Around the Diamond

Hey, remember AtD? It’s what happens around these parts when we get excited about something. This series with the Tigers certainly applies. The pitching match-ups certainly didn’t favor the Orioles – the Tigers offered Scherzer, Verlander, and Porcello, while the Orioles countered with Arrieta, Britton, and Tillman.

Game 1 Box Score – DET 5, BAL 1

Game 2 Box Score – BAL 5, DET 2

Game 3 Box Score – BAL 13, DET 3

Let’s take a quick trip Around the Diamond for the June 17-19 series against the Tigers.

First Base

This one, I suppose, could be called “as the rotation turns.” Injuries, illness, ineffectiveness, and babymaking (couldn’t think of an I word – “incubation?”) led the Orioles to scrape the bottom of the bucket for starters. Here’s a quick review:

Jake Arrieta confirmed that he is not a major league starter. After giving up a 10 hits and 5 ER over 4.2 innings, he was optioned back to Norfolk before the ballpark had emptied. Look, I like Jake, but it’s clearly not working. He either needs to be shifted to the bullpen, or given a change of scenery. You can hope that his tools develop all you want, but the experiment is over.
Zach Britton “presented himself well as an option,” as Buck would put it. He didn’t go particularly deep (5.1 IP), but he only gave up 1 ER, and he allowed the Orioles to hang in while putting a thumping on Justin Verlander. Yeah… just the way they drew it up. Britton could benefit from this start, earning “next man up” status. No promises were made to Kevin Gausman, when he was optioned to AAA.
Freddy Garcia pitching out of the ‘pen. The bullpen had been taxed of late, and Garcia was mentioned a couple nights in a row as being an option in the bullpen. He finally made his appearance on Sunday. Does this mean that Garcia was simply helping out a beleaguered bullpen, or that he’s being considered for a role change? With the return of Miguel Gonzalez and Jason Hammel, and the eventual return of Wei-Yin Chen, it’s possible that the music will stop, and Garcia will still be standing. It’s also possible that I’m making too much of it.

Second Base

Remember that little slump Chris Davis went through? Yeah, it’s a little foggy for me too. Something about 0-16. Then there was a HR drought of sorts. But those days are gone. Davis leads the majors in home runs (26), total bases (190), slugging (.720), and OBP+slugging (1.132). Oh, and he’s in the top 5 for average and runs batted in, for all of you Triple Crown watchers out there.

For at least one series, Chris Davis > Miguel Cabrera. Davis went 5-13 with a double and three home runs. Crush Davis is on one of his hot streaks, and should be the most-feared hitter in baseball right now.

Third Base

Third base… Manny Machado. See what I did there? Manny is difficult to write about. What can you say that hasn’t already been said? Moreover, what can you say when his play leaves you speechless? The Young Machado (per @Britt_Ghiroli), is playing all-world third base, as if he has been there his whole life. Machado sits atop the BBTN Web Gem leaderboard. He puts on a clinic every night. He’s just… really, really good out there.

Then there’s the bat. Manny leads the majors in hits and doubles, and has an impressive number of multi-hit games. The HR numbers aren’t there yet, but I don’t care. He’s making a mockery of AL pitching, and setting the table for Markakis, Jones, and Davis.

Machado has the distinct disadvantage of playing the same position as Miguel Cabrera, but there is no way that he gets snubbed from an invite to the All-Star Game. You can’t look at his numbers and honestly say he doesn’t belong.

Home Plate

On this week’s podcast, we discussed what we could hope to expect from a series against one of the better teams in the American League. I said it then, and I’ll say it again: now that the Orioles are a respectable club, it’s time to stop settling for less. Going in to Detroit, fans shouldn’t just hope that the team salvages a game in a three-game series. The Orioles have treated us to better. You can bet, since the dawn of the Buck Showalter era, that this team is done feeling sorry for themselves. They won’t shrink against competition from the likes of the Tigers (or Red Sox, or Yankees, or…).

Fans should take the same approach, and check that defeatist attitude at the door. Before the end of the season, the Birds are going to lose games, and some of them will be ugly. There will be series losses and sweeps. But there is every reason to believe that they can win tough series. Even Verlander can be beaten. Our lineup can bruise good pitching, and our rotation, though a work in progress, can sometimes reach back for a little of that Orioles Magic.

Back to the Dugout

The Orioles can look ahead to two series against teams hovering around .500 (Indians, Blue Jays), and then the Yankees. The Blue Jays, who notably won the offseason, have been on a tear, and are proving that reports of the AL East’s demise were premature. The O’s will face three guys who make a rock-solid dick joke, so I’m not going to go there.

Too late.

AtD – O’s Tame Tigers in Detroit