I heard it said a lot this weekend. “The only thing better than beating the Yankees, is doing it in front of a national television audience.” Boy, isn’t that the truth. Perhaps SWEEPING the Bronx Bombers really is the only thing that tops it. The Orioles took care of business on Sunday night, capping a 5-2 week and hanging right in the thick of things in the AL East. It’s now July, and time to start paying some attention to these things. More on that in a bit.
Brian Roberts made a fairly triumphant return to the lineup on Sunday night. I think it was great to see #1 back on the field, no matter what the capacity. Any real Orioles fan that doesn’t root for this guy is fooling themselves. I had a lot of fans ask me in the days leading up to Roberts’ return why the team would really want him back and who he would replace. This chatter became even louder after seeing Ryan Flaherty raise his level of play over the last few weeks. What does having Roberts back really hurt? I’m confident having an extra bat in the order like B-Rob can only do good things, no matter how long it lasts. For now, just enjoy the fact that he’s back. We all know Roberts’ injury history, so you don’t know what you will get from him or for how long.
Before I dive into giving you a look at the standings and tell you who is really in this thing for the long haul, let’s take a moment and bask in the glory that is Chris Davis.
–The O’s first baseman broke Brady Anderson’s record for home runs before an All-Star break. Davis now has 31, while Anderson had 30 when he set the club record with 50 home runs in 1996.
–Davis also became the first player in MAJOR LEAGUE HISTORY to have at least 25 doubles and 31 homers by the end of June. Read that again and make sure you have it right. Those are just incredible numbers.
For everyone who wants to speculate that Davis could be getting a boost in his performance from something that, let’s just say, may not be legal in the game of baseball, feel free. You, as a baseball fan, have that right after what you’ve witnessed over the past 15-20 years in the game. I’m not powerful or influential enough to tell you that you can’t. But I offer you this tweet from Bill Baer (@CrashburnAlley) which sums it up for me: https://twitter.com/CrashburnAlley/statuses/351152767668195329
Davis is someone who has always been big and strong with the ability to hit the ball a long way. The thing he lacked was the ability to consistently make contact with the baseball. The problem for pitchers is that he’s finally found that ability. That ability is also something that you can’t magically gain from an injection, pill or anything else but hard work.
Now that we have officially reached the end of June and are three months into the season, it’s time to take a look at where everyone stands. At this point, 24 of the 30 teams in baseball have played at least 81 games, or 50% of their season. With the addition of the second Wild Card team, it’s tough to count anyone completely out of the playoff hunt.
The O’s are through 83 games and just 2.5 games back of the Red Sox. The way things look in the AL East, I wouldn’t count anyone out. Even Toronto is 8.5 games out in the division, but still not out of the hunt. In my honest, non-fan influenced opinion, I think the Orioles are going to capture this division. The Birds will need to add some pieces prior to the trade deadline at the end of the month, but they can continue to contend throughout the summer.
The American League Central is a little crazy. Detroit leads by mere percentage points over Cleveland. Most Tigers fans aren’t worried, having seen their squad sleepwalk through the regular season last year while the White Sox led most of the way, only to take over late and make a run to the World Series. Detroit should worry this year. Chicago is well out of it, but the Indians, Royals and even the Twins are going to push them. Minnesota is just six games back while Kansas City sits 4.5 behind. The Tigers are NOT a better team than they were last year and while their rotation is stacked and Miguel Cabrera can carry them, they’ll need to work for it this year.
The AL West for me comes down to two teams, Texas and Oakland. The Rangers hold a half-game lead on the A’s as we turn the page to July. The Mariners and Astros are well out of it, and the only hope the Angels have of recovering is to possibly grab a wild card position. We saw the Rangers and A’s go at it last year as well. I think it turns out the same too, with Oakland coming out on top.
The National League’s Eastern Division is about the only one that bores me. Miami? No chance. The Mets? See you in a few weeks for the All-Star Game, and then we’re done with you. Philadelphia? I’m sorry, but the Phils have false hope that anything positive is going on there. Atlanta holds a 6.5-game lead on the Nationals right now. We’ve seen bigger collapses in history, but it’s going to take the Braves falling on their face to lose that lead. The Nats will get Bryce Harper back soon and can make a run, but I just don’t see them catching Atlanta. Natitude will have to settle for a wild card berth if they want to keep dreaming of a World Series in the lesser of the two beltways.
The NL Central is the opposite of the NL East. It’s going to be a blast. The Pittsburgh Pirates, yes, the Pittsburgh Pirates have the best record in baseball with a 51-30 mark. The Buccos lead the Cardinals by two games and the Reds by 5.5 right now. The Cubs and Brewers are fairly certain the season starts three months from now, not three months ago. They are both done. I could easily see three playoff teams coming from this division. It’s likely going to be a battle between the third place team and the Nationals for a wild card spot. I think the Cardinals will win this division because they are still the best squad. The Pirates aren’t going to have the monumental collapse that they’ve had the last few seasons, but they aren’t capturing the division. Pittsburgh’s pitching is much better this season, and that will show throughout the summer.
The NL West is undoubtedly the worst division in baseball, beating out the AL Central for the honor. The Arizona Diamondbacks are three games above the .500 mark and hold a two-game lead over the Colorado Rockies. All FIVE teams in the division are within four games of each other. The Dodgers, who everyone proclaimed was dead, is in last and just four games out. This division looks simple to me, but I could be wrong. San Francisco will battle the Rockies down the stretch for the division. I think the Dodgers are still a contender, but only if they can figure out their bullpen and give Yasiel Puig and company some help. The D’backs and Padres are pretenders to me. I think both fade away once August rolls around.
Speaking of Yasiel Puig, it’s time to address the debate that’s been rocking baseball. Does the rookie deserve a spot in the All-Star Game? Puig has without a doubt done things that no one in this lifetime has seen. He’s put up numbers in the first month of his career that compare only to Joe Dimaggio. He also does not deserve to go to Flushing in a few weeks. The kid has been playing at this level for a month. One month. He needs to prove that he can do it for longer than a month. The baseball fan in me loves watching Puig. He’s exciting to watch, even if he’s just throwing the ball back into the infield after catching a routine popup. Leave him home. If he keeps it up, we’ll be sure to see him next year at Target Field in Minneapolis for the 2014 All-Star Game. Everyone will love him then too.
Orioles Player of the Week:
2B – Ryan Flaherty: The return of Brian Roberts has made things very murky for Flaherty, but his play hasn’t diminished, he’s actually elevated it. It’d be easy to give this award to Chris Davis every week, but Flaherty hit .500, homered, drove in five and for a second week in a row is the player of the week. He’s really giving the O’s a reason to keep him around even with Roberts and Alexi Casilla on the roster. Flaherty’s defense also deserves mention, because he’s made an already stellar infield defense that much better.
American League Player of the Week:
2B – Jason Kipnis (CLE): Orioles fans saw firsthand what kind of damage Kipnis can do when his bat is as hot as it was last week. Kipnis hit .478 with three homers and ten RBI. His .606 on-base percentage led the American League. Kipnis has powered the Tribe’s offense into competing with the Tigers for the AL Central lead.
National League Player of the Week:
C – Buster Posey (SFG): When you lead your league in average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and homers during a week, you’re a sure bet to land here. Posey hit .500 with a .560 OBP and 1.182 SLG while knocking four out of the park. He’s been about the only bright spot for the defending champions from San Francisco. The Giants were just 1-5 last week and have lost 11 out of 15 overall.
That’s this week’s West Coast View. Go O’s!
photo co/ Beth Tenser on Facebook
