silverbear
Semi-Official Loose Cannon
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- 24,195
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I really thought that 15 game stretch with the Yankmees, Red Sox, Rangers, Rays and Yankmees again would spell the end of their hot start...
I was all but certain of it when the Rangers dropped the hammer on them in Ballmer, winning 3 of 4... they got brutalized by the Rangers, plain and simple (especially Josh Hamilton)... but when the smoke cleared, the Birds went 9-6 in those games, and have since moved on to take a two game series against Kansas City...
And so, on the morning of May 18th, 2012, the Baltimore Orioles stand alone atop the American League East, a game ahead of Tampa Bay, with the best record in the American League, the second best record in all of baseball (a half game behind the equally surprising Dodgers)...
As an Orioles fan who has lived through many seasons of futility since their glory days, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but the longer this goes, the longer I start to hope it might not... this team leads the majors in home runs, and their team ERA is second in the AL behind only the Rangers...
And the bullpen, oh man, that bullpen... while watching an O's game a coupla nights ago, the announcers said that Baltimore's bullpen had the lowest ERA in the majors... I don't find that hard to believe, but I don't know if it's still true (I don't know where to go to look that stat up)... I do know the O's top 5 relievers have combined for a 1.26 ERA in 93.1 innings pitched...
It is all led by close Jim Johnson, who is 14 for 14 in save opportunities, with a 0.48 ERA... going back to last season, he has converted 22 straight saves... but he's not the only one getting the job done, Pedro Strop has a 1.23 ERA in 17 games , Matt Lindstrom has a 1.29 ERA in 13 games, submariner Darren O'Day's ERA stands at 1.47 ERA in 17 appearances, and Luis Ayala has a 1.77 ERA in 17 appearances... in addition, Dana Eveland was recently called up, and in two appearances has a 1.93 ERA...
Oh, and by all means, let's not forget Chris Davis, with his 1-0 record and 0.00 ERA...
Davis is the Orioles' designated hitter/ first baseman... he got into an extra inning game when the Birds ran out of pitchers, and gave them two innings of two hit, shutout ball...
This is precisely why the Birds have been so effective in one and two run ball games...
Earl Weaver was once famous for his "formula" for winning, which went like this:
P + D + 3R HR = W
Pitching plus defense plus 3 run homers equals wins... well, this team has two thirds of that equation down, they've got the pitching, they've got the homers part... but when it comes to the defense, well, that's another story... they're next to last in the AL in fielding percentage, and tied for last in errors...
They have other deficiencies too, their team average is only .251, they don't hit well with runners in scoring position, they strike out a LOT... but they've got the pitching, so they can hang close in tight ball games, and they've got the long ball, so they've always got a slugger's chance...
If they ever start hitting with runners in scoring position, and start playing major league caliber defense, they could be scary good... could us long-suffering Orioles fans have a playoff appearance to celebrate this year??
All I know is I'm getting lots of thumbs ups and such when I wear my Orioles jacket these days... the upcoming series against the Washington Nationals will be more interesting, more entertaining than it usually is...
I was all but certain of it when the Rangers dropped the hammer on them in Ballmer, winning 3 of 4... they got brutalized by the Rangers, plain and simple (especially Josh Hamilton)... but when the smoke cleared, the Birds went 9-6 in those games, and have since moved on to take a two game series against Kansas City...
And so, on the morning of May 18th, 2012, the Baltimore Orioles stand alone atop the American League East, a game ahead of Tampa Bay, with the best record in the American League, the second best record in all of baseball (a half game behind the equally surprising Dodgers)...
As an Orioles fan who has lived through many seasons of futility since their glory days, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but the longer this goes, the longer I start to hope it might not... this team leads the majors in home runs, and their team ERA is second in the AL behind only the Rangers...
And the bullpen, oh man, that bullpen... while watching an O's game a coupla nights ago, the announcers said that Baltimore's bullpen had the lowest ERA in the majors... I don't find that hard to believe, but I don't know if it's still true (I don't know where to go to look that stat up)... I do know the O's top 5 relievers have combined for a 1.26 ERA in 93.1 innings pitched...
It is all led by close Jim Johnson, who is 14 for 14 in save opportunities, with a 0.48 ERA... going back to last season, he has converted 22 straight saves... but he's not the only one getting the job done, Pedro Strop has a 1.23 ERA in 17 games , Matt Lindstrom has a 1.29 ERA in 13 games, submariner Darren O'Day's ERA stands at 1.47 ERA in 17 appearances, and Luis Ayala has a 1.77 ERA in 17 appearances... in addition, Dana Eveland was recently called up, and in two appearances has a 1.93 ERA...
Oh, and by all means, let's not forget Chris Davis, with his 1-0 record and 0.00 ERA...
Davis is the Orioles' designated hitter/ first baseman... he got into an extra inning game when the Birds ran out of pitchers, and gave them two innings of two hit, shutout ball...
This is precisely why the Birds have been so effective in one and two run ball games...
Earl Weaver was once famous for his "formula" for winning, which went like this:
P + D + 3R HR = W
Pitching plus defense plus 3 run homers equals wins... well, this team has two thirds of that equation down, they've got the pitching, they've got the homers part... but when it comes to the defense, well, that's another story... they're next to last in the AL in fielding percentage, and tied for last in errors...
They have other deficiencies too, their team average is only .251, they don't hit well with runners in scoring position, they strike out a LOT... but they've got the pitching, so they can hang close in tight ball games, and they've got the long ball, so they've always got a slugger's chance...
If they ever start hitting with runners in scoring position, and start playing major league caliber defense, they could be scary good... could us long-suffering Orioles fans have a playoff appearance to celebrate this year??
All I know is I'm getting lots of thumbs ups and such when I wear my Orioles jacket these days... the upcoming series against the Washington Nationals will be more interesting, more entertaining than it usually is...
