When July 31st came and went ill admit I was a tad disappointed that the Orioles didn't add a big name. In my opinion the Orioles were maybe one front line starting pitcher away from being a real serious World Series contender. Instead the birds traded for Andrew Miller, a relief pitcher. Not necessarily a name that would make you run to the box office and start demanding playoff tickets. However, Miller has pitched extremely well. In 8 games with the Orioles he's pitched 7.1 innings and has allowed only 1 earned run equaling a 1.23 ERA. The two teams that made the biggest splashes at the trade deadline were Oakland and Detroit. The A's picked up Jon Lester from Boston and Detroit added to their already stellar pitching staff by acquiring David Price from Tampa Bay. Oh but how baseball can turn on you in a heartbeat. Both guys have pitched well for their new ball clubs so that's not the issue. When both teams made those trades they were in first place in their respective divisions. Now, both teams are trailing and if the season ended today they would face each other in the Wild Card game. When you look at the Orioles they only led the AL east by a game and a half on July 31st, now its 9. Sometimes you don't need to add to your team, sometimes the team you have is plenty good enough to get where you need to go. Some would argue that the AL East is down this season, and maybe that's true. In a recent stretch against the Angels, Athletics and Mariners, all who were playing great baseball, the O's went 10-6, not too shabby.So how are the Orioles doing it? Well for one its not just one guy carrying the load. It's easy to look at Nelson Cruz and Adam Jones with their numbers and say they are the reason the Orioles are 21 games over .500, and it's tough to argue that. But so many other guys have contributed in big win. Caleb Joseph has 8 home runs and set an Orioles record for a catcher by hitting home runs in 5 straight games. Jonathan Schoop, though the average is disappointing he's homered 12 times and had a huge bases clearing double against the White Sox a few nights ago. Old reliable Nick Markakis looks to be fully healthy as he has 11 bombs and his hitting his usual .292 at the top of the Orioles lineup. Steve Pearce, who has had to play a lot his year because of injures, is hitting above .280 with 13 home runs. JJ Hardy's power numbers are a tad down this season but he has his best batting average since 2008 and is still playing gold glove defense. Even Chris Davis who cant seem to break .200 still has 21 home runs and 60 RBIs. When Manny Machado has been on the field he's shown why he should be considered one of baseball's brightest stars. Everybody who has picked up a bat this season has helped the Orioles win, which take a ton of pressure off the pitching staff.
Speaking of the pitching, as great as the hitting has been its the pitching that have gotten the Orioles to where
they are at right now. Three Orioles starters have 10 wins or more, and only 1 starter has an ERA above 4 and as of yesterday he's no longer a starter. The Orioles pitching was one of the biggest questions marks coming into 2014 but they have answered the challenge, especially in the second half. Since the all star break the Orioles are 21-11 as a team and have posted a 2.93 ERA, nearly a run less than the first half of the season. Wei-Yin Chen might be having the best season of all of them, he's 13-4 with a 3.76 ERA. Chris Tillman seems to have rebounded from some struggling starts and has the best ERA among starters. Kevin Gausman, in his first extended time as a starter as shown the top 10 draft pick promise we were all hoping for. Then when the starters are done they throw it over to perhaps the best bullpen in baseball. I mentioned earlier how good Andrew Miller has been since the trade. Darren O'Day is my sleeper pick for Orioles MVP. I know its tough to give it to a reliever especially if its not a closer. However, any time you can have a guy on your staff with a sub 1 ERA, and he pitches in the most critical spots, 7th inning or later. That is a huge weapon for any team. Zach Britton has turned into a pretty damn good closer. He's had some hiccups along the way but 27 out of 30 is awesome for a guy who has never closed in the big leagues.I hate to use this phrase but barring a major collapse the Baltimore Orioles will not only make the playoffs but be winning their first division title since 1997. If I would've wrote this blog a month ago my most feared teams would be Oakland and Detroit. Both of those teams are struggling and might not make it past the Wild Card game. So, if you're an Orioles fan do you fear anybody in the American League? Not to sound cocky, but I don't think so. Look, as I mentioned earlier in this post in the Orioles toughest stretch of the season they went 10-6. Other than maybe the Tigers (who they are 1-5 against this season), the Orioles have shown they can compete with and beat any team in baseball. For the Orioles its all about staying consistent. I don't believe that teams can peak too early, this Orioles squad is a damn good team. If somehow Chris Davis breaks out of his season long slump (highly unlikely I know), then teams should really watch out. Injuries play a huge role and so far the Orioles have weathered that storm as well, Wieters is done for the season and Manny Machado is on the DL for the second time this season. The last thing is this club believes they can win. That might seem childish but if you truly believe that you can win every game in which you take the field that goes a long way. Anything less than an appearance in the ALCS would be a huge disappointment for this club, and saying those words make the previous 15 years almost bearable.
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