This is a weekly column that dives into eight random thoughts about the Orioles/MLB. Why eight? It’s a nod to Cal Ripken Jr. of course. That, and doing 2,632 of these would be a little overboard. – A.S.
1. So, the dream of an undefeated season is over for the Orioles. It’s no reason to fret. The O’s have had a great start to the campaign, and given themselves some room for error. I don’t think they were ever going to threaten the 2001 Seattle Mariners for the single-season wins mark. We’ll leave that stuff to the Warriors. The more important thing about the way the O’s have started the season is that they have three series wins in three attempts. By winning at least two games in every series, the Birds will set themselves up nicely come late August and September.
2. Adam Jones remains out of the lineup, for now. Some comments made by Buck Showalter this week make it seem like the team was simply waiting for warmer weather to put Jones into a game. Perhaps that means this weekend in Texas. Either way, any injury to Jones is obviously concerning. The guy has been very durable during his career, and his absence was felt this week in the outfield.
Joey Rickard was forced to shift to center field in Jones’ absence, meaning the corner outfield positions suffered defensively. Seeing Mark Trumbo and Ryan Flaherty attempt to track down balls in Fenway Park was interesting, to say the least. What has been clear about seeing Jones out of the lineup is that the offense hasn’t suffered much. Sure, there’s a small sample size and some pitchers that lined up against the O’s that wouldn’t scare many, but knowing that the team’s fortunes won’t depend on him hitting 30 homers this season is nice.
There is enough to spread the load around with the bats.
Craig Landefeld/GulfBird Photo
3. Watching Ubaldo Jimenez’s first two starts was mostly encouraging. Especially his first outing, where he labored and it may have seemed like he gave eight runs in four innings, but then you looked up and he’d only surrendered two of them in seven innings. Only one of those runs were earned and he also struck out nine.
The thing I noticed most about Jimenez’s first two starts was his ability to throw his two-seam fastball for strikes. It has had great movement and zip to it, and is fooling hitters. When he starts that pitch on the outside to right-handed hitters, and it breaks back over the plate, it’s a weapon. He can find himself in trouble at times with it to lefties when he leaves it out over the plate, but overall it’s been a good pitch for him in the early going.
We all know this is what Jimenez is capable of, and many are hopeful that he can provide these types of outings throughout the season. I wrote last week about the fact that both Jimenez and Yovani Gallardo should be relied upon to be good at times and mediocre at others. So far, Jimenez is showing us the former. We know the O’s won’t have great starting pitching this season, so it’s nice to know that when they do get a solid outing, they are taking advantage.
4. I had a friend ask me a question on Twitter this week about Dylan Bundy. He wanted to know when the Orioles would move him into the rotation. Would it be by the All-Star break? By the end of the season? I don’t think the O’s themselves even know the answer to that question at the moment. For now, they are just happy that he’s healthy.
But consider this – Bundy is no doubt in the plans to be in the rotation by the start of next season. There has to be an eye on that. Many view him as a “Rule 5” type player this year, because he must be on the roster and is basically stashed in the bullpen. He’s made a pair of pretty crucial outings so far this season, including going 2.1 innings on Tuesday against Boston. It’s important to remember that with his two appearances this season, he’s now up to four for his career. Yet, Bundy is going to be leaned on to get some big outs this year.
And I do think there will be an opportunity for him to start later on this season, once he gets some innings built up. It may not be until September, but I’d be shocked if he doesn’t make at least three or four starts in 2016. His development and usage will be something important to watch as this season unfolds.
5. Chris Davis has been a charm this season, an absolute gem. He’s providing the power in the middle of the lineup that the Orioles forked over all that money for in the offseason. I’m frankly tired of hearing the debate about paying him. His start to the season isn’t proof that the Orioles made the right move, nor is the argument that he won’t be able to keep this up for the length of the contract proof that it was the wrong move.
While Davis’ offense is crucial to the O’s, the thing that Buck Showalter praises more than anything is his defense. We’ve all read about this and heard the talk, but it’s not hollow. I’ve made an effort to pay closer attention to Davis’ defense, and it really is spectacular at times. Whether it’s fielding a hot shot down the line, stretching to complete throws from his infielders, or simply being in the right position on pick-offs, Davis has done incredible things with the glove. You can tell by watching that it’s something he’s worked on and really aimed to improve.
On a Showalter-led team, you know it’s appreciated.
6. I took the chance to kick back last night and watch ESPN’s coverage of the Orioles-Red Sox game. I mostly watch the games on MASN, but from time to time I’ll flip over to the opponents broadcast to get a different viewpoint. Last night, I was able to get the national perspective. I was intrigued to see how the game would be covered with the O’s entering as the only remaining undefeated team in MLB.
To its credit, ESPN didn’t go overboard with it. I appreciated this. I really enjoy the group of Boog Sciambi, Rick Sutcliffe and Doug Glanville. It’s a good crew in comparison to what ESPN has been throwing out there for its Sunday Night Baseball game each week. Jessica Mendoza is a breath of fresh air on that front, but she’s still learning the craft as well. I didn’t find or hear any glaring mistakes with the way the ESPN crew covered the O’s. There weren’t any glaring errors or omissions and it was a pretty clean broadcast.
Perhaps the most intriguing part of it all was wondering how they’d possibly get through the game in time to cut out to Los Angeles for Kobe Bryant’s final NBA game. They’d promoted it so heavily, along with the Golden State Warriors’ efforts to break the NBA single-season wins mark, that it was comical to think that the slow pace of a baseball game would ruin it. The Red Sox would be just the team to have slow pace possibly throw a wrench into things. Luckily for the folks in Bristol, it all worked out.
Craig Landefeld/GulfBird Photo
7. With Kevin Gausman coming back from injury and the rear end of the rotation in flux, things could soon be changing among the starting pitchers. We know Gausman is a lock to join the starters when he comes back. This isn’t 2015, there will be no Norfolk shuttle – he has earned his stripes. Mike Wright or Vance Worley would appear to be the two candidates at risk of losing their rotation spot, but frankly, neither of them are guaranteed to keep it. I have a feeling that Tyler Wilson is in the mix here as well. It’s tough for the O’s to settle on a fifth starter when their fourth starter is also up in the air.
Gausman will slide nicely as a fourth guy to go along with Chris Tillman, Ubaldo Jimenez and Yovani Gallardo, and then it’s just a matter of settling on one guy. Place your bets now on one of the three, but my money is on Wilson.
8. The O’s have now seen two of their division opponents, and realized that both have glaring issues. Every AL East team has warts, the Birds included. But the scars shown by Tampa Bay and Boston are ugly. The Rays can’t hit themselves out of a wet paper bag. Their offense leaves a whole lot to be desired, especially when matched up with the O’s. When Hank Conger is your best option as a pinch-hitter, it says a lot.
With the Red Sox, it’s the rotation after David Price. I don’t think Price is a guy that scares the Orioles too much because they have so much experience facing him, but there’s no doubting his talent. After that, there’s not much to work with in that Boston starting staff. The bullpen of the Red Sox is also not all that scary, aside from Craig Kimbrel. And we all saw what the O’s were able to do to him earlier this week. In the end, it’s again a small sample size to make rash judgements about these division foes, but it looks like taking advantage of these blemishes of the other teams will be key to being in the AL East race for the long haul.
