In the blink of an eye it seems, we are officially past the quarter mark of the 2017 season. And man, to say it’s been a pretty wild ride so far would be an understatement.
But all’s well that ends well, right? With a 25-17 record to date, the Orioles are hot on the heels of the first-place Yankees and if they replicate what they’ve done through the first forty-two games, you’re looking at another playoff berth. And you know how much this Orioles squad loves to prove the talking heads wrong when they’re written off year after year before a real game is even played.
For a team that was picked to finish third in the division, they’ve silenced the critics with an impressive 17-10 record against the AL East.
While the Orioles have cooled down in May with a 10-9 record, they opened the season with a bang by notching a stellar 15-8 mark in April and still own the league’s best home record at 15-4. They’ve also shown a knack for coming up clutch in big situations with a 7-1 record in extra innings.
Consistency remains crucial for the Orioles going forward, as they’ve racked up three winning streaks of four games or more, but they’ve also hit a rough patch in late April and are currently on a 3-7 skid over their last ten. A 2-8 road record thus far in May is another worrying point.
The bats are warming up as the season rolls into late Spring, and after coming to life in recent weeks, the Orioles own the sixth-best offense in the AL (4.7 runs per game), the fourth-highest batting average (.258), and are tied for third in the AL in home runs (61).
On the flip side, the pitching has seen a drop off in form recently, and currently ranks in or near the bottom third in almost every major statistical category in the American League. They’re ranked dead last in the AL in WHIP (1.46), BAA (.263), and OBP (.345).
But hey, you can look into the stats all day long and at the end of the day, all that matters are the win and loss columns. In that regard, the Orioles have compiled a very impressive first quarter this season, and this is still a team that’s not totally firing on all cylinders. If it clicks, watch out.
My advice Birdland?
Don’t worry, be happy!
