This is my new-look weekly view of everything Orioles and baseball. It’s a wrap up of the last seven days and a look ahead for Baltimore’s baseball team. I’ll provide a unique perspective on the game from a different place, the west coast.
As the Orioles trekked through the orange juice-themed stadiums this week, they took a few lumps before eventually bouncing back with a much-needed victory in Sunday’s series finale in St. Petersburg. I’m not sure anyone expected the O’s to allow 11 runs in one game to the Astros, but that’s just what Freddy Garcia and the staff did last Wednesday in Houston. Garcia had his worst outing in a Baltimore uniform and really pitched himself into a hole when it comes time for Wei-Yin Chen to return from his oblique injury.
Then Saturday rolled around and Kevin Gausman tried to one-up Garcia. Gausman was rocked for seven runs in just over four innings to fall to 0-and-3 in his young career. We all know the kid will get another start and that he doesn’t seem to have lost his confidence. But when Chen’s return is imminent, it will still be a competition between the young fireballer from LSU and the old veteran Garcia to see who stays in the rotation and who goes.
Despite a couple of lopsided losses, the O’s turned in a 3-3 road trip this week. All wasn’t lost in that department and the Birds still find themselves just three-and-a-half games behind the first-place Red Sox, who happen to pay a visit to Camden Yards this weekend for a four-game series. That said, the Rays have turned things around and are looking like a force to be feared right now. Tampa Bay is just a half-game behind the O’s and is 7-and-5 against Baltimore this year. Luckily the Birds won’t see the Rays until August and then again once more in September.
A pair of great national articles were written about Chris Davis this week on ESPN platforms.
One of them was written by Eddie Matz of ESPN the Magazine and features great stories about Davis’ clubhouse nature and how he fits in on this team.
This one from Jonah Keri at Grantland really dives into Davis’ makeup as a hitter and why he isn’t someone who is just a flash in the pan. It basically states that he can sustain this type of torrid pace he’s been on this year because things seemed to have clicked.
Perhaps these jinxed the man we so affectionately call “Crush.” Davis hit .192 over the past week with one double and 11 strikeouts. His season average fell to .338, so it’s not like there is anything to panic over. Davis had a bad week, but hopefully it was just that. Just one bad week.
As for this week, as I mentioned the O’s host the Red Sox in a four-game series this weekend. Prior to that, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim come to town to start a three-game set tonight. The Halos are still the struggling team that the O’s took three out of four from in Anaheim in early May. They’ve lost seven of their last nine games and are just 27-36 on the year. Boston is a different story entirely. The Sox have won six out of eight and are rolling atop the AL East at 39-25.
While it was a mediocre week on the field for the Orioles, when American League All-Star voting totals came out on Saturday they looked awfully orange. Shortstop J.J. Hardy took over the top spot in his position from Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers. He’s joined by first baseman Chris Davis atop his position. “Crush” leads Prince Fielder of the Tigers while Adam Jones is the leading vote-getter among outfielders. Nick Markakis is fourth in the outfield while Nate McLouth sits seventh. Manny Machado won’t catch Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera, but he’s still second and should very well make the team. Matt Wieters is also right there in the catching spot, in second place and trailing Joe Mauer of the Twins. Voting continues all the way through July 4th so there is plenty of time to push more O’s to the top.
The MLB Draft was held late last week and in my mind, the only team that really “won” the event was the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D’backs used their 34th-round selection to select Arizona State outfielder Cory Hahn. It may not seem like a big deal until you realize that Hahn hasn’t played in a game since 2011 when he was paralyzed. Hahn was one of the top high school prospects in the nation in 2010 and was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 26th round. Instead of signing with the Padres, Hahn honored his commitment to play for the Sun Devils. His college career lasted just three games. Hahn suffered a spinal injury after a head-first slide on a steal attempt in a game against New Mexico on February 20th, 2011. He fractured his C-5 vertebrae and was paralyzed from mid-chest down after having surgery later that night. The Diamondbacks honored Hahn by selecting him in the 34th round to match his jersey number at ASU. It’s a classy move by an even classier organization, and one that shouldn’t go unnoticed. Props to the D’backs, who have also announced plans to find Hahn a job within the organization.
Orioles Player of the Week:
SS – J.J. Hardy: Not only did J.J. Hardy overtake Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus in the voting for the All-Star Game this week, but he mashed at the dish. Hardy hit .500 with a homer and five RBI while posting an absurd 1.292 OPS in six games. Hardy has a good shot to keep it rolling and knock off Derek Jeter from the American League’s All-Star shortstop position.
American League Player of the Week:
BOS – Mike Carp (LF): Mike Carp clubbed his way to the AL PoW award by hitting .500 with three homers and six RBI in just five games. He posted a 1.651 OPS in helping Boston to a 4-2 record. I wouldn’t expect Carp to show up in this spot much more, but the former Mariner at least had a solid week for the Sox.
National League Player of the Week:
LAD – Yasiel Puig (RF): The young Cuban rookie couldn’t have had a better start to his career in Dodgertown this week. The name is pronounced YAH-see-el PWEEG and the 22-year-old gave us plenty to talk about by hitting .464 with four homers and 10 RBI, posting a 1.447 OPS in his first seven games. He could and likely will make Andre Ethier completely useless in Los Angeles.
Time for another shameless plug. Be sure to catch me on The Coach’s Buzz tonight at 7:15 on CBS Sports Radio 1300 for the Eutaw Street Report where I chat with Coach and the guys about the Orioles. It’s a weekly segment that can be heard on 1300AM in Baltimore or online at CoachBuzz.net. You can even listen on the Radio.com app for your smartphone.
That’s this week’s West Coast View. Go O’s!
