It’s raining in Baltimore, because of course it is. It’s raining in Minnesota, because, again, of course it is. The O’s already had one of their three games in the Twin Cities rained out, and as I type this the tarp is again on the field ahead of the scheduled 1:10 matinee start at Target Field. The Birds come home for a seven-game home stand after today’s game, and the forecast for the foreseeable future in Baltimore is, again, of COURSE, rain (80% chance of storms Friday & Saturday). Cool it, Mother Nature. Please?
Linky linky time.
Orioles’ Patient Approach Paying Off in 2016
The Birds are currently second in the AL with an OBP of .332, and they are showing the kind of discipline at the dish that they haven’t in years. Paul Folkemer of PressBox points out that some of that is due to replacing guys like Jimmy Paredes, Delmon Young, and Gerardo Parra with fellas like Joey Rickard, while some players, like Chris Davis, have improved individually. Here’s to more of it.
What Hector Neris Might Teach Brad Brach
Brad Brach got hit in the leg with a liner last night, and apparently all it did was make him angry, as he promptly struck out the next two Twins batters to finish up a scoreless seventh inning. Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs says that Brach’s change-up is downright nasty, and it’s very possible he isn’t throwing it enough. As good as he’s been, imagine him being even better. Maybe more change-ups could help that, maybe not. But you should always read Jeff Sullivan writing about pitching.
Machado & Schoop Celebrated the Win by…Play-Fighting Each Other?
Besties Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop got into a fake tiff in the post-game handshake line last night. Many of you caught it on TV, and fortunately for those who missed it or just want to see it again, Cut4 has the GIF. Dawwwww, they’re so cute.
TOOTBLAN: Manny Machado’s Kryptonite
Speaking of Manny, he’s been awesome at pretty much everything for a long time now. This year, he’s been even MORE awesome at most things. However, Scott Magness over at Baltimore Sports Report tells us about the one aspect of Manny’s game that isn’t near-perfect: his tendency to get gunned down on the basepaths. Maybe sometimes, he’s trying to do a bit too much.
In a guest column at Camden Depot, Joe Wantz writes about what a potential Jonathan Schoop extension might look like. While Schoop’s numbers are down a bit this year from last, his peripherals point to his potential breakout season still being very much a possibility, as Wantz points out. So should the O’s extend him before he really breaks out, as his aforementioned BFF Manny did (though, to a much lesser degree, of course)? To me, the best incentive for locking up Schoop is that it provides just one more reason for Manny to want to hang around. While it obviously won’t make or break his decision, it can’t hurt.
