Reality: Ubaldo Jimenez was demoted to the bullpen.
Perception: After signing a contract worth $50 million this offseason, Jimenez has not lived up to expectations. He is 4-9 on the season with a 4.83 ERA in 20 games.
Something had to be done, and there weren’t many options. No matter how bad some fans gripe, Jimenez was not going anywhere. They invested a lot of money and years into him and they are going to give him every chance they can to get back on track, especially during the offseason. So for now they need to find something to do with him while he is on the roster.
They cannot send him down to the minors, so he is staying on the 25-man roster. They did all they could do by sending him to the bullpen. There, they can try to hide him a bit for the next 10 days. We may only see him come in during blowouts.
Then, when rosters expand September 1st, he could get hidden even deeper in the ‘pen. Then, more than likely, the man who signed the richest contract the team has ever given to a free agent pitcher will be left off the playoff roster.
As I watch Jimenez pitch, I see a guy who just can’t throw strikes. It’s not like he is just leaving balls up in the strike zone and getting hit hard… he just can’t throw with any accuracy at all. His 66 walks allowed are the most in baseball, even with missing two weeks while on the DL.
So I’m not sure that he will be helpful at all in the bullpen. Relief pitchers need to throw strikes effectively, and Jimenez just can’t do it.
He has only one relief appearance in his career, and it was during his major league debut, September 26, 2006. He allowed two hits in one scoreless inning.
Reality: Steve Pearce and JJ Hardy are heating up again.
Perception: Over the last five games, Steve Pearce is hitting .389 with four doubles while JJ Hardy is batting .350. Nick Markakis is holding steady at the top of the order, hitting .320 in his last six games, but Nelson Cruz and Chris Davis are still struggling. Both are hitting under .200 in the last week and in the last month.
The Orioles’ big names may continue to struggle at the plate, but the Birds are getting key hits at crucial times from many different players in their lineup. Everyone stepping up to do their job is going to be key for this team as they head towards the playoffs. If you can’t count on the power hitters, then it’s just everyone doing something to help out, as they have most of the season.
Reality: The Orioles are 20 games over .500.
Perception: At 72-52, the Orioles have their best record after 124 games since 1997. That was the last time the Orioles won the AL East, finishing 2.0 games ahead of New York. The Orioles were 36 games over .500 at this point in the season in 1997 and finished 34 games over .500.
At this point both last year and two years ago, the Orioles were 10 games over .500.
Unless something dramatic happens in the final month of the regular season, the Orioles will win the AL East, as they lead by 8.5 games. They also only trail the Oakland Athletics by 1.5 games and the LA Angels of Anaheim by 2.0 games for the best record in baseball.
Oakland is in a tailspin, going 3-7 in their last 10 games, and just can’t score runs. So the Orioles have a real good chance to catch them, but that’s not important. If they want home-field advantage, they need to catch the Angels, who are 7-3 in their last 10 games, just as the Orioles are.
So the Orioles very well could have their best regular season in 20 years… the question now is, how far in the playoffs can this team go?
