Has the phrase “living and dying by the long ball” ever applied to a team more than it does these 2013 Baltimore Orioles?
It seems like every night the Orioles either win via the home run, or lose through the Orioles pitching staff’s inability to keep the ball in the park.
Per Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports, the Orioles are 52-37 when they hit a home run in the game (79% of games played), making the Orioles 10-14 in games when they did not. While the legendary Earl Weaver is no longer the Orioles fire-spitting manager, his spirit has seemed to live on in the 2013 Birds.
Wednesday, the O’s used the long ball to down the San Diego Padres 10-3, with one monster shot coming from Crush Davis himself, as he delivered an Earl Weaver special in the 8th inning to break a 3-3 tie. J.J. Hardy also hit a solo shot in the first inning (number 19).
The Orioles currently lead the Major Leagues in home runs with 152 bombs, but their inability to manufacture runs without the home run is an area of concern. Though the O’s have a heavy hitting lineup, the discomfort of having to rely on a home run in October especially in, say, a one game playoff – is unsettling.
Not only is it dangerous to rely so heavily on the long ball, it also makes batters like Davis, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, and Hardy press to produce runs. Last year in the ALDS, we saw Jones pressing so hard due to the lack of runs that he would swing out of his shoes. The last thing the O’s want to do is rely on the home run and suffer another power outage in a win-or-go-home situation.
In addition, not only do the Orioles depend on the long ball on the offensive side, but their pitching staff has also surrendered the most home runs in the league (145).
The long ball has plagued the Orioles pitching staff this season, as they hold the worst HR/9 rate (1.43) and the 28th worst ERA (4.33) in baseball.
While the Birds play in a home run-friendly ballpark, it is completely frustrating to watch Orioles’ pitchers continuously make mistakes up in the zone, and get repeatedly punished by opposing batters – whether they’re at OPACY or not.
The Birds have surrendered 14 home runs in the last 8 games, coming against the Padres, Mariners, and Astros – all of which are sub .500 teams.
If the Orioles want to go on a 5-10 game run, the pitching staff has to be able to keep the ball in the ballpark. The O’s have the number one defense in the league and keeping it within the walls allows them to help out their pitchers.
With the season now headed down the home stretch it is time the Orioles step away from relying on the long ball, and become the all-around team they are capable of being. If they can begin to click on all cylinders, the Orioles can beat any team in the league.
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