Fansided

Baltimore Orioles: What makes them so good?

By Phil Naessens

Aug 18, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop (6) is congratulated by a teammate after scoring on a two run home run by right fielder Nick Markakis (not pictured) after hitting a 3-run RBI double against the Chicago White Sox during the eighth inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 18, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop (6) is congratulated by a teammate after scoring on a two run home run by right fielder Nick Markakis (not pictured) after hitting a 3-run RBI double against the Chicago White Sox during the eighth inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The American League East is one of the most talked about and well known divisions in baseball yet for some strange reason not many were talking about the Baltimore Orioles at the beginning of the season and to be honest not many of the national talking heads are yapping about them now.

Go ahead, I double dare you to name five players on the American League East division leading Baltimore Orioles. It’s okay if you can’t right now because when we are finished here you’ll know all about them and more importantly what the heck makes this team of relative unknowns so darn good.

I think the best way to answer both questions is to look at the Orioles season by looking at them before and after the All-Star break.

Jul 10, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles left fielder Steve Pearce (28) singles in the third inning against the Washington Nationals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 10, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles left fielder Steve Pearce (28) singles in the third inning against the Washington Nationals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports /

What if I told you in Spring Training that the one leading the Orioles in hitting would have a slash line of .316/.383/.567/.950 at the All-Star break and would not be Adam Jones? You’d have thought I was crazy but those are the numbers that career journeyman Steve Pearce put up in just 57 games. He also added 11 bombs, 31 RBI’s and 14 doubles to his tally. Pearce had an incredible first half of the season and while he struggled for a while after the break he seems to be hitting his stride going 8-for-25 over the last seven days including two bombs and four doubles. I didn’t see that coming did you?

What if I told you in Spring Training that the one leading the Orioles with 28 bombs and 74 RBI’s wouldn’t be Adam Jones or Chris Davis but Nelson Cruz? Again, crazy is a term I would use but that is indeed what happened. Cruz was on fire in the first half of the season and was an MVP candidate putting up an amazing slash line of .287/.353/.570/.923. Cruz has cooled off considerably in the second half of the season with just six bombs and 13 RBI’s with a paltry OBP of .245 and a slugging percentage of .350.

What if I told you in Spring Training that Wei-Yin Chin, a career .500 W/L pitcher would go 9-3 pre-All-Star break while sporting a 4.15 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP? That to date Chin is 13-4 and the ace of the Orioles staff? There’s that word crazy again and I would have had to agree with you.

What if I told you in Spring Training that the Orioles wouldn’t even miss closer Jim Johnson when they traded him away to the Oakland Athletics? What if I then told you that former starter turned closer Zach Briton would save 15 games before the break and Tommy Hunter would add 12 saves of his own before Manager Buck Showalter decided to hand the closing duties to Briton where he’s added another 12 saves in the second half. Yep, there’s that crazy word again.

What if I told you in Spring Training the Orioles would be six games in front of the New York Yankees on August 25, 2014 and would be doing so without All-Star catcher Matt Weiters? Weiters played in just 26 games before being lost for the season with a rotator cuff injury that required Tommy John surgery. Crazy, huh?

Those are just some of the reasons why the Baltimore Orioles are in first place and I have a few more to add as well.

As a team the Orioles are first in the American League in fielding, sixth in the American League in pitching and eighth in the American League in hitting. The Orioles are also tied with the Kansas City Royals with 39 wins on the road and lead the American League with a 25-19 record in one run ballgames.

Aug 18, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Baltimore Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis (21) hits a 2-run home run against the Chicago White Sox during the eighth inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 18, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Baltimore Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis (21) hits a 2-run home run against the Chicago White Sox during the eighth inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports /

As his slash line of .318/.389/.471/.860, three bombs, 27 hits and 12 runs scored indicates, outfielder Nick Markakis is having an amazing August. Shortstop J.J. Hardy isn’t very far behind in the August numbers either slashing .338/.386/.538/.924 to go along with three bombs and 11 RBI’s.

In the wake of the cavernous void left by Weiters absence rookie catcher Caleb Joseph has put together a better than expected season and his August numbers of .279/.326/.698/1.024 have been huge for the Orioles including belting five home runs in five consecutive games in August.

Adam Jones is having another Jones type of season. His slash line of .286/.315/.479/.794 is typical Jones numbers and he’s in the top eight defensively among American League centerfielders. He’s also clubbed 24 bombs and driven in 78 runs. Yep, typical Adam Jones numbers.

Starting pitcher Bud Norris has won more games already this season than in any other during his big league career. His home run for nine innings ratio of .090 is near is 2013 mark and much better than in season past and his walks for nine innings ratio of 2.72 is also a career mark. Much of this has to do with relying on his 93 mph fastball more and his slider less.

The Orioles would be in big trouble without reliever Darren O’Day. O’Day and his cruel slider have struck out 60 hitters in 56.2 innings of work for a 0.95 ERA. O’Day also has 21 holds this season and has done a tremendous job setting up Zach Briton.

Chris Davis has had a disappointing season if you base it on his 2013 numbers but we should not fail to understand that 53 bombs in a season were 20 more than he hit in 2012. Currently he has 21 bombs and 60 RBI which is closer to 2012. If this is a “down” season he sure isn’t hurting the Orioles very much if at all.

One big disappointment that we’ll have to wait and see how the Orioles respond is the season ending injury to third baseman Manny Machado. Machado was just starting to hit his stride in a season started late to due to a 2013 knee surgery plus a five game suspension for throwing a bat. The Orioles have rebounded from everything else so we’ll have to see what Manager Buck Showalter has up his sleeve.

Speaking of Showalter; he should be considered for Manager of the Year in the American League. He and his staff have done a tremendous job this season. He made a tremendous decision to replace Tommy Hunter with Zach Briton, he’s managed the pitching staff very well and he seems to have pushed all the right buttons at just the right time. He may not win the award and the Orioles may not go any farther than the ALDS but my hats off to Showalter on the job he’s done in 2014.

So now you know about the 2014 Baltimore Orioles and why I think they are so good. They’ve also been a bit lucky as well and there’s nothing wrong at all with that. We’ll have to wait and see just how good this team really is in the next couple of months. Until then enjoy the Orioles, and the baseball; it’s the best time of the year!

Home/Baltimore Orioles