Reality: The Royals and Orioles are evenly matched, which makes for great games.
Perception: I’m not sure there could be two teams that are more evenly matched than these two teams. It not only shows in how close the games are, but also in how long these games are taking. The first two games of the ALCS took nine hours combined, and were played in a 24 hours period.
The Orioles have never been swept in a postseason series, and I don’t see that happening this year either. They will do what they have to do and win at least one game in Kansas City, but they need to win at least two games to extend the series.
Reality: The Royals’ Jarrod Dyson was asked if he expected to return to Baltimore (for a Game 6), and he responded by saying “No sir, I don’t. And I don’t think they think that, either.”
Asked if he expected to return to Baltimore, Jarrod Dyson left no doubt: “No sir, I don’t. And I don’t think they think that, either.”
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) October 12, 2014
Perception: Why a bench player, who is only used as a pinch runner, would give his team’s opponent that sort of bulletin board material is beyond me. If I was the manager of the Royals, I would be calling Dyson into my office and telling him to shut his mouth.
This series is far from over.
Reality: A lot of people have exchanged their orange “We Won’t Stop” towel for a white flag.
Perception: I get it. Orioles fans are feeling defeated. It might have been easier to get blown out in the first two games than to lose both games the way the Birds did. But this team has battled back all season long. They have battled after losing Matt Wieters, Manny Machado (twice), and Chris Davis. Buck knows how to get the most out of this team, and he’ll do it again.
It’s so easy to be a fan of a team when they are winning, but how you feel about them during the tough times shows how much of a fan you really are. I feel defeated after the first two games, so I get it. But the Orioles are not dead yet. They need to find their Orioles Magic once again, and it needs to happen Monday night.
Reality: In football, the crowd makes “home field advantage;” in baseball, the field is the advantage.
Perception: Home field advantage is all about the crowd noise in football. When the home team is on defense, the crowd goes nuts and that hurts the visiting offense. However, in baseball, the crowd noise is constant. When you are hitting or in the field, the crowd is going crazy. So with the constant noise, it doesn’t really favor one team or another. The actual field would be the advantage in baseball… whether a hitter’s park or a pitcher’s park.
In this series, the Orioles may actually have the advantage in Kansas City. The Royals were last in baseball in home runs, and even their manager said that if their home was Camden Yards that they would have hit more home runs… and they did so far in this series. Now that the series goes back to KC, the Royals may struggle to hit home runs again, while the Orioles hit ‘em no matter where they play.
The Royals were 45-36 at home during the regular season, while the Orioles were 46-35 on the road during the season. So I’m not seeing a home field advantage at all for the Royals.
Reality: Down 2 games to 0, the Baltimore Orioles need to win 4 of their next 5 games to advance to the World Series.
Perception: The Orioles won 4 out of 5 games ten times during the regular season, so it’s entirely possible, they do it agains in the playoffs.
The O’s won five straight games against the Rays and Astros back in May. They won four in a row against the Astros and Rangers in June. They won five out of six against the Rays, Yankees, and White Sox in June. They won six out of seven against the Rays and Red Sox in July. They won four out of five from the Angels and Mariners in July. They won six out of seven against the Mariners, Nationals, Blue Jays, and Cardinals in August. They won four in a row against the Indians and White Sox in August. They won four in a row, and six out of seven, against the Rays and Twins in August. They won six in a row against the Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees in September. They won four in a row against Yankees and Blue Jays in September.
