PERCEPTION IS REALITY: Davis Gets Work in RF

REALITY: Chris Davis started Saturday’s Spring Training workout in Right Field.

PERCEPTION: If Davis moves to RF on a regular basis, this really changes the Orioles defensive lineup. With Jones in CF and Davis in RF, you now take away a position for a bunch of other guys. Originally Travis Snider, Steve Pearce, Alejandro De Aza, David Lough and Delmon Young were battling for LF, RF, and DH. They would now be battling for just LF and DH. I think that with Davis in RF, Snider is the leader for LF while Pearce would be the leader for 1B. Then I see Young being the DH while Lough and De Aza come off the bench.

REALITY: The Orioles have 15 non-roster invitees at Spring Training.

PERCEPTION: There are four of those players that have a shot at making the ball club… pitcher Steve Johnson, catcher JP Arencibia, and outfielders Chris Parmelee and Nolan Reimold. If Reimold plays well, he could make the 40-man roster, but I just don’t see how he takes a spot away from Snider, De Aza, or Lough… and that’s the only way he makes the team. The same goes for Parmelee, but he could go to AAA and be ready in case of an injury. I don’t see Reimold going to AAA. He has an opt-out and if he’s not in Baltimore, he’s moving on. Arencibia has a chance if Caleb Joseph flounders in the pre-season. And if he can stay healthy, Johnson has a chance to help out in the bullpen.

REALITY: Buck Showalter had crowd noise piped in during pop-up drills last week.

PERCEPTION: Buck plays every game like it’s the playoffs. You’ve probably heard by now that in the last full team practice before Spring Training games began, Buck Showalter had crowd noise piped in to try to make it hard for the fielders to communicate. It happened to be the noise that fans at Camden Yards made when Delmon Young hit that liner down the left field line in the ALDS. It was so loud, some local homeowners called in a noise complaint to the police in the middle of the day.

But that is Buck. Every game (and practice) matters. That is why the Orioles are such a good team defensively. Every team has its hiccups but overall, the O’s are one of the strongest teams mentally. Buck gets them prepared better than any manager in baseball. He even was re-thinking what to do offensively against the shift. Most teams bunt down the third base line, but Buck had them practicing a bunt down the first base line. He has thought it out and wanted the team to practice it.

The Orioles might be outplayed at times, but they will never be outcoached as long as Buck is in charge.

REALITY: Spring Training games officially start Tuesday against the Tigers.

PERCEPTION: Just one more day until full baseball games, unlike the O’s vs Orioles on Sunday. 35 days until Opening Day.

As former Baltimore Ravens and current CBS Sports analyst Bart Scott would say, “Can’t Wait”!