Orioles poised to make a move?
The Baltimore Orioles have been in the playoffs two of the last three seasons. Last year, Baltimore was able to capture the American League East for the first time since the days of Cal Ripken Jr. The Orioles then easily dispatched the Detroit Tigers in three games during the American League Division Series before running into the buzzsaw that was the Kansas City Royals.
Heading into 2015, there were significant questions about whether or not Buck Showalter’s group could find a way to repeat. Baltimore had lost some key pieces in the offseason, not the least of which were long-time right fielder Nick Markakis and the AL home run champ, Nelson Cruz. Additionally, the front office made no real effort to replace either player, hoping to see get increased production from the return of Matt Wieters.
On the 4th of July, the Orioles are sitting in second place of the middling AL East, two games behind the New York Yankees with a 42-39 record. Certainly not the worst of times, but not the best either. Baltimore seems to be a rut where it can’t get on a run necessary to put some distance between itself and the other foes in the division. Should this continue, the Orioles are looking at a long stretch run of high-intensity baseball in Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
The offense has been superb, with only the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics scoring more runs than Baltimore’s 361. The Orioles have been led by third baseman Manny Machado, who has overcome knee injuries and maturity issues to become one of the best players in the game. Machado is leading Baltimore with a .302 average and only behind Chris Davis with 17 home runs and 46 RBI. Davis is pacing the club in both of those categories with 18 blasts and 49 RBI.
The offense is also supported by center fielder Adam Jones, who is one of the most underrated players in the game today. Jones has a .283 average with 10 homers and 37 RBI, to go with 11 doubles and three triples. The big surprise has been Jimmy Paredes, who is hitting .314 with 10 homers and 38 RBI in 236 at-bats. Without question, he has been one of the most unlikely stars of the season across baseball.
The rotation has been solid in the front while struggling toward the back end. At the top, Ubaldo Jimenez and Wei-Yin Chen have combined for 18 quality starts and 11 wins. Chen is pitching to a 2.84 ERA to lead the starters while Jimenez is close behind at 2.96. Most impressively, Jimenez has his control back after a disastrous 2014, walking only 29 compared to 93 strikeouts.
With quality pitching at the front of the staff and a terrific offensive team, Baltimore should be primed to make a move at some point. The Orioles are also one of the best defensive teams in the game and are led by a borderline Hall-of-Fame manager, so the pieces are in place.
Camden Yards is a phenomenal place to watch a baseball game. There will likely be a few in October.
