REALITY: Since 2012, no team in the American League has more wins than the Baltimore Orioles
Orioles have been AL's winningest team (360-293) in 5 seasons GM Dan Duquette and Manager Buck Showalter have been together. @Orioles
— Richard Justice (@richardjustice) April 11, 2016
PERCEPTION: Let that sink in. After so many seasons of despair in Baltimore, the Birds have been the winningest team in the league over the last four years. So why is it so surprising when they start off the 2016 season with the best record in the AL once again?
It just so happens, that the winning in Baltimore also corresponds with the Buck Showalter/Dan Duquette era. So why do we find it surprising when Toronto or Washington or any other team comes calling for Duquette to join their franchise? He clearly is doing something right.
The Ravens are one of the best teams in the NFL Draft every year. So it’s not surprising that teams want to pluck Assistant GM Eric DeCosta away. It’s the same with Duquette. Those rumors (whether true or not) are going to continue for as long as the Orioles keep up their winning ways.
But Baltimore… who cares! Peter Angelos won’t let Duquette go, so simply sit back and enjoy watching the winningest team in the American League over the last four+ seasons.
REALITY: The Orioles starting pitchers have an ERA of 5.14 in 2016.
With a rotation ERA of 5.14 for the year and 7.05 last 7g, Captain Obv. says the pitchers have to step up. Last 3 wins by 9-7, 9-5, 11-5.
— Steve Melewski (@masnSteve) April 17, 2016
@Orioles 1.80 ERA is obvious reason for 5-0 rec.
The power of pitching? Consider: in 81 W's in 2015 ERA 2.10, in 81 L's ERA 7.79. Boom.— Mark Viviano (@MarkWJZ) April 11, 2016
PERCEPTION: We all know that this season will come down to how the pitching staff does. This stat from 2015 (the tweet from Viv) says it all. 2.10 ERA in 81 wins and 7.79 ERA in their 81 losses. The Orioles are going to hit, but can their pitchers keep the ball in the park?
If they can, the O’s will be in the playoffs.
REALITY: The Orioles bullpen is 2nd in MLB in ERA.
PERCEPTION: Even with Saturday night’s bad outing by the bullpen, the Birds relievers are second in baseball with a 2.03 ERA in 11 games. They rank 5th in MLB (3rd in AL) in strikeouts by the pen.
The issue, as we all know, is the starting staff. They currently rank 23rd in MLB and 13th (out of 15) in the AL in ERA. And because their ERA is so high, the Orioles rank 29th out of 30 teams in baseball in innings pitched by starters at just 56 in 11 games. That is not good. If the Birds are going to win, the starters have got to give them six good innings. But so far, only Ubaldo Jimenez has given the O’s seven innings. Vance Worley and Yovani Gallardo have each gone six in one game.
When Baltimore’s starters go at least six innings, the Orioles are 2-1, and I think we would all agree that Gallardo starting the 7th inning on Saturday was a big mistake. The Birds had the lead and if Buck would have gone to the pen to start the 7th, who knows how it would have ended?
REALITY: The Orioles hitters are 2nd in MLB in batting average.
PERCEPTION: Take a look at that stat again. No, that wasn’t a home runs stat, that was a batting average stat. I think most of us would be happy if Baltimore kept that stat going all season. But with a lineup that tends to be all-or-nothing, I was shocked to see their team average at .291. But dig a little deeper to see that it shouldn’t be shocking.
Kim is 3-for-6. Reimold is 7-for-18. Trumbo is 17-for-44 with a whole lot of singles. Machado is 18-for-47. Rickard is 14-for-46. That’s five hitters over .300. The Birds have been crushing the long ball, but they have also been making better contact than I had expected as a whole.
The interesting part is that although the Birds seem to be making good contact, their hits have not been timely. They lead baseball in home runs, but they are 7th in RBIs and Runs. Too many of their Home Runs continue to be solo shots. They need to find ways to be more consistent as a whole, instead of random hot streaks. Still, enjoy the high team batting average while it lasts – which will, hopefully, be all summer long!
