night’s win.

Don’t doubt that Buck will have this team ready for whatever other challenge lies ahead.

We all Buckled Up last year for a good reason.

No reason to unbuckle yourself now.