It seems as if nothing really can go right for the Orioles no matter how hard they try. In a nutshell, the O’s had one-run leads on Friday and Saturday nights, only to be burned late by Kansas City home runs (Friday’s in walk off fashion). First off, asking an over-taxed bullpen to protect a one-run lead might well be a tall order. So there’s certainly some legitimacy to the argument that perhaps if the Orioles didn’t leave so many runners in scoring position things might be different. Aside from that, the Orioles played two solid games on Friday and Saturday in Kansas City. Especially Saturday; Brad Bergesen pitched about as well as you can ask a pitcher to pitch. He spread two runs over five hits, and was even able to reach deep and strike out one last batter in the seventh when it was evident that he was starting to tire quickly. This was a welcome sight for the beleaguered sinker-baller, who still hasn’t won a game since mid-May. However the final result of the game shouldn’t take away from the effort that Bergy put forth, nor should it dim the bravado with which he pitched.
Billy Butler hit a walk off home run in the ninth on Friday night, and a go-ahead homer in the eighth last night to sink the O’s. I did notice last night that Butler seemed to flip his bat and admire the moon shot he had just hit prior to running the bases. Interestingly enough, some people would argue that it’s that kind of moxie in itself that either helps or allows players to rise to the occasion in situations like that. People can say what they wish, however I see no reason to show up the other team. (For the record, I hope today’s starter, Kevin Millwood, paid close attention to that moment last night if you know what I mean…) However while the Orioles have had some walk off wins this season (including one against the Royals), they haven’t had a walk off home run. So am I wrong in my assessment? I’ve said this before, however I firmly believe that baseball should be played stoically, as that’s how it’s been since the beginning of the live ball era (1920). If you hit a home run, you put your head down, run the bases, and head back to the bench. The opposite argument is that if you remove the emotion from the game, players will just fall into doldrums, and they’ll lose the spark of which they’re capable of providing.
Whether or not there’s legitimacy to my point or the counter-argument is a matter of opinion, however it would be a moot issue in this case had Alfredo Simon and David Hernandez not hung fastballs to Billy Butler. However I can also accept the fact that this is part of their learning processes. That doesn’t make watching another team celebrate at your expense any easier though. Last night we were also treated to a gold glove catch by Nick Markakis in right field (just prior to Butler’s shot). Markakis ran from the line towards center and fully extended himself to get the ball just before it hit the ground. And for those of you who buy into the above-mentioned counter-argument (emotion in the game is good), I would point out that Nick Markakis didn’t get up and jump around like a school girl to celebrate his amazing play. He threw the ball back into the infield and played on.
The good news for the O’s is that they can still achieve a split in this series, as the finale is this afternoon. As I said, Kevin Millwood will get the call today; we all know what kind of run support he gets. While the Orioles did trade Miguel Tejada and Will Ohman prior to the deadline, Millwood and Ty Wiggington remained with the team. Both of those players had been rumored to be on the trade block; while I’m sure that MacPhail had a certain price for both of them (which was probably not met), I have to wonder if perhaps incoming manager Buck Showalter didn’t nix those ideas. Perhaps Showalter wants those two veterans as part of his team at the very least for the next two month. Wiggington has said that he likes the direction in which the organization is headed; he likes the area, etc. Andy, since he wasn’t traded do you need anymore of an incentive? Extend him!
Written by:
