When the 2012 schedule for the Baltimore Orioles was released, most fans of the O’s pointed to September 6th, as another night to celebrate the career of Cal Ripken Jr, reminiscing about everything he meant to the City of Baltimore; and the September 6th from 17 years ago.
While O’s fans will again get to see another statue unveiled tonight, the real focus will be on the field, as the New York Yankees arrive in Baltimore clutching to a 1 game advantage over the Orioles in the American League East.
1) Jason Hammel returns for the O’s tonight, making his first start since July 13th. His performance in the 1st half is a large reason why the Orioles are in this position. When he went down with his injury, I worried that would be an obstacle the O’s would not be able to overcome. If Hammel can find his 1st half form the rest of September, he might prove to be the decisive difference maker.
2) Mark Reynolds has really been strong for about a month, but was obviously scorching on the road trip with his 6 homers. His OPS is now at .797, more-or-less at his .813 career average. He is a difference making bat when he is hot. Does he stay on fire now at home? He now has 18 homers. Do you think he can end with 25?
3) The first season I have vivid memories of the O’s was 1988, beginning with the 0-21 start. Because of that, the turnaround in ’89 has always had a special imprint on me as a fan. It was a magical year, that I’ve always recalled with a lot of detail. From ’89 through Toronto’s back-to-back World Championships in ’92-’93, the Blue Jays were my most ‘hated’ rival. I think that was true for many my age.
With the Yankees having 27 World Titles, and having been on an unbelievably great run since the ’94 season (1st place at the time of the ’94 strike, Playoffs every year but 2008 from ’94-’11), it is hard for some people to remember there was time where New York was not very good.
For everything we have been through as Oriole fans during ’98 through ’11, this 2012 season has probably replaced ’89 as my favorite. The Orioles on their own were so horrible during those ’98-’11 seasons, that it was hard to focus on the success of anyone else. I loathed the Yankees from afar, but my attention was more on the product the O’s were putting on the field, and wanting to see that addressed.
With the O’s again having a season to remember, it is time to also remember how much every O’s fan should despise the New York Yankees. Not out of pure jealousy, but for everything they represent. It is easy to respect the Tampa Bay Rays, who have done more with less. The Rays have built an organization through Player Development, Scouting, and being smarter. The Yankees have often had success in spite of their decision making. They have had success basically because of the size of their wallet. Their entitled cry-baby fan-base (who were booing the Yankees last weekend in New York) have spent years invading OPACY, and pretending Baltimore was a second home.
The one flaw of the ’89 season was that the O’s were not quite able to get things done that last weekend in Toronto. The O’s can not win the division this weekend against New York, nor excise all of the demons of the previous decade plus, but the opportunity exists to begin reclaiming Camden Yards and start kicking these Yankees out of Baltimore once and for all.
4) Nick Markakis had three 3 hit games on the road trip. He is now batting .301, with a .845 OPS. In only 409 ab’s, he has 28 doubles. He has 42 walks, and only 50 k’s. With Roberts on the shelf, no Oriole has gone through more losing on the field. I’m loving seeing him play a significant part on what will be his first winning team.
5) After the Yankees face Hammel tonight, the Orioles will be throwing 3 lefties vs. NY over the weekend (Chen, Saunders, Britton). It will be interesting to see how that works out. Saunders is coming off of a quality outing vs. Toronto. However, his match-up against Sabathia is clearly the worst match-up of the series for the O’s. With the expanded rosters, Showalter will have the opportunity to give a quick hook to any starter who does not come out strong.
5a) Britton has been awesome his last 4 starts, allowing 3 er in his last 28.2 ip. His last really poor start, was against NY on August 1st.
6) In early August I wrote that Adam Jones was pretty obviously going to be named the Orioles MVP. That might have been a bit presumptive. I would think he remains the favorite, but I might have jumped the gun by saying ‘obviously.’ After getting hit and struggling in June, he rebounded in July. However, he regressed again in August, and until the Toronto series had yet to really get going in September. Now, he has had 3 multi-hit games in a row, and homers in 3 of his last 10 games. My hope is that we see him finish really strong. Doing damage in this series would be great to see.
2012: .287 baa, 27 hr’s, 69 rbi’s, 31 doubles, 3 triples, 28 bb’s, 99 k’s, .840 OPS, .360 wOBA, ISO .219, (-4.9 UZR/150), fWAR 4.0
2011: .280 baa, 25 hr’s, 83 rbi’s, 26 doubles, 2 triples, 29 bb’s, 113 k’s, .785 OPS, .339 wOBA, ISO .185, (-8.5 UZR/150), fWAR 2.9
7) MASN showed the graphic last night of just how many more innings Matt Wieters has caught than other Catchers. I was surprised to see him catching Saunders Monday in Toronto, after spending the weekend catching in NY. He is back behind the plate tonight. He should have a game or two off from catching this weekend. If he is not catching against the Yankees Saturday when Sabathia starts, he should be at DH, considering his .875 OPS vs. LHP.
8) I had hoped after Strop’s poor outing in NY last Saturday, that he would get the opportunity to pitch in a close game vs. the Yankees the following day. That did not happen. He did have a quality inning vs. Toronto earlier in the week. I think he was a bit pumped up, and was over throwing vs. the Yanks. Hopefully his number is called upon if the game calls for it tonight, and he has a big weekend.
8a) Johnson did not pitch against the Yankees, and only pitched 1 inning (on the 3rd) at Toronto. He should be ready for multiple outings this weekend.
9) Somewhat lost in the power show put on by Reynolds, is the fact that Machado also had a very nice road trip. In the 6 games in NY, and Toronto, he had multi-hit games 5 times. You would like to see his walks (2) and k’s (18) be a bit closer, but he is contributing at the bottom of the order, and playing superior defense at 3rd.
10) 15 of Davis’ 23 homers are at-home. Overall he has a .851 OPS (201 ab’s) at OPACY, and a .700 OPS (224 ab’s) on the road. He has yet to homer since his 3 homer game on 8/24. We might be due for a couple of shots this weekend. (Maybe vs. Hughes tomorrow?)
Projected Pitchers
9/6: Phelps vs. Hammel
9/7: Hughes vs. Chen
9/8: Sabathia (LHP) vs. Saunders
9/9: Garcia vs. Britton
Phelps: 3-4, 3.13 era, 74.2 ip, 61 hits, 11 hr’s, 27 bb’s, 76 k’s, .687 OPS against, 0.90 G/F
Pitch F/X: http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/pitcher/475479/
Hughes: 13-12, 4.18 era, 161.2 ip, 167 hits, 32 hr’s, 39 bb’s, 136 k’s, .780 OPS against, 0.48 G/F
Pitch F/X: http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/pitcher/461833/
Sabathia: 13-4, 3.42 era, 163 ip, 157 hits, 18 hr’s, 38 bb’s, 161 k’s, .687 OPS against, 1.04 G/F
Pitch F/X: http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/pitcher/282332/
Garcia: 7-6, 5.09 era, 99 ip, 105 hits, 16 hr’s, 32 bb’s, 83 k’s, .783 OPS against, 0.73 G/F
Pitch F/X: http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/pitcher/150119/
C: Martin .681 OPS
1st: Teixeira .813 OPS
2nd: Cano .911 OPS
SS: Jeter .806 OPS
3rd: Rodriguez .799 OPS
LF: Ichiro .696 OPS
CF: Granderson .799 OPS
RF: Swisher .817 OPS
DH: Ibanez .727 OPS
Bench: Stewart, Cervelli, Jones, Dickerson, Pearce, Nix, Nunez, McGehee, Chavez
Rotation: Sabathia, Kuroda, Hughes, Phelps, Garcia
Bullpen: Soriano, Robertson, Logan, Chamberlain, Eppley, Lowe, Thomas, Wade, Warren, Rapada
Current Ranks:
Yankees:
Runs 6th
Batting Average 11th
On Base % 6th
Slugging % 7th
ERA 12th
Quality Starts 18th
WHIP 12th
BAA 17th
Baltimore
Runs: 17th
Batting Average: 22nd
On Base: 23rd
Slugging: 13th
ERA: 17th
Quality Starts: 23rd
WHIP: 19th
BAA: 15th
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.