Orioles West Coast Checklist

The Orioles limped out of their four-game series with the Tigers with a split, and ended their home stand at 5-2, remaining six games behind the Yankees in the AL East and one game behind the Twins in the Wild Card race. Look, it’s clear that the Orioles are still very much in the race, but they are going to have to elevate their game if they want to leap frog some of the teams in front of them.

Now the Orioles take a nine-game road trip to the west coast. Here’s a little checklist for their trip:

1. Remember to take the bats.

Sure, the Detroit series saw the Orioles score seven and eight runs in successive games, but since July 1st, the Orioles are score 3.55 runs per game. This is down from their 2015 average of 4.41 per game. This lineup needs to score runs to cover starting rotation that, though it has moments of true brilliance, is thoroughly mediocre. The Birds are going to need to get offensive contributions from newly acquired Gerardo Parra. They’re also going to need guys like Manny Machado to stay hot. Chris Davis seems to have remembered he once was called “Crush.” Bring the bats on the west coast.

2. Make it out of the first alive.

Yesterday’s loss was particularly upsetting on a number of levels. The worst was Ubaldo Jimenez giving up runs in the first inning, again. The Orioles have given up runs in four of the last six games. Sure, that’s an awfully small sample size – just a single time through the rotation, plus one. But the trend has got to stop. The Orioles can no longer depend on the Tigers’ bullpen to bail them out.

3. Stay creative.

I mocked the Wieters-to-first-base move pretty heavily. I don’t love it, but it hasn’t bitten them yet. Moreover, it keeps Wieters and Joseph in the lineup without having to risk losing a DH later in the game for defensive purposes. While Joseph is hot, Buck Showalter should do everything he can to keep the lineup pumping. Heck, we have already accepted Chris Davis, right fielder. Why not keep shaking things up, taking advantage of overall athleticism to keep the lineup as strong as possible?

4. Make the hard decisions.

It could not have been easy designating Bud Norris, but the team could no longer count on him to preserve, much less win games. I like Bud Norris a lot – it was hard watching him this season. But the Orioles made a move when they needed to. I would argue that they waited too long on Chris Parmelee, and the remainder of the season will present other tough roster decisions. The Orioles can still add to the team, even after the non-waiver trade deadline. At some point, the Orioles will have to see if they can come up with something clever for the corner outfield, and that means making a call on the likes of Nolan Reimold, David Lough, Travis Snider, and Steve Pearce (whose return from the DL will force a move). All four have been rumored to be on the chopping block at various points this season. If they are going to win, the Orioles can’t afford to punt on the tough ones anymore.

5. Use the Norfolk Shuttle.

Scott Magness so correctly identified that the biggest move at the trade deadline may have been sending Tommy Hunter to Chicago. Yes, it hurt, because we all loved Tommy Hunter (the move was not popular in the clubhouse), and because he was having a good season. But the benefit is that the bullpen how has more roster flexibility. With Norris and Hunter departed, Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette have the latitude they need to bring relievers up and down from Norfolk to bolster both the pen and the rotation (see Tyler Wilson’s spot start, due to Chris Tillman’s ankle). If the Orioles were “lucky” in 2012 and beyond, it was partially due to the fact that their utilization of the 40-man roster was among the best in baseball. The Orioles are listless, here in July – they are going to need that 40-man magic to get the team back on track.