The Orioles won the pennant; Yeah right
It didn’t seem like we did enough in the offseason to make this Orioles team any better. And then came in Nelson Cruz off of his drug suspension. OK, but who knew if his arms and legs would fall off.
And then Matt Wieters got hurt. Off all things, he needed Tommy John surgery. That’s a pitcher’s surgery not a catcher’s. And then Manny Machado went down with a knee injury. The best defensive third sacker since the great Brooksie, Machado was really starting to hit. And finally, Chris Davis was felled by a drug. How in the heck are you going to compete after those blows?
So what could we expect? How about a runaway in the AL East. The shouting is over, The Orioles are officially great and headed to the playoffs. Our 17 years of horror is over. This team is so good that I don’t fear any team. I don’t even worry about this club. If they fall behind a few runs, it’s no big deal. They will find a way to get back into any game.
So what happened here? The front line pitching has been great. Chris Tillman, Yei-Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, Bud Norris and Kevin Gausman have been excellent. The bullpen is lock down. From the left-handed side we have Andrew Miller and Zach Britton. The righties are Darren O’Day and Tommy Hunter. Nothing like a great bullpen.
Frankly, the backup catchers have done well. Caleb Joseph has been a pleasant surprise. Nick Hundley isn’t great but he gives effort. Steve Pearce is genuine star and who would have guessed that. Jon Schoop at second hasn’t been great but he has provided some pop in the bottom of the order. JJ Hardy had a slow start in the power department but he has been terrific with the glove.
Who is this Jimmy Paredes fellow?. He can’t field well but he hits thebaseball. . Kelly Johnson will give us some stability at that spot. Nick Markakis has had an excellent season. Oh, yeah, the trade with Seattle brought us youngster Adam Jones. He’s been a bone fide star.
We might have forgotten what a fast start the Blue Jays had this year. Us Orioles fans thought we wouldn’t catch them so it’s a good thing we clinched against this club.
We took game one from the Jays, 5-2. In this Sept. 15 game there was a little bit of a bean ball war. No matter, Jones had 3 hits and Ryan Flaherty cracked a two-run homer in the 5-2 win.
In Tuesdays game, maligned Ubaldo Jimenez got the start. And the offense helped him out. A pair of three-run frames was key in the 8-2 win. Pearce got us started with a first-inning three-run homer. Mr. De Aza cleaned the bases with a triple. Paredes also homered.
The sweep of the Jays came Wednesday. Norris won his 14th game. Another Pearce three-run homer spelled a 6-1 win.. Speedy David Lough also went yard.
Oh, yeah, my book on Orioles history and fun stories from working for the club is still out there:
www.lulu.com/shop/bill-pemstein/tales-from-orioles-nation/paperback/product-21757959.html
